The first generation born under China’s One-Child policy now has the option to have second children, thanks to a policy loosening in 2015.
But a little over a year after the Two-Child policy was introduced, 1980s generation households are still reluctant to have a second child, according to data released from a recent survey.
An ongoing Fudan University-conducted survey, which was first started in 2009, has found that a number of couples in Shanghai are still not open to having a second child. The survey, which covers nearly 1,200 80s-generation households in the Shanghai area, delved into a variety of demographic subjects, including family, marriage, employment, migration, housing, contraception, child education, elderly care and more.
After eight years of research, the findings were finally released this week. The data collected was helpful in analyzing and understanding the rapid social changes that have happened in China over the last three decades.
The results indicated that most young people are content with having just one child. In fact, only 13 percent of those surveyed expressed that they were open to having a second child. The expense of a new family member, limited housing and insufficient time were the three most listed reasons for reluctance in having more children.
The research also revealed more traits unique to this generation, a group that was caught in the middle of the traditional and the modern against the backdrop of economic reform and ‘opening-up.’
One noticeable change is the increase in cohabitation before marriage, which was once considered taboo in China. Nearly 40 percent of respondents surveyed said they cohabited before getting married.
The data also indicated that the marital age may have increased, with nearly one in five men and one in five women between the ages of 30 and 34 are unmarried. That’s a stark contrast from 2005, when official figures showed the percentages of unmarried men and women at 12 and seven percent respectively.
And in terms of the aging parent issue, nearly 90 percent indicated that they thought they should support their parents, even while most respondents themselves either expected to live alone or in a nursing home in their old age.
