The dataset is a file of the raw interview scripts with my interviewees during the fieldwork conducted between 2021.6 to 2022.2.

This thesis investigates how urban middle-class working women with two children make sense of work, childcare, and self under the universal two-child policy of China. This thesis also explores how the idea of individual and family interact in these women's construction of a sense of self. On January 1st, 2016, the one-child policy was replaced by the universal two-child policy, under which all married couples in China are allowed to have two children. In the scholarships of motherhood, it is widely documented across cultures that it is a site of patriarchal oppression where women are expected to meet the unrealistic ideal of intensive mothering to be a good mother, suffer from the motherhood wage penalty and face more work-family conflict than fathers. Emprical studies of China also came to similar conclusions and such findings are not only widely regonized in scholarship but is also widespread in popular discourse in China. Despite that marriage and having children is still universal for the generation of the research target, women born in the 1970s and 1980s, due to compounding influence fo the one-child policy, increasing financial burden of raising a child etcs, having only one child has become widely acceptable and normal. Given this context, this study intend to investigate how these middle-class women, who are relatively empowered and resourceful, come to a decision that is seemingly against their own interest. Moreover, unlike in the west where the issue of childbearing and childcaring is mainly an issue of the conjugal couple and the gender realtions is at the center of the discussion, in China, extended family, especially grandparents also play a role in both the decision making process and the subsequent childcare arrangement. Therefore, to study the second-time mothers’ childcare and work experiences in contemporary urban China, we also need to situate them, as individuals, in their family. To investigate how they make sense of childcare and work is also to understand the tension between individual and family. By interviewing twenty-one parents from middle-class family in Guangzhou with a second child under six years old, this study finds that these urban working women with two children consider themselves as an individual unit and full-time paid employment is something that cannot be given up since it is the means of securing that independent self . However, they did not prioritize their personal interest to that of other family members, especially the elder child and thus the decision of having a second child is mainly for the sake of the elder child. Moreover, grandparents played an essential role to provide a childcare safety net, without which, these urban working women would not be able to work full-time and maintain the independent self as they defined it. The portrayal of these women’s experiences reflected the individualization process in China where people are indivdualized without individualism, and family are evoked as strategy to achieve personal as well as family goals. The findings of this study contributs to theories of motherhood by adding an intergenerational perspective to the existing gender perspective and also contributes to the studies of family by understanding the relation and interaction between individual and family in thse women’s construction of sense of self in the context of contemporary China.

Based on the data from six Chinese National Surveys on Students Constitution and Health (CNSSCH) from 1985 to 2010, we explored the secular trend in the prevalence of obesity in urban Chinese children over a period of 25 years. The aim of this study was to examine the gender disparities in the prevalence of childhood obesity over time. The standardized prevalence of obesity in Chinese children increased rapidly during the past 25 years from 0.2% in 1985 to 8.1% in 2010. The increasing trend was significant in all age subgroups (p<0.01). Although the prevalence of obesity continuously increased in both boys and girls, the changing pace in boys was faster than that in girls. Age-specific prevalence odds ratios (PORs) of boys versus girls for obesity increased over time during the 25 year period. The prevalence of obesity in boys was significantly higher than in girls in all age-specific subgroups from 1991 and after. The gradually expanding gender disparity suggests the prevalence of obesity in boys contribute to a large and growing proportion of obese children. Therefore, it is critical for developing and implementing gender-specific preventive guidelines and public health policies in China.

SD, Standard deviation.*Exact ages not age groups.

This web map shows the location of boys' or girls' home for children and young persons from 7 to under 21 years of age with behavioural or emotional problems in Hong Kong. It is a set of data made available by the Social Welfare Department under the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the "Government") at https://portal.csdi.gov.hk ("CSDI Portal"). The source data has been processed and converted into Esri File Geodatabase format and uploaded to Esri's ArcGIS Online platform for sharing and reference purpose. The objectives are to facilitate our Hong Kong ArcGIS Online users to use the data in a spatial ready format and save their data conversion effort.For details about the data, source format and terms of conditions of usage, please refer to the website of Hong Kong CSDI Portal at https://portal.csdi.gov.hk.

ObjectiveResearch to date has not provided a clear understanding of how different grades and majors affect the physical fitness of college students. It is postulated that there are significant disparities in physical health among college students of different grades and majors. The purpose of this study was to evidence these health disparities and to engage in an extensive analysis and discussion thereof.MethodsA sample of 8,772 (2,404 boys and 6,368 girls) Chinese college students from freshman to junior years, aged 17–22, including 12 different majors in four colleges, were recruited in Jiangxi Province. All seven physical fitness indicators (body mass index (BMI), forced vital capacity, 50-m dash, standing long jump, sit and reach, upper body muscle strength, and endurance runs) were conducted for all participants. One-way ANOVA and LSD tests were conducted to compare the physical fitness scores of different grades in the same major. Independent sample t-tests were utilized to compare the differences in every physical fitness indicator for different majors. Pearson’s correlations among 12 majors for every grade were conducted to study the significant corrections between the two physical fitness indicators. The body mass index (BMI) and physical fitness indicator (PFI) for college students of different grade were investigated using a nonlinear regression model.ResultsThe current state of physical fitness among college students is concerning, as the majority of students were barely passing (with a passing rate of 75.3%). Specifically, junior students exhibited lower scores than freshman and sophomore students across all 12 majors. From freshman to junior year, majors of music (78.01±4.58), English (79.29±5.03), and education (76.26±4.81) had the highest scores, respectively, but major art consistently scored the lowest, which were 73.85±6.02, 74.97±5.53, and 72.59±4.84, respectively. Pairwise comparisons revealed more significant differences in individual physical fitness indicators among the three grades in humanities than in sciences. Pearson’s correlations showed significant correlations among seven physical fitness indicators in all three grades. PFI had a parabolic trend with BMI both for boy and girl college students in Jiangxi province.ConclusionThe physical fitness indicators of college students in Jiangxi province significantly differed in grades and majors, showing undesirable phenomena. The physical fitness of senior and humanities major college students was much weaker and needs sufficient attention. The relationship between BMI and PFI presented an inverted “U”-shaped change characteristic. Continued nationwide interventions are needed to promote physical activity and other healthy lifestyle behaviors in China.

ObjectivesWeight perceptions have been implicated in weight control related behaviors among children and adolescents, yet studies in mainland China are scarce. We examined the associations of self-perceived weight status and weight misperception with weight control related behaviors in Chinese middle and high school students.MethodsWe used cross-sectional data from the 2017 Zhejiang Youth Risk Behavior Survey which that included 17,359 Chinese students, with 8,616 boys and 8,743 girls. Perceived weight status, as well as height, weight and weight control related behaviors information was collected via a self-reported questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) calculated by multinomial logistic regression were used to assess the relationships between weight perceptions and weight control related behaviors.ResultsAmong the 17,359 students aged 9 to 18 years, the mean (SD) age was 15.72 (1.64) years. Overall, 34.19% of children and adolescents perceived themselves as overweight and the prevalence of weight misperception was 45.44%, with 35.54% overestimation and 9.90% underestimation. Children and adolescents perceiving themselves as overweight were more likely to have weight control behaviors, with OR was 2.60 (95% CI: 2.39–2.83) for weight control attempt, 2.48 (2.28–2.70) for exercising, 2.85 (2.60–3.11) for dieting, 2.01 (1.51–2.68) for taking laxatives, 2.09 (1.67–2.02) for taking diet pills, and 2.39 (1.94–2.94) for fasting, respectively, compared to those with right weight status. Among children and adolescents with overestimating weight status, the OR was 2.40 (2.22–2.59), 2.50 (2.31–2.70), 2.85 (2.61–3.11), 1.81 (1.39–2.37), 2.20 (1.77–2.74), and 2.16 (1.77–2.63) for weight control attempt, exercising, dieting, taking laxatives, taking diet pills, and fasting, relative to those with accurate weight perception.ConclusionsSelf-perceived overweight and weight misperception are prevalent in Chinese children and adolescents, and positively associated with weight control related behaviors.

Based on a quantitative analysis of a novel dataset comprising 10,093 publicly available judgments of adjudicated child custody disputes from the China Judgments Online website, this article identifies potential gender bias in Chinese family courts under certain conditions. Key findings include: 1. Mothers are generally more proactive in seeking custody and are awarded custody in the majority of cases compared to fathers. 2. Specifically, mothers have a significant advantage in cases involving daughters, while their advantage in cases involving sons is less pronounced. 3. In rural courts, the results are notably different: mothers are disadvantaged overall, fathers are particularly assertive in seeking custody of sons compared to daughters, and mothers are less likely than fathers to be awarded custody of sons. Building on existing literature, this study highlights potential judicial biases rooted in societal gender norms prevalent in rural areas. This raises questions about whether courts have achieved substantive gender equality and whether the legal principle of ’the best interests of the child’ is consistently upheld in every court decision. This study enhances the understanding of gender bias within China’s family court system by providing valuable insights for those interested in addressing gender inequality. It not only highlights specific challenges women face in custody cases but also calls for broader societal and policy changes to support women and combat gender discrimination in all its forms.

Chinese children are facing dual burden of malnutrition—coexistence of under-and over-nutrition. Little systematic evidence exists for explaining the simultaneous presence of under-and over-nutrition. This study aims to explore underlying mechanisms of under-and over-nutrition among children in rural China. This study used a nationwide longitudinal dataset of children (N = 5,017) from 9 provinces across China, with four exclusively categories of nutritional outcomes including under-nutrition (stunting and underweight), over-nutrition (overweight only including obesity), paradox (stunted overweight), with normal nutrition as reference. Multinomial logit models (Level-1: occasions; Level-2: children; Level-3: villages) were fitted which corrected for non-independence of observations due to geographic clustering and repeated observations of individuals. A mixture of risk factors at the individual, household and neighbourhood levels predicted under-and over-nutrition among children in rural China. Improved socioeconomic status and living in more urbanised villages reduced the risk of stunted overweight among rural children in China. Young girls appeared to have higher risk of under-nutrition, and the risk decreased with age more markedly than for boys up to age 5. From age 5 onwards, boys tended to have higher risk of under-nutrition than girls. Girls aged around 12 and older were less likely to suffer from under-nutrition, while boys’ higher risk of under-nutrition persisted throughout adolescence. Children were less likely to suffer from over-nutrition compared to normal nutrition. Boys tended to have an even lower risk of over-nutrition than girls and the gender difference widened with age until adolescence. Our results have important policy implications that improving household economic status, in particular, maternal education and health insurance for children, and living environment are important to enhance rural children’s nutritional status in China. Investments in early years of childhood can be effective to reduce gender inequality in nutritional health in rural China.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the geographic disparity in anemia and whether stunting was associated with anemia in different geographic groups among school-aged children in China.Methods: 71,129 Han children aged 7, 9, 12, and 14 years old were extracted from the 2014 cycle of Chinese National Surveys on Children Constitution and Health. Anemia, anemia severity, and stunting were defined according to WHO definitions. Binary logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between anemia and stunting in different geographic groups.Results: The prevalence of anemia was significantly higher in girls (10.8%) than boys (7.0%). The highest anemia prevalence was in Group VII (lower class/rural, 12.0%). A moderate/severe prevalence of anemia was concentrated in Group VII and Group VIII (western/lower class/rural) for both sexes. The prevalence of anemia was higher in stunting boys than non-stunting boys in Group IV (lower class/city, χ2 = 12.78, P = 0.002) and Group VII (χ2 = 6.21, P = 0.018), while for girls, it was higher in stunting girls than their non-stunting peers only in Group II (upper class/large city, χ2 = 4.57, P = 0.046). Logistic regression showed that the stunting children have 30% higher risk of anemia than non-stunting children after adjustment for age, sex and school (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.05–1.60).Conclusion: A significant geographic disparity and an association between anemia and stunting among specific groups of school-aged children in China was demonstrated. Consequently, eliminating the geographic disparity and ameliorating stunting might contribute to the improvement of Chinese children's anemia. Specific guidelines and interventions are needed, especially for adolescent girls and the groups with serious anemia burden.

Care typess is considered the cornerstone of orphan’s happiness and health. In 2022, China had more than 190,000 orphans in different types of care. The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between care types and development of orphans in China. We conducted an empirical study using cross-sectional survey data related to orphans from LZ City, Sichuan Province, China, in 2020. The data sample consists of 320 valid samples of orphans and their families, including 166 boys and 154 girls. The study conducted multiple linear regression model to analyze the relationship between care types and other family variables and the development of orphans. The results indicate that compared with other care types, grandparent care has a significant positive impact on the overall development and psychological status of orphans, with this impact being moderated by the social participation of guardians. The higher the social participation of guardians, the greater the positive impact of grandparent care on the development of orphans. Further analysis, grouped by sex and age, revealed that the effects of care types on orphan development are influenced by the gender and age of orphans. Specifically, girls and younger orphans tend to exhibit better development in a grandparent care family. The research results of this study provide an empirical basis for the government to formulate policies, and for the government, society and family to jointly ensure the better development of orphans.

The transition from one-child to two-child and three-child policy in China has increasingly led to a rise in the number of women who choose trial of labor after cesarean section (TOLAC). Achieving vaginal birth after cesarean section (VBAC) is, however, not always guaranteed, and a failed TOLAC is associated with a high risk of maternal and neonatal complications. Although Grobman’s model may help predict VBAC, variations in population characteristics and healthcare settings can limit its generalizability and validity on a global scale. This study, therefore, seeks to develop and validate an improved prediction model for VBAC at the onset of labor among the Chinese population. Seven hundred and twenty women who attempted a TOLAC were enrolled. The development dataset comprised 481 women, while the other 239 women constituted the temporal validation dataset. Variable selection was executed using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method. Model development was performed using logistic regression techniques and was presented as a nomogram. Of the participants, 81.4% achieved VBAC. The model included maternal age, maternal height, ratio of weight gain to pre-pregnancy weight, interval time of pregnancies, previous vaginal delivery, premature rupture of membranes, oxytocin administration, spontaneous labor onset, labor analgesia, and newborn weight. The development and temporally validated areas under the curve were 0.780 (95% confidence interval 0.726–0.834) and 0.774 (95% confidence interval 0.694–0.854), respectively. Internal validation performed by bootstrap resampling, calibration curves, and Hosmer-Lemeshow test confirmed the model’s robust performance. An optimal predicted probability cut-off of 0.7 was identified by decision curve analysis and clinical considerations. The improved predictive VBAC model exhibited adequate performance such that women with a prior low transverse cesarean delivery who scored 0.7 or higher (in the model-derived probability score) would consider TOLAC, potentially leading to a reduction in maternal-neonatal morbidity. The study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University (2018-43) and was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1900022484), https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=37898. The study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki. The first participant was enrolled on January 1, 2016. The requirement for informed consent was waived because the data were anonymized. An improved prediction model that underwent both internal and temporal validation performed well for the Chinese VBAC in the adjustment of China’s fertility policy setting.Pregnancy interval of more than 10 years became an unfavorable factor for VBAC.Predictors of the ratio of weight gain to pre-pregnancy weight marked a pivotal advancement in acknowledging the impact of pre-pregnancy obesity and judicious gestational weight management on the likelihood of achieving a VBAC. An improved prediction model that underwent both internal and temporal validation performed well for the Chinese VBAC in the adjustment of China’s fertility policy setting. Pregnancy interval of more than 10 years became an unfavorable factor for VBAC. Predictors of the ratio of weight gain to pre-pregnancy weight marked a pivotal advancement in acknowledging the impact of pre-pregnancy obesity and judicious gestational weight management on the likelihood of achieving a VBAC.

So far, many studies on educational games have been carried out in America and Europe. Very few related empirical studies, however, have been conducted in China. This study, combining both quantitative with qualitative research methods, possibly compensated for this regret. The study compared data collected from two randomly selected classes (out of 13 classes) under computer game-based instruction (CGBI) and non-computer game-based instruction (NCGBI), respectively, in a senior high school located in Nanjing, Capital of Jiangsu Province, in China. The participants were 103 students, composed of 52 boys and 51 girls (aged 17-18 years old). The following conclusion was reached: (1) participants under CGBI obtained significantly greater learning achievement than those under NCGBI; (2) participants were significantly more motivated by CGBI compared with NCGBI; (3) there were no significant differences in learning achievement between boys and girls; although (4) boys were significantly more motivated by CGBI than girls. Both disadvantages and advantages were discussed, together with directions for future research.

ObjectiveWhile growing psychological health issues among pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic have been clearly validated, most research was conducted in countries with relatively lax quarantine measures. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of prenatal depression among pre-, peak-, and post-COVID-19 in Beijing, the region with a stringent response policy in China. We also explore predictors of prenatal depression throughout the outbreak.MethodsWe investigated prenatal depression among 742 pregnant women who received antenatal checkups in Beijing from March 28, 2019 to May 07, 2021 using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and associative demographic, pregnancy-related, and psychosocial characteristics were measured. The phase was divided into pre-, peak-, and post-COVID-19 in light of the trajectory of COVID-19. Pearson’s Chi-square test was used after the examination of confounders homogeneity. The bivariable and multivariable logistic regression was conducted to explore predictors.ResultsThe pooled prevalence of prenatal depression was 11.9% throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Rates at different phases were 10.6%, 15.2%, and 11.1% respectively and no significant difference was observed. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that history of mental illness, number of boy-preference from both pregnant women and husband’s family, social support, occupation, and living space were independent predictors of prenatal depression in Beijing.ConclusionOur data suggested that the impact of this pandemic on prenatal depression in Beijing appears to be not significant, which will strengthen confidence in adhering to current policy for decision-makers and provide important guidance for the development of major outbreak control and management policies in the future. Our findings may also provide a more efficient measure to identify high-risk pregnant women for professionals and help raise gender equity awareness of pregnant women and their husbands’ families. Future studies should focus on the value of targeted care and family relations on the mental health of pregnant women.