Research On The Influence Of The Number Of Children On Parents' Life Satisfaction

Since the implementation of the family planning policy,China's total fertility rate continues to decline,and along with the phenomenon of aging that has become the norm,the problem of population and family structure has become increasingly prominent.Stabilizing fertility rate and ensuring the welfare of the elderly have become an important issue for maintaining sustainable development.The evaluation of parents' life satisfaction stems from the quality of life in their later years.The support behavior of the offspring and the benign inter-generational relationship are indispensable parts for improving the quality of life of parents.In this context,it is of practical significance to examine the influence of the number of children on the satisfaction of parents' lives.This article uses the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey(CHARLS)data,and focusing on parental life satisfaction and studying the impact of the number of children on parental life satisfaction.Firstly,examine the impact of the number of children on parental life satisfaction and the difference between urban and rural areas,and empirically test the growth with the age of the parents,changes in the utility of the number of children and endogenous testing for regression results over 45 years of age;Secondly,further discussion on the relationship between the number of children and the life satisfaction of parents over 60 years old.The average education level of children and whether they receive pension were selected as the moderating variables to investigate the moderating effect of the two moderating variables on the relationship between the number of children and the life satisfaction of parents,the results show that:(1)The influence of the number of children on the evaluation of parents' life satisfaction is significantly different among different age groups and between urban and rural areas.Overall,as the number of children increases,parental life satisfaction increases significantly,and compared with urban areas,the number of children can better improve the satisfaction of rural parents,the reason is:first,the inter-generational support of children has increased and the issue of old-age care has been guaranteed;Second,the traditional concept of fertility of "multiple sons and more blessings" and "boy preference"is deeply rooted in the countryside;Third,rural fertility costs are relatively low,and "opportunism"increases the possibility of inter-generational transmission of families out of poverty.(2)For different age groups,the number of children has a negative impact on the life satisfaction of parents aged 45-50,and this phenomenon is more obvious in rural areas;there is a significant opposite "U" relationship between the number of children and the life satisfaction of parents in the 50-60 age group,it shows that with the increase of the number of children,the satisfaction of parents'life is gradually increasing,which is more obvious in rural areas.The number of children has a positive impact on the life satisfaction of parents over the age of 60.This phenomenon is more pronounced in rural areas.Endogenous testing for regression results of parents over 60 years old,introducing the tool variable,the first child gender is the female and whether the first child was born before 1971,through the ?probit model estimation results,it is found that the endogenous test results are consistent with the main effect regression results,and the correlation statistics of the one-stage test results indicate that the instrument variables have a