Ethnic Identification Of Interracial Family Children: Evidence From The 2000 China 5th Population Census

This study examines the trend of ethnic identification of children of Han-minority interracial families (one of his/her parents was minority and another was Han). And we also provided a unique perspective of how family factors and social policy factors affect parental ethnic identification.Using information of "relationship with the household held" of 1‰sample of 2000 China 5th population census data, we identified children who were born in a Han-minority interracial family. Approximately 10000 children were identified. We found that more than 68.1% of the children from interracial families reported as minority.A logistic regression model was built to investigate main hypotheses concerning child's ethnic identification (Han vs. minority): parental education level, sex of minority spouse, urbanicity, head of the household (mother vs. father), household property (agricultural vs. non-agricultural), region character (if ethical autonomous region), the year of the children born and categories of the minority (if the minority is Zhuang).Finally, we found that father's ethnicity, parental education level, urbanicity and preferential policies (including categories of the minority, the year of the children born and region character) all have strong effect upon children' ethnic identification. Children who have minority father have higher probability to be minority. Children whose parents live in the town and have received higher education would like to identify as minority. Preferential policies have a positive effect on children's minority identification. For instance, children whose mother or father is Zhuang (Zhuang enjoy more preferential policies than Han but relatively less than other minority) was associated to high probability to be Han instead of Zhuang, however, if one of his/her parents is minority other than Zhuang, he/she was more likely to identify as minority. Children who came from the ethical autonomous region were more likely to be minority, and one who born after 1980 (after this year, more and more preferential policies were implemented) have positive effect on minority identity.The trend of ethnic identification of children from Han-minority interracial family has changed and will continue to change the population structure of China.