China’s migrant population and health Abstract Population flow brings vitality to China’s economy and society, while at the same time it also impacts traditional social structures and culture. In recent years, with the gradual disappearance of the “demographic dividend” and the advancement of economic structural transformation and upgrading, there have been changes to China’s population flow that are worth of noting. In particular, the changing health status of China’s migrant population has attracted the attention of scholars. Because non-migrant and migrant populations have significant behavioral and lifestyle differences, and because living environments and the provision and utilization of medical and health care services differ, the health status of the two populations are different. Young migrants are more prone to mental health problems than young non-migrants, while migrant women of childbearing age are likely have reproductive health problems than local women. The health status of young and middle-aged migrants will deteriorate with the extension of their flowing time. For elderly migrants, social support has a positive effect on health status. At present, China’s migrant population is threatened by infectious diseases, chronic non-infectious diseases and mental illnesses, while the supply of basic public health services is insufficient. Therefore, health work for migrant populations should occur against the backdrop of the “Comprehensive Health”, with this being used as a guideline. At the same time, health planning should make use of social integration and health promotion, equalization of basic public health care services, “Internet +”, and other schemes to improve the health status of the migrant population.

Gender-based violence and hegemonic masculinity in China: an analysis based on the quantitative research Abstract Based on a survey implemented in a county in central China, the researchers found it is common for women to experience gender-based violence, especially violence at the hands of intimate partners. About half of men surveyed reported inflicting physical or sexual violence on their female partners. One in five men reported having raped a partner or non-partner woman. The physical, mental and reproductive health of the female and male respondents were found to be significantly associated with women’s victimization and men’s perpetration of intimate partner violence. Gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence, is a construction of the social-ecological system. Four elements that are key to hegemonic masculinity are identified: male decision-making, male reputation, violence and heterosexuality. By positing the four elements as standards that define a “real man”, the domination of men over women is naturalized and legitimized. It is necessary to foster other non-violent and more equitable masculinities.

The effects of parental relationships, and gender and grade differences on depressive disorder in Chinese adolescents: the evidence from multiple cross-sectional surveys (1999–2016) Abstract This study aims to investigate the impacts of parental relationships, gender, and grade differences on depressive disorder among Chinese adolescents over a time period of nearly 20 years. The first survey took place in 1999 and involved 852 students; subsequent follow-up surveys took place in 2006, 2009 and 2016, with 3345 students involved in total. Depressive disorder was measured by SCL-90-R (Chinese version). The surveys also collected social-demographic information about the respondents. Three indicators of parental relationships were examined—parental quarrels, parental disharmony and parental divorce. The results show that gender was significantly associated with adolescents’ depressive disorder and that there was a higher prevalence of depressive disorder among senior middle school students than among junior middle school students, except in 1999. Troubled parental relationships were associated with high risks of depressive disorder. Coefficients and 95% CI were adjusted for the survey years (1999, 2006, 2009, 2016), school grades (junior or senior middle school students), gender (girls/boys), parental quarrels (yes/no), parental disharmony (yes/no), and parental divorce (yes/no). Logistic regression indicated that parental divorce and gender were the two strongest predictors of the presence of depressive disorder. In summary, there was a higher prevalence of depressive disorder among girls and senior middle school students. Adolescents are vulnerable to depressive disorder in cases of parental divorce. Therefore, good parental relationships may be considered an important and necessary factor that affects the susceptibility of Chinese adolescents to depressive disorder.

Does health insurance coverage lead to better child health? Evidence from China Abstract Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey, this study investigated the impact of health insurance coverage on children’s health in China. To address the potential endogeneity between insurance and health, we adopted the instrumental variable probit model. We found that insurance enrollment significantly improved the health of children, especially urban children, but there was no significant insurance effect across gender. After using the propensity score matching method, an alternative measure of child health, and a sub-sample of children aged above 10, our major finding of the insurance effect on child health is verified and robust. We further conducted the path analysis by identifying three potential paths through which medical insurance improved child health. We found that child health behaviour and nutritional intake are the effective paths between insurance enrollment and health status. These results provided implications for policy makers in constructing and developing the supportive system of child medical insurance in China.

