Financial Support or Emotional Companion: Childbearing Motivations on Children’s Development in China

A preference for having a son has existed among Chinese parents for centuries due to, in part, sons having to provide financial support to elderly parents, while married daughters do not have this responsibility under Confucianism. Thus, this study examined the influence of parents’ childbearing motivation (financial support or emotional companion) on children’s development (academic performance and well-being) utilizing empirical data from the 2012 China Family Panel Studies. This study included 1,541 children (aged 10–15 years) and their parents who were surveyed via a questionnaire. Using exploratory factor analysis, two dimensions of parents’ childbearing motivation were identified namely, utilitarian and psychological motivation. Furthermore, the invariance of the measurement model across the female and male group was tested. Then, results from structural equation modeling showed that parents’ childbearing motivation, particularly expected utilitarian benefits, decreased children’s expectation of the highest education, thus, worsening children’s academic performance. Alternatively, emotional/psychological motivation appeared to increase children’s self-esteem, thus, improving children’s well-being. Furthermore, gender differences were also observed. These findings have provided important insights into how childbearing motivations influence children’s development, thus, can be utilized to ensure positive development of future children in China.