Ws. Tseng et al., Longitudinal analysis of development among single and nonsingle children in Nanjing, China - Ten-year follow-up study, J NERV MENT, 188(10), 2000, pp. 701-707
In order to examine the impact of "one-child-per-couple" family planning po
licy on child development, a longitudinal study of a group of children in N
anjing, China, was carried out between 1984 and 1995. The same cohort of ch
ildren was examined at four stages of development: preschool, early school,
preadolescence, and adolescence. Achenbach's Child Behavior Checklist was
used to measure the child's behavior. A total of 274 children were surveyed
in all four stages. The total behavior problem scores obtained at differen
t stages of development were compared among boys and girls. The results sho
wed that the total score declined significantly in association with the tim
e. As the child grew older, the problems score decreased significantly. Thi
s maturation effect was seen for both boys and girls. On average, boys' sco
res dropped from 21 to 11, whereas girls' scores went from 19.5 to 12. In c
omparing single with nonsingle boys, there were no significant differences
throughout the four stages of development. However, girls who were single c
hildren, in contrast to girls with siblings, had significantly higher score
s of total behavior problems at each stage of development. These findings i
llustrate that the longitudinal effect of being a "single-child" is similar
to other studies, indicating a minimal impact of family policy. However, t
he effects were more prominent among girls. This phenomenon can be explaine
d by parents' different attitude toward single-children because of gender d
ifference.