Four decades of studies on population aging in China Abstract The last 4 decades of reform and opening up have not only witnessed the rapid development of China’s social economy, but have also marked the crucial transition of China’s demographic structure from one that is mature to one that is old. As China’s population has aged rapidly in recent years, studies of aging have made worthwhile achievements documenting the process. This article mainly summarizes the development of studies on aging in China during the past 40 years and finds that research into the topic of aging during these years can be divided into three phases. The phases are characterized by particular kinds of research. Phase one, the study of aging trends and causes; phase two, the study of aging characteristics and policy responses; and phase three, the study of top-level design of aging policies and programs, and the development of integrated interdisciplinary research efforts. The five main characteristics of China’s studies on aging during the past 4 decades and five future prospects for studies on aging are discussed at the end of this paper.

Question of ethnic group formulation in the Chinese census Abstract In conjunction with official government information and existing research literature, this article discusses ethnic group formulation in the censuses of China since 1953. Followed by an examination of concept of “ethnicity”, the research explores the purpose of the question included in the census, ways to answer the census question, and changes in number of official ethnic groups finalized until 1980s in China. To make a good study on ethnicity by census statistics, we have to understand the system of census taking on ethnicity in different countries. As a country with different minority groups, China is undergoing a social transformation and improving its census-taking. Ethnicity-related information collected in the census will play a more important role in the development of Chinese society.

Economic development level and urban settlement intentions of the new-generation migrants in China: direct or interaction effect? Abstract Based on a theoretical framework, this paper uses a multilevel model to examine the factors that correlate with the settlement intentions of China’s new-generation migrants. The level of regional economic development exerts not only random effects, but also an interaction effect with social integration on urban settlement intentions. Economic factors, including household income and home ownership, have a significant positive correlation with settlement intentions, while social characteristics such as social integration and social identification also have a positive correlation with the settlement intentions of new-generation migrants. Moreover, family migration strategies, parental migration experiences, short migration distances, and long migration durations enhance urban settlement intentions. The settlement intentions exhibit significant inter-group differences between the migrants born in the 1980s and in the 1990s. Differences in the effects of the determinants are observed between these group samples and the total sample.

Correction to: China fertility report, 2006–2016 The article China fertility report, 2006–2016, written by Dan He, Xuying Zhang, Ya’er Zhuang, Zhili Wang, Yu Jiang, was originally published electronically in SpringerLink on 25 January without Open Access.

The impact of care for grandchildren on the supports for elderly parents of first-generation only-child parents in urban China Abstract The support elderly parents receive from their grown-up children and the care they provide for grandchildren reflect the intergenerational relationships in Chinese families. Using data on only-child families in urban China from a 2015 survey conducted by the Institute of Population and Labor Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, this paper studies the status of care provided for grandchildren by parents of first-generation only-child in urban China and considers the effects this support has on the elderly. The data shows that over 80% of only-children parents have cared for their grandchildren. Most only-children also provide support for their elderly parents. Care for grandchildren provided by grandparents increases the economic and housekeeping support for the elderly provided by only-children. Only-children are the main beneficiaries of the intergenerational support that comes from the care for grandchildren provided by elderly parents. If the elderly parents have adequate retirement income and have little or no need for financial support, such intergenerational support resembles “altruism”. However, if the elderly parents do not have adequate retirement income, the satisfaction of their needs depends on resources like time and money available to their only-children.

Grandparent-provided childcare and labor force participation of mothers with preschool children in Urban China Abstract This paper investigates the effects of grandparent-provided childcare and the access to daycare services on the labor force participation of mothers with children under 7 years old in urban China. Using two-stage residual inclusion method, the analysis finds that grandparent-provided childcare and the access to daycare services both have strong positive effects on maternal labor force participation (MLFP). Specifically, having grandparent-provided childcare increases MLFP by 38–43%, whereas having access to daycare services increases MLFP by 24–29%. The analysis also finds that having a healthy grandmother is a significant determinant in whether grandparent-provided childcare is utilized and that the demand for grandparent-provided childcare is higher in localities in which daycare services for children under 3 years old are more expensive. These results indicate that grandparents, particularly grandmothers, play an important role in sustaining MLFP, particularly as the supply of publicly funded daycare programs is declining.