Parenthood Effects on Health and Life Satisfaction among Recent Parents in China: Importance of Children’s Sex

Boyan Zheng , Princeton University
Kefan Xue, Oxford University

This study examines how the first and second childbirths influence parental life satisfaction in contemporary China, with particular attention to the sex of the child. Building on a cost–benefit framework of parenthood and competing theories of sex preference, we explore whether children’s sex shapes the emotional and normative rewards of childbearing. Using five waves (2012–2022) of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), we analyze two longitudinal subsamples: adults transitioning to first-time parenthood and those having a second child. Employing individual-level two-way fixed effects models, we estimate within-person changes in life satisfaction, net of concurrent changes in health, financial well-being, and demographic characteristics. Our results support the “offset” hypothesis: despite the well-documented physical and economic costs of childbearing, both first and second childbirths are associated with net increases in life satisfaction. For first births, we find no significant differences in outcomes based on the child’s sex for either mothers or fathers. For second births, however, sex composition matters for fathers: having two daughters yields the largest gains in life satisfaction, followed by mixed-sex sibling combinations. In contrast, having two sons is associated with no additional benefit. These findings support a constraint-based sex preference perspective, suggesting that recent Chinese fathers may value daughters more due to their perceived caregiving reliability and lower financial burden, challenging traditional son preference norms. This study contributes new evidence to global debates on parenthood and subjective well-being and offers insight into the shifting cultural landscape of Chinese family life.

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 Presented in Session P3. Families, Fertility, and the Life Course 3