A Cross-cultural Study of Family Relations

The change of family structure in contemporary China presents three states: 1. A relatively stable family type. Three generations of immediate family members are its representatives; The maintenance of three generations of urban lineal families benefits from the relaxation of family internal management, while in rural areas it is related to the increase of the proportion of only children. 2. The obviously rising family types. The nuclear family of husband and wife has obviously improved, and the one-child policy implemented for more than 20 years is the main driving force of this family type; The growth rate of immediate family members of each generation is the highest, which is not only an important phenomenon in the social transformation stage of China, but also a reflection of the defects in social development; The number of single families has also increased, with young people getting married later, the life expectancy of the elderly population increasing and the proportion of widowed elderly people increasing as the main influencing factors. 3. The following types of families are simplified into various forms of expression. The number of defective nuclear families has decreased significantly, and the number of standard nuclear families has decreased. The decline of the latter is mainly caused by the rise of the nuclear family of husband and wife, or the result of different types of adjustment within the nuclear family. In the future, the family structure in China will continue in this state as a whole, and some family types will undergo further changes. The structure simplification and scale reduction of contemporary families have changed the family function and the relationship between family members, which will have an impact on the whole society.

Reference of Family Structure in Western Developed Countries

The contemporary state of China's family structure has its own traditional functions and social development level constraints, for example, lineal families still occupy a certain proportion. However, in some aspects, there is a tendency to take the road of developed countries, such as young men and women marrying late, having children late, and even being infertile after marriage. Of course, there are still many differences in family structure types between China and western countries. Take the 2000 census of the United States as an example, the one-person household is 25.8%, and the couple (married

Couple family

) and children below 18 account for 5 1.7% (among which families with children below 18 account for 23.5%), single-parent families with mothers account for 12.2% (among which families with children below 18 account for 7.2%).

Household) accounts for 6. 1%. In all families, families with three or more generations (multiple generations

Households) accounted for 3.7%, unmarried cohabiting families (unmarried part ner

Family) accounted for 5.2%①[ US Census Bureau, family and.

Family: 2000, released in September.

200 1. See http://www.census.gov. Even so, the few multi-generational families are mainly confined to areas where new immigrants are concentrated, housing is in short supply, and the proportion of children born out of wedlock is high (such as unmarried mothers living with their parents with their children). It can be seen that a family with multiple generations living under one roof is a very passive choice. Considering the high proportion of American children leaving home for school after 18 years old, the nuclear family of husband and wife should account for at least 20%. The figure quoted by Ceng Yi and others is 25.7%( 1)[ Ceng Yi, Wang Zhenglian: Changes in the living arrangements of families and the elderly in China]. This means that in the United States, one-person families account for a quarter, and husband and wife nuclear families account for a quarter. The total number of nuclear families is 68.1%(70.2% in1990). Judging from this ratio, the proportion of nuclear families in China is basically the same as that in the United States. Of course, there are differences within the nuclear family. The nuclear family of husband and wife in China is obviously lower than that in the United States, and the single-parent family in the United States is much higher than that in China. It shows that the proportion of couples living with children in China is higher than that in the United States. The most important difference between the two is reflected in the single family and the immediate family outside the nuclear family. The direct family in the United States has dropped to a negligible level, and its single-person family has become a family type comparable to the nuclear family of husband and wife in a single family category. It can be said that the proportion of lineal families in China is relatively high, and the proportion of single-person families is relatively low, which is an important feature of family structure in developing countries.

The Development Trend of Family Structure in China

On the whole, the basic structure of nuclear family, lineal family and single-person family will continue, and the pattern of nuclear family will still appear, with lineal family taking second place and single-person family as a supplement. But there are differences between cities and rural areas. In cities, with the late marriage, the phenomenon of young couples having children late will continue the current trend, thus increasing the proportion of couples' nuclear families. As far as the whole country is concerned, affected by the family planning policy, those "fewer children" and "only children" began to leave their families in large numbers, thus increasing the number of nuclear families for middle-aged and elderly couples. According to the long table data, in the nuclear family composed of husband, wife and children, the family of three accounts for 54.36%, the family of four accounts for 33. 19%, and the two items together account for 87.55%. 73.63% of the heads are aged 30, 35, 40 and 45. These four age groups constitute a nuclear family of three people. Four-member nuclear families account for 83.83%. It shows that the nuclear family with only one or two children is the main body of the nuclear family composed of husband and wife and children, and the age is concentrated in the age group of 30-49. This is the source of growth for the future nuclear family of husband and wife. The increase of nuclear family objectively frees both husband and wife from the burden of raising children in middle age, which is helpful to improve the quality of life of both husband and wife. However, for families that used to be maintained by sharing the responsibility of raising children, the husband-wife world is also a test of the relationship between husband and wife.

The high proportion of young people in cities who marry late will directly increase the proportion of single families. At the same time, with the extension of life expectancy, the proportion of widowed elderly people will also increase, which will also become a growth factor for single families. Long-form data show that the proportion of widowed people aged 70, 75 and over 80 accounts for 35.55%, 49.92% and 69.26% of the same age group respectively. If divided into urban and rural areas, the widowed proportions of the three groups of agricultural population are 39.02%, 53. 19% and 70.74% respectively, and the non-agricultural population is 25.6644.000000000005. Of course, whether they can become de facto single households depends on whether they remarry and live with their children. At present, the proportion of remarriage among the elderly is relatively low, especially among the elderly women. This state will not change much in the short term. Moreover, when life can take care of itself, the proportion of separation from children will also increase. According to the long table data, the widowed elderly in the age groups of 70, 75 and 80 account for 2 1.75%, 17.30% and 16.40% respectively, which are higher than those in the age groups of 60 (22.28%) and 65 (265438+). However, there are nearly or more than 20% elderly people living alone (at least according to census data).

Even if the only child in the city lives with his parents after marriage, it means that 50% of the only child families do not have the conditions to form immediate family members. Moreover, urban lineal families are restricted by many conditions, so urban lineal families will not expand. However, with the extension of life expectancy, some elderly parents who have difficulties in self-care will be taken care of by living with their children. The development of domestic service and apartments for the elderly will reduce their dependence on their children and maintain their independent lives.

The relative increase in the proportion of rural one-child families is the main reason for the increase in the proportion of contemporary immediate family members. In the future, the number of rural one-child families will further increase, and the number of immediate family members in some areas may increase, but their growth will also be limited. Differences in living habits of family members of different generations will prompt parents and married children to live separately. In addition, urbanization makes most rural youth with secondary and higher education choose to work and settle in cities and towns; Young and middle-aged farmers who get stable jobs in cities and towns are more likely to move into cities and towns, thus living in two places with their parents. Of course, if the social security system in rural areas is not perfect, the situation of these only-child parents going to cities to take refuge in their children's old-age care will also increase. But relatively speaking, the former is more likely.