A Revolution in Family Life: The Political and Social Structural Impact of China's One Child Policy

Abstract

The present article examines the need for family policy, acknowledging its potentially invasive nature and emphasizing its profound impact on extended areas such as health, education, the status of women, and national economies. Using the enormous problem of overpopulation in China, the earth's most populous nation, we detail the problem, its development, and family policy as the Chinese government's response (the one‐child mandate) to the problem. We then explore the policy's subsequent impact on families, socialization practices, cultural values, the status of women, and even its potential impact on the system of government. We caution that the problem is not simply an intellectual exercise, but has its counterpart in the marked trend to smaller families in the West. In addition, we examine preliminary evidence that the only child condition produces some personality similarities in China and the West. The scientific literature and newspaper accounts reflect what we know and the many questions that remain.

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