子女数目和性别结构会影响父母的主观幸福感吗?——基于CGSS2021的数据分析

Do the Number of Children and Gender Structure Affect Parents’ Subjective Well-Being? —Analysis of CGSS2021-Based Data

基于CGSS2021的调查数据,通过分别构建子女数目和子女性别结构与父母主观幸福感的OLS模型,探究子女数目和子女性别结构对父母主观幸福感的影响并对相关结论予以解释。研究发现:相较于无子女的父母,有子女的父母主观幸福感更高;子女数目与父母的主观幸福感并非是线性关系,当拥有一个孩子时,父母的主观幸福感最高;相较于60岁及以上无儿无女的男性,有儿有女、只有女儿和只有儿子的父亲主观幸福感更高;相较于60岁及以上无儿无女的女性,只有女儿的母亲主观幸福感更高。特别地,本研究进一步证实了生育儿子并不会比生育女儿让父母晚年更幸福,这在一定程度上能够帮助端正传统“养儿防老”的生育观念;同时,研究表明家庭经济水平是显著影响父母主观幸福感的关键变量,因此今后在不断放宽生育政策的同时也应对生育成本问题予以关注。

Based on the CGSS2021 survey data, the OLS models of number of children and gender structure of children and parents’ subjective well-being were constructed to investigate the effects of number of children and gender structure of children on parents’ subjective well-being and to explain the findings. The study found that: parents with children had higher subjective well-being compared to parents without children;the number of children was not linearly related to parents’ subjective well-being, which was highest when having one child;fathers with children, daughters only and sons only had higher subjective well-being compared to men aged 60 and over who had no children;and women aged 60 and over who had no children had higher subjective well-being compared to the subjective well-being of mothers with only daughters was higher. In particular, this study further confirms that having sons does not make parents happier in later life than having daughters, which may help to correct the traditional “raising children for old age” concept of childbearing. At the same time, research has shown that the economic level of the family is a key variable that significantly affects parents’ perceived well-being.