Facebook
TwitterAttribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
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.
Facebook
TwitterAttribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
Length for children aged 0–36 months and height for children 3–18 years. SD, Standard deviation.*Exact ages not age groups.
Facebook
TwitterObjectivesTo analyze sex differences in the prevalence of obesity phenotypes and their risk factors among children and adolescents aged 7-18 years in China.MethodsWe enrolled 15,114 children and adolescents aged 7-18 years into the final analysis. Obesity phenotypes were classified by body mass index (BMI) and metabolic status as metabolically healthy or unhealthy obesity. In addition, we collected four possible influencing factors on obesity phenotypes through questionnaires, including demographic, parental, early life, and lifestyle indicators. Multinomial logistic regression analysis in a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) was selected to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for identifying risk factors and control the cluster effects of schools. More importantly, the interaction terms of sex and each indicator were established to demonstrate the sex differences.ResultsThe prevalence of metabolically healthy obesity (MHO), metabolically unhealthy obesity (MUO), metabolically healthy overweight and obesity (MHOO), and metabolically unhealthy overweight and obesity (MUOO) were 3.5%, 5.6%, 11.1%, and 13.0% respectively, with higher prevalence in boys (5.3% vs. 1.6%, 7.9% vs. 3.1%, 14.3% vs. 7.7%, 15.6% vs. 10.1%). In addition, younger ages, single children, parental smoking, parental history of diseases (overweight, hypertension, diabetes), caesarean, premature, and delayed delivery time, high birth weight, insufficient sleep time, and excessive screen time were considered as important risk factors of MHO and MUO among children and adolescents (p < 0.05). More notably, boys were at higher risks of MUO when they were single children (boys: OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.24-1.96; girls: OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.82-1.54), while girls were more sensitive to MUO with parental smoking (girls: OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.02-1.76; boys: OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 0.97-1.39), premature delivery (girls: OR = 3.11, 95% CI: 1.59-6.07; boys: OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.67-2.22), high birth weight (girls: OR = 2.45, 95% CI: 1.63-3.69; boys: OR = 1.28, 95% CI: 0.96-1.70), and excessive screen time (girls: OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.06-2.04; boys: OR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.79-1.20), with significant interaction term for sex difference (pinteraction < 0.05).ConclusionsMHO and MUO are becoming prevalent among Chinese children and adolescents. Significant sex differences in the prevalence of obesity phenotypes as well as their environmental and genetic risk factors suggest it might be necessary to manage obesity phenotypes problems from a sex perspective.
Facebook
TwitterBased 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.
Facebook
TwitterBackgroundNo systematic review of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) in China has been performed. We aimed to estimate the uptake of PMTCT programs services in China.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and Wanfang (Chinese) to identify research studies. Only descriptive epidemiological studies were eligible for this study.ResultsA total of 57 eligible cross-section studies were finally included. We estimated that the mean HIV-positive rate of exposed infants was 4.4% (95% CI = 3.2–5.5), and more than 33% of exposed infants had not undergone HIV diagnostic testing. The percentage of initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) in HIV-positive women was 71.0% (95% CI = 66.3–75.8), and that for initiating antiretroviral prophylaxis (ARP) in exposed infants was 78.3% (95% CI = 74.9–81.8); also, 31.3% (95% CI = 15.5–47.0) of women with HIV and < 1% of exposed infants received the combination of three antiretroviral drugs. There were bigger gap of uptake of PMTCT programs between income levels, and cities with a low income level had a higher percentage of initiating ART in HIV-positive women (80%) and ARP in exposed infants (85%) compared to cities with high-middle income (57% and 65%, respectively) (P<0.05).ConclusionsThis paper highlights the need to further scale up PMTCT services in China, especially in regions with the lowest coverage, so that more women can access and utilize them. However, some estimated outcome should be interpreted with caution due to the high level of heterogeneity and the small number of studies.
Facebook
TwitterAttribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
Comprehensive dataset containing 32 verified Bear House Pregnant Woman & Baby & Child Fashion Life Hall locations in China with complete contact information, ratings, reviews, and location data.
Facebook
TwitterAttribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
SD, Standard deviation.*Exact ages not age groups.
