This paper studies the status of empty nest only-child families in urban China,using data about these families taken from a 2015 survey conducted by the Institute of Population and Labor Economics,Chinese Academy of S...This paper studies the status of empty nest only-child families in urban China,using data about these families taken from a 2015 survey conducted by the Institute of Population and Labor Economics,Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.Factors that determine the timing of empty nest periods and their duration for only-child parents are also analyzed.The data shows that more than half of the only-child parents surveyed in 2015 lived in empty nests.Some of these parents had been empty-nesters for as many as 25 years.During the life cycle of families,the empty nest status of elderly only-child parents shows different characteristics at different stages,as the only-children begin attending universities,start to work,get married,and have children of their own.There are empty nest periods in only-child families when the only-child leaves the parents for several years and periods when the child returns home and lives with parents for years.The living arrangements of only-child parents depend mainly on changes in the life needs of their only-children.Intergenerational support is focused on meeting the needs of only-children.展开更多
文摘This paper studies the status of empty nest only-child families in urban China,using data about these families taken from a 2015 survey conducted by the Institute of Population and Labor Economics,Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.Factors that determine the timing of empty nest periods and their duration for only-child parents are also analyzed.The data shows that more than half of the only-child parents surveyed in 2015 lived in empty nests.Some of these parents had been empty-nesters for as many as 25 years.During the life cycle of families,the empty nest status of elderly only-child parents shows different characteristics at different stages,as the only-children begin attending universities,start to work,get married,and have children of their own.There are empty nest periods in only-child families when the only-child leaves the parents for several years and periods when the child returns home and lives with parents for years.The living arrangements of only-child parents depend mainly on changes in the life needs of their only-children.Intergenerational support is focused on meeting the needs of only-children.
