Family changes in rural and urban China, 1950's to 1980's: A multilevel model analysis.

摘要

This is a study of family changes in rural and urban China during the past few decades, with the emphasis on the marriage patterns and family structure changes during 1950's to 1980's.;Using 1985 In-depth Fertility Survey Data for Hebei, Shannxi Provinces and Shanghai city, analyses of the effects of individual and community characteristics on marriage patterns and family structure variation are performed. These analyses are carried out at the individual and the community levels separately and then simultaneously through a multi-level analysis approach (using regression). The results of this study support the hypotheses that the family changes in China are not uniform across local areas. The results show that both individual and community level socioeconomic conditions and the government family planning program have contributed to marriage patterns and family structure differentials among individuals and across local communities.;An individual level analyses of marriage patterns and family change for five cohorts shows that both individuals' education and work status are significantly related to their marriage patterns and family structures.;Community level analysis shows that the level of development of the community are negatively related to the family structure. The considerable amount of variation in marriage and family structure among local communities can be explained by the difference among communities in socioeconomic and organizational conditions, and in family planning program performance.;A multilevel analysis incorporating both individual and community level variables is carried out in the dissertation. The results reveal that when both individual and community characteristics are used simultaneously for analysis of individuals' marriage patterns and family structure, the characteristic of community has a significant effect on individuals' marriage and family patterns in addition to the effect of education and work status of the individual.