Facebook
TwitterBackground: Childhood blood pressure is a marker for cardiovascular disease risk later in life. Few studies examined the association between physical activity (PA) and hypertension in Chinese children, and this study aimed to explore this relationship.Methods: A cross-sectional study among pupils was conducted in Chongqing in 2014. In total, 15,203 children aged 6–12 years in Chongqing were included in this study. The duration of self-reported PA on school days and the weekend in pupils were collected with a standardized questionnaire.Results: The results showed that, on school days, only 22.3% of boys and 17.8% of girls engaged in more than 60 min of PA per day; while on the weekend, only 38.5% of boys and 32.0% of girls engaged in at least 60 min of PA per day. There was no strong evidence for an association between PA and systolic or diastolic hypertension in boys. However, in girls, a weak negative association between PA on weekdays and hypertension was observed, and there was a significant interactive effect of PA and obesity on hypertension risk (Pfor interaction = 0.042). In obese children, PA was positively related to the risk of hypertension.Conclusion: The overall level of PA among pupils in Chongqing was insufficient, and a weak negative relationship between PA and hypertension was found in girls.
Facebook
TwitterIntroduction: To develop sex- and age-specific percentile curves for seven physical fitness components for Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 7–18 years based on the total and the normal weight population using a nationally representative sample.Methods: A total of 214,228 Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 7–18 years old with all nutritional status and 161,999 with normal weight were examined. Seven physical fitness components [forced vital capacity (FVC), standing long jump (SLJ), 50-m dash, sit-and-reach (SR), grip strength (GS), body muscle strength (BMS), and endurance running (ER)] were measured, and percentile curves for each physical fitness component at the 20th, 40th, 60th, and 80th percentiles were calculated using the general additive model for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS).Results: Physical fitness presents different characteristics in each subgroup of sex, age, and nutritional status among children and adolescents. Sex- and age-specific percentiles for the seven physical fitness components among the Chinese Han children and adolescents aged 7–18 years based on the total and the normal weight population were provided as curves. Boys performed better than girls in FVC, SLJ, 50-m dash, GS, and ER but worse in SR. The performances of FVC, SLJ, 50-m dash, GS, BMS, and ER increased with age, but the estimates of SR were at the bottom among boys aged 12 years and girls aged 11 years. The annual increments of all components were larger in boys than girls at the peak time, which was earlier in girls than boys. The gap of physical fitness components between sexes increased with age, especially during puberty (since after 11 years old).Conclusion: The present study described the percentile curves of seven physical fitness components among the Chinese Han children and adolescents based on the total and the normal weight population at the national level, which could help to chart the level of physical fitness across age span and identify the extreme populations with either health concerns or potential talents.
Facebook
TwitterBackgroundChange in obesity risk could be related to shift in high blood pressure (HBP) risk, while individualized influence of weight change on high blood pressure is in need of exploration.MethodsA total of 16,446 children (53.47% boys) and 13,9021 effective annual measurements from 2006 to 2020 were recruited. Children's weight status, both at baseline and endpoint, was categorized as underweight, normal, overweight, and obese according to the age and sex-specific Body Mass Index z scores. HBP at late adolescence was defined with the last two measurements for each child. Populational attributable risk (PAR) of weight trait on HBP risk was calculated.ResultsCompared to children who maintained normal weight during follow-up, staying obese was associated with the highest HBP risk with OR of 6.39 (95% CI: 4.46, 9.15; p < 0.001) and PAR of 28.71% (95% CI: 21.58, 35.54) in boys, and OR of 6.12 (95% CI: 2.80, 13.37; p < 0.001) and PAR of 12.75% (95% CI: 4.29, 21.02) in girls. Returning from obese to normal weight was associated with lowered HBP risk, with ORs of 1.07 (95% CI: 0.69, 1.66; p = 0.771) in boys and 0.73 (95% CI: 0.25, 2.12; p = 0.566) in girls.ConclusionWeight loss program could be effective to reduce HBP risk during school age, while the underlying mechanism needs further exploration.
Facebook
TwitterAttribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
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.
Facebook
TwitterAttribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
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.
