Quanbao Jiang

Amid persistently low fertility rates, the population of only children in China has increased rapidly, giving rise to a demographic of only-child families that face distinct social risks. However, the evolution of these families over the past four decades remains insufficiently documented. Using data from national population censuses and one-percent sample surveys spanning 1982 to 2020, this study applies life tables and probabilistic methods to examine changes in the structural indicators of only-child families based on the sequence of familial mortality. It further explores the effects of parental age at first childbirth and the spousal age gap. The findings reveal several key trends. First, over the past four decades, the likelihood of child loss has declined steadily, and the ages of both the child and the parents at the time of the child’s death have been delayed. When parents predecease their child, the child’s age at the time of parental mortality typically exceeds 60 years, with the duration of solitary survival remaining stable. Second, age-specific probabilities reveal distinct life-course patterns. When both parents predecease the child, parental death becomes dominant at later stages, typically when the child is over 63. In contrast, among bereaved only-child families, transitions to one-person households tend to occur after the 60th year following childbirth. The highest ultimate cumulative probability is observed for the father–mother–child death sequence (51.63%), while among bereaved only-child families, the father–child–mother sequence is the most probable (6.50%), and the mother–child–father sequence is the least probable (2.56%). Third, a higher parental age at first childbirth reduces the likelihood of experiencing bereaved death sequences; however, it also leads to a younger age at the time of the child’s death and a relatively stable duration of solitary parental survival. Conversely, when both parents predecease the child, the ultimate cumulative probabilities rise, the child’s age at parental death decreases, and the duration of the child's solitary survival increases. Additionally, these indicators are also sensitive to variations in the spousal age gap. These findings highlight the need for differentiated support policies, carefully tailored to the evolving dynamics of only-child family structures.

1. China's fertility rate has declined rapidly and is expected to remain low for the foreseeable future. In this context, an increasing number of couples choose to have only one child (Yang et al.,...

This study investigated the association between polygyny and women's attitudes toward wife beating in Afghanistan, focusing on the confounding and suppressive role of women's autonomy and socioeconomic factors. We utilized data from the 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey, encompassing 29,461 ever-married women aged 15–49. Descriptive statistics, bivariate correlations, and a series of stepwise adjusted logistic regression models were applied. Women in polygynous unions were 8%–12% ( OR = 0.92 to 0.88) less likely to justify wife beating than those in monogamous unions. Women's autonomy, educational attainment, media exposure, and household wealth were independently associated with lower acceptance of intimate partner violence (IPV). Interventions to reduce acceptance of IPV should focus on empowering women's autonomy and addressing socioeconomic inequalities within cultural contexts.

Objective: This study aims to investigate the relationship between polygyny and the number of children ever born (CEB), as well as the moderating effects of education on this relationship in the context of Afghanistan. Additionally, decomposition analysis of the marginal effect will be utilized to identify the factors that influence the likelihood of having a certain number of children. Methods: A zero‐inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression model and marginal effect analysis were applied to the 2015 Afghanistan Demographic and Health Survey (AfDHS) with a sample ( n = 29 461 women aged 15–49). CEB measured the number of children born to each woman; polygyny was assessed based on whether women were in polygynous or monogamous unions. All analyses were performed using STATA version 18.1. Results: About 7% of the sample were in polygynous marriages, and the average number of children ever born (CEB) was 4.18. The ZINB model indicates that polygynous women had a 12% lower likelihood of higher CEB; when education was included as a moderator, this reduction increased to 13%. The marginal effects further show that polygynous women had, on average, 0.54 fewer children than monogamous women. Education also demonstrated a protective effect: primary education was associated with 0.17 fewer children, while higher education reduced the number of children by 0.58. Conclusion: This study indicates that decreases in CEB among women in both polygynous and monogamous unions are linked to higher levels of women's education and delayed marriage. The study concludes that increasing access to family planning and promoting women's education may reduce the disparities in CEB between polygyny and monogamy in Afghanistan.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a widespread global concern. This leads to a range of negative health consequences, including physical harm, mental distress—such as anxiety and depression—and, in extreme instances, death. This study investigated the association between polygyny and IPV experience. Additionally, it examined the moderated mediation roles of women’s autonomy, asset ownership, and media access in this relationship. The analysis utilized data from the nationally representative 2015 Afghanistan Demographics and Health Survey. Our sample was restricted to currently married women aged 15 to 49 years ( n = 21,324). Bivariate regression analysis, generalized structural equation modeling, and bootstrap techniques (5,000 samples) were employed to evaluate this association. The analysis reveals that the direct path between polygyny and experience of IPV is statistically significant for sexual ( p < .01), physical ( p < .05), any IPV ( p < .01), and emotional IPV ( p > .05), and the indirect paths: through women’s autonomy ( p < .001). Women’s ownership and media access significantly moderated this association ( p < .001). This study provides valuable perspectives on the association between polygyny and IPV, particularly in Afghanistan. Our findings emphasize the necessity for comprehensive interventions that integrate legal, economic, and educational empowerment approaches to confront the widespread culture of violence and assist women in their efforts to resist abuse.

Background: Child health and gender inequalities are significant global public health issues that demand immediate action, particularly in South and Southeast Asian (SSEA) countries where both challenges are prevalent. This study examines the association between women’s empowerment and child vaccination coverage in 11 SSEA low- and middle-income countries. Methods: Using population-level cross-sectional data from Demographic and Health Surveys across 11 SSEA countries, we developed an Individual-Level Women’s Empowerment Index (ILWEI) based on three dimensions of women’s empowerment: decision-making autonomy, attitude towards intimate partner violence and social independence. A three-stage mixed-effect individual participant data meta-analysis was employed to assess the association between ILWEI and childhood immunisation coverage. Results: In India, 81.28% of women reported participation in three to four decision-making areas, followed by 62.07% in Bangladesh. Full immunisation coverage ranged from 32.43% in Afghanistan to 63.30% in Bangladesh. The association between women’s empowerment and vaccination coverage varied across South and Southeast Asia, with the strongest positive associations observed in Pakistan. However, mixed or negative associations were found in countries such as India and Timor-Leste. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that in several SSEA countries, including Pakistan, Cambodia, the Philippines and Afghanistan, higher levels of individual women’s empowerment are positively associated with an increased likelihood of childhood immunisation coverage. However, in countries such as India, Myanmar and Timor-Leste, higher women’s empowerment was associated with lower odds of childhood immunisation, highlighting potential contextual or systemic barriers that may hinder vaccination uptake. This underscores the critical role of women’s empowerment in enhancing childhood vaccination intake while also emphasising the need for targeted interventions to address country-specific challenges. Coordinated, multifaceted strategies are essential to empower women and thereby support the immunisation of children across regions.

The neighborhood is a regular living and activity space for older adults. It is important to identify neighborhood environmental factors that can alleviate depression in the older adults to improve their health. However, existing literature does not consider the complex interdependencies among key neighborhood environmental factors. This study employs fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to explore how configurations of neighborhood environmental conditions alleviate depressive symptoms in Chinese older adults. The data is derived from the 2020 China Family Panel Study (CFPS), a nationally representative survey. The final sample consisted of 4,697 participants aged 60 and above. Condition variables included community facilities, the surrounding housing environment, neighborhood safety, neighborhood relations, and neighborhood assistance. The fsQCA procedure entailed operationalizing condition variables, calibrating variables, conducting necessity analysis to evaluate single conditions, performing sufficiency analysis to identify configurations of conditions, and interpreting the resulting configurations. The results show that three different neighborhood environment configurations can help reduce depressive symptoms in older Chinese individuals. The first configuration requires a combination of neighborhood safety, good neighborhood relations, and neighborhood assistance. The second configuration involves amalgamating optimal community facilities, high-quality neighborhood relations, and neighborhood assistance. These research results deepen the current understanding of neighborhood environment configurations to alleviate depressive symptoms in older adults, offer important implications for theory and practice, and set new directions for the construction of age-friendly neighborhoods.