Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Motherhood Dilemma and Gendered Well-being among Chinese Couples

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Applied Research in Quality of Life Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This research examines how a variety of factors, primarily parenthood and work, are associated with cognitive dimensions of gendered well-being in China. By using the World Value Survey Wave 7 data, we find that having children is valuable for Chinese women’s happiness in the short term, but it is no longer a necessity for them to gain higher satisfaction with life over time. Welfare-wise, a single child appears to be preferable for women, regardless of birth caps. Occupational status matters more than fatherhood for husbands’ happiness, while wives’ employment and own well-being are negatively and insignificantly related. The implications of our study are discussed, and policy recommendations are made to tackle motherhood dilemma and promote gender equality and female workforce participation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Data Source: Statista (2022).

  2. The Gender Policy Report, University of Minnesota,

  3. Data Source: World Bank (2021) and China's National Bureau of Statistics (2022).

  4. Data Source: China's National Bureau of Statistics (2022).

  5. Data Source: World Bank (2021). Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (percentage of population aged 15 and older) is calculated by dividing female labor force participation rate by male labor force participation rate and multiplying by 100(%).

  6. Source: https://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/WVSContents.jsp

  7. Source: Why China’s new three-child plan is doomed — and dangerous, by Steven W. Mosher, Opinion.

  8. Source: South China Morning Post. China Population, by Cissy Zhou (June 17, 2021).

  9. Source: BBC News, “China court orders man to pay wife for housework in landmark case”, February 24, 2021.

References

  • Aassve, A., Mencarini, L., & Sironi, M. (2015). Institutional change, happiness, and fertility. European Sociological Review, 31(6), 749–765.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bieda, A., Hirschfeld, G., Schönfeld, P., Brailovskaia, J., Lin, M., & Margraf, J. (2019). Happiness, life satisfaction and positive mental health: Investigating reciprocal effects over four years in a Chinese student sample. Journal of Research in Personality, 78, 198–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cai, H., Yuan, J. Su, Z. et al. (2022). Does economic growth raise happiness in China? A comprehensive reexamination. Social Psychological and Personal Science, 14(3), 194855062210898.

  • Cetre, S., Clark, A. E., & Senik, C. (2016). Happy People Have Children: Choice and Self-Selection into Parenthood. European Journal of Population, 32, 445–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, M. (2018). Does marrying well count more than career? Personal achievement, marriage and happiness of married women in urban China. Chinese Sociological Review, 50(3), 240–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chyi, H., & Mao, S. (2012). The Determinants of Happiness of China’s Elderly Population. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13, 167–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. (2013). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, J. R., & Rothbard, N. P. (1999). Work and Family Stress and Well-Being: An Examination of Person-Environment Fit in the Work and Family Domains. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 77(2), 85–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao, F., & Li, X. (2021). From One to Three: China’s Motherhood Dilemma and Obstacle to Gender Equality. Women, 1(4), 252–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glass, J., Simon, R. W., & Andersson, M. A. (2016). Parenthood and Happiness: Effects of Work-Family Reconciliation Policies in 22 OECD Countries. American Journal of Sociology, 122(3), 886–929.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grover, S., & Helliwell, J. F. (2019). How’s Life at Home? New Evidence on Marriage and the Set Point for Happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 20, 373–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haerpfer, C., Inglehart, R., Moreno, A., Welzel, C., Kizilova, K., Diez-Medrano J., M. Lagos, P. Norris, E. Ponarin & B. Puranen (Eds.). (2022). World values survey: round seven - country-pooled datafile version 5.0. Madrid, Spain & Vienna, Austria: JD systems institute & wvsa secretariat. https://doi.org/10.14281/18241.20

  • Haslam, C., Cruwys, T., Chang, M. X., Eckley, B., Buckingham, H., & Channon, E. (2020). Community group membership protects the well-being of adults experiencing socio-economic disadvantage. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 34, 381–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hori, M., & Kamo, Y. (2018). Gender differences in happiness: The effects of marriage, social roles, social support in East Asia. Applied Research Quality Life, 13, 839–857.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, D. (2018). Cross-National Pattern of Happiness: Do Higher Education and Less Urbanization Degrade Happiness? Applied Research Quality Life, 13, 21–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kowal, M., Groyecka-Bernard, A., Wo, K., & ́jcik M, Sorokowski P,. (2021). When and how does the number of children affect marital satisfaction? An International Survey. Plos ONE, 16(4), e0249516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Y. (2023). The Development of Vehicle Ownership and Urban Happiness in China. International Journal of Community Well-Being. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42413-023-00193-x

  • Li, Z. (2022). A review of research on the dilemma of motherhood in contemporary China. In: Proceedings of the 2022 6th International seminar on education, management and social sciences. Atlantis Press, 1503–1509. https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-494069-31-2_177

  • Li, Q., & An, L. (2020). Corruption Takes Away Happiness: Evidence from a Cross-National Study. Journal of Happiness Studies, 21, 485–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, W., Vatsa, P., Zheng, H., et al. (2023). Does Adoption of Information and Communication Technology Reduce Objective and Subjective Well-Being Inequality? Evidence from China. Soc Indic Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-023-03154-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ma, W., Vatsa, P., and Zheng, H. (2022) Cooking fuel choices and subjective well-being in rural China: implications for a complete energy transition. Energy Policy, Elsevier, 165, 112992

  • Margolis, R., & Myrskylä M,. (2015). Parental well-being surrounding first birth as a determinant of further parity progression. Demography, 52(4), 1147–1166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, S. K., Kushlev, K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2014). The pains and pleasures of parenting: When, why, and how is parenthood associated with more or less well-being? Psychological Bulletin, 140(3), 846–895.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neubauer, D., & Fradella, H. (2018). America’s courts and the criminal justice system (13th ed.). Cengage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ng, Y. K. (2022). Happiness or Life Satisfaction?. In: Happiness—Concept, Measurement and Promotion. Singapore: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nikolaev, B., & Rusakov, P. (2016). Education and happiness: an alternative hypothesis. Applied Economic Letters, 23, 827–830.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nomaguchi, K., & Milkie, M. A. (2020). Parenthood and Well-Being: A Decade in Review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 82(1), 198–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Novoa, C., Bustos, C., Bühring, V., Oliva, K., Páez, D., Vergara-Barra, P., & Cova, F. (2021). Subjective Well-Being and Parenthood in Chile. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(14), 7408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogawa, N., & Ermisch, J. F. (1994). Women’s career development and divorce risk in Japan. Labour, 8, 193–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okulicz-Kozaryn, A., & Valente, R. R. (2018). Life satisfaction of career women and housewives. Applied Research Quality Life, 13(3), 603–632.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Orden, S. R., & Bradburn, N. M. (1969). Working Wives and Marriage Happiness. American Journal of Sociology, 74(4), 392–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pearlin LI (1989). The sociological study of stress. Journal of health and social behavior, 30(3):241–256.

  • Philipson, I. (2020). Modern Motherhood and Women’s Dual Identities. Psychoanalysis, Culture & Society, 25(1), 128–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879–891.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qian, Y., & Qian, Z. (2015). Work, family, and gendered happiness among married people in urban China. Social Indicator Research, 121, 61–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radó, M. (2020). Tracking effects of parenthood on subjective well-being: Evidence from Hungary. Journal of Happiness Studies, 21, 2069–2094.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shields, M. and M. Wooden (2003) Marriage, children and subjective well-being. Paper presented at the eighth Australian institute of family studies conference – “Step forward for families: research, practice and policy”. Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

  • Vanassche, S., Swicegood, G., & Matthijs, K. (2013). Marriage and children as a key to happiness? Cross-national differences in the effects of marital status and children on well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14, 501–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu, X. and S. Liu (2021) Female labor force status and couple’s marital satisfaction: a Chinese analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 691460. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.691460

  • Zheng, H., & Ma, W. (2022). Scan the QR Code of Happiness: Can Mobile Payment Adoption Make People Happier? Applied Research in Quality of Life, 17(4), 2299–2310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The author has no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI, USA

    Yan Li

Authors
  1. Yan Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yan Li.

Ethics declarations

Competing Interests

The author has no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

This research is not involving human participants and/or animals.

The author is responsible for correctness of the statements provided in the manuscript.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, Y. Motherhood Dilemma and Gendered Well-being among Chinese Couples. Applied Research Quality Life 18, 3169–3198 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-023-10226-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-023-10226-4

Keywords

JEL Classification

Search

Navigation