Facebook
TwitterTo provide a reference for the realization of children’s equal inheritance, this study examined the influence of child structure and means of eldercare on equitable family property distribution willingness. Using data from surveys of Chinese women’s social status, this study analyzes the impacts of child structure and means of eldercare on family property distribution, with the children’s surname choice and women’s status as moderating factors. The results indicate that a child structure in which the family consists of more girls than boys, a higher number of children, and the choice of family support for eldercare significantly inhibit the equal distribution of family assets. However, the weakening of traditional views significantly promotes the equal distribution of household assets. These findings remain robust after endogenous and robustness tests. Moreover, the study finds that the impact of the structure of children and eldercare methods varied across different age groups, household registration attributes, and genders. Research on the willingness to distribute household wealth aids in understanding the effects and differences brought about by the structure of children and eldercare methods under current traditional cultural contexts, thereby promoting a more equitable distribution of household wealth.
Facebook
TwitterPurposeThis study aimed to determine the prevalence of myopia among school-aged children and adolescents at the whole city level of Weifang, China.MethodsThis study was a large scale school-based cross-sectional study among children and adolescents aged 5–20 years old. Participants were selected by the school-based registration system in 2020. All the subjects underwent spherical equivalent (SE) error with non-cycloplegic autorefraction measurement. Myopia was defined as an SE refraction of ≤-0.75 diopters (D) and graded into low myopia (−0.75 to −3.00 D), moderate myopia (−3.01 to −5.99 D), and high myopia (≤-6.00 D).ResultsA total of 1,059,838 participants were eligible for this survey and 1,013,206 (95.6% participation rate) were selected through data quality control, which comprised 17 districts/counties and 1,254 schools, including 861 elementary schools, 313 middle schools, and 80 high schools. The mean age of participants was 11.57 ± 3.36 years (5–20 years), and the male-to-female ratio was 1.11. The whole city-level prevalence of total myopia was 75.35%. The prevalence of total myopia among the students in the Hanting District was 45.47%, but ≈82.37% of students living in Changyi have myopia. The overall prevalence of low myopia in elementary, middle, and high school students was 48.56, 47.30, and 31.62%, respectively, while high myopia (SE ≤ −6.00 D) prevalence was 1.12, 8.89, and 20.12%, respectively. The overall prevalence of myopia increased fastest in children aged 7–9 years old. The prevalence of high myopia was 7.59% for girls and 6.43% for boys, respectively (p < 0.001). The prevalence of myopia increased with increasing age and grade, but SE decreased with increasing age and grade.ConclusionsThe current investigation demonstrated a high proportion of myopia among school students in the city of Weifang, and gradually increased with age, and the prevalence of myopia was the highest in Changyi areas. The high myopia prevalence for girls was higher than that in boys.
Facebook
TwitterAttribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
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.
Facebook
TwitterAttribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
ObjectiveAn ongoing debate surrounds the relationship between body composition and pubertal timing, in particular for boys. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the association of body composition with pubertal timing among children and adolescents.MethodsA total of 1,493 boys and 1,261 girls who entered puberty were enrolled in Guangzhou, China. Tanner stages were evaluated by examination of breast development for girls and testicular volume for boys. Fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) were determined by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Parameters for body composition were transformed into age-and gender-specific Z-scores. The association of body composition with pubertal timing was examined using multinomial logistic regression with inverse probability weighting (IPW) based on the propensity score.ResultsFor boys, IPW analysis showed Z-scores of body fat percentage (BF%) and FM index (FMI) were negatively associated with early puberty (OR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.64–0.87; OR = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.63–0.88). As for girls, in contrast to boys, positive associations were seen between BF% and FMI with early puberty (OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.19–1.64; OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.33–1.90). With respect to appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI), there was a positive association with early puberty and a negative one with late puberty in boys (OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 1.07–1.49; OR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.69–0.99).ConclusionThere is a positive association of FM with early puberty for girls while negative for boys. FFM yields a positive association with early puberty and a negative one with late puberty in boys, but not in girls. Our findings highlight the gender differences in the connection between body composition and pubertal onset.
Facebook
TwitterAttribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
This study explored the association between out-of-school physical activity (PA) and mathematical achievement in relation to mathematical anxiety (MA), as well as the influence of parents’ support for their children’s physical activity on this association, to examine whether parental support for physical activity affects mental health and academic performance. Data were collected from the responses of 22,509 (52.9% boys) children in Grade 4 from six provinces across eastern, central, and western China who completed the mathematics component and the physical education and health component of the national-level education quality assessment. A moderated moderated-mediation model was tested using PROCESS v3.4 and SPSS v19.0, with socioeconomic status, school location, and body mass index as controlled variables. Out-of-school physical activity had a positive effect on children’s mathematical achievement, and math anxiety partially mediated this association. The indices of conditional moderated mediation through the parental support of both girls and boys were, respectively, significant, indicating that children can benefit from physical activity, and that increased perceived parental support for physical activity can alleviate their children’s math anxiety and improve their mathematics, regardless of gender. However, gender differences were observed in the influence of parental support for physical activity on anxiety: Although girls’ math anxiety levels were significantly higher, the anxiety levels of girls with high parental support were significantly lower than those of boys with low parental support.
Facebook
TwitterAttribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
IntroductionChildhood sexual abuse (CSA) is a hidden but serious public health issue that can lead to a series of behavioral consequences and health problems in adulthood. It has been well documented that transgender women (TGW) have a high prevalence of CSA victimization. Moreover, risky sexual behaviors are also widespread among TGW; nevertheless, research investigating the associations between CSA victimization and risky sexual behaviors in TGW represents a gap in the literature.MethodsOur research was carried out mainly in Shenyang of China from November 2018 to January 2019. Sociodemographic characteristics, as well as information on participants’ HIV awareness and sexual behaviors, were collected through face-to-face interviews. The impact of CSA was examined through hierarchical logistic regression, adjusted for sociodemographic factors and HIV awareness.ResultsIn the sample of 247 adult TGW, 14.2% of them had a CSA history. In the previous 6 months, 30.8% of the participants reported condomless anal intercourse (CAI) and 38.5% of them had multiple sexual partners (MSP). The findings demonstrated that TGW with CSA history were more likely to take part in CAI (p = 0.001, OR = 4.252) or have MSP (p = 0.004, OR = 3.260) in adulthood. Furthermore, HIV knowledge was not a predictor of CAI or MSP, but higher HIV risk perception was associated with a greater probability of CAI.ConclusionTransgender women with a history of CSA were more prone to engage in CAI and have MSP in China.
Facebook
TwitterAttribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
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.
Facebook
TwitterAttribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
BackgroundGiven the prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity among Chinese adolescents, assessing the role of parents in this situation is important. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to evaluate the association between parental health literacy levels and adolescents' physical activity and obesity in China.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, a sample of 4,717 Chinese high school students and their parents participated. Parental health literacy was measured using the Chinese version of the Health Literacy Survey 2019-12-item questionnaire (HLS19-Q12), and adolescents' physical activity was assessed using the short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Body mass index (BMI) was calculated using standardized measurements of weight and height (kg/m2). Statistical analyses, including independent t-test and multiple linear regression (to examine predictors of adolescent physical activity and BMI) were performed using SPSS 26.0 software. The significance level was set at p < 0.05.ResultsA total of 31.95% of adolescents were overweight or obese, and 48.15% had low physical activity, which was significantly lower in girls than in boys (p = 0.01, Cohen's d = 0.212). Only 21.39% of parents had excellent health literacy. Higher maternal health literacy was significantly associated with increased physical activity in boys, whereas both maternal and paternal health literacy were associated with higher physical activity in girls, with maternal health literacy showing a stronger association than paternal health literacy (p < 0.001). Furthermore, low physical activity was the only factor significantly associated with higher BMI among students (p < 0.001).ConclusionThe findings highlight the importance of addressing the health literacy of parents, especially mothers, in promoting adolescent physical activity and preventing obesity. Health promotion programs and educational policies should consider family-based approaches to effectively address gender-specific needs and improve adolescent health outcomes.
Facebook
TwitterAttribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
License information was derived automatically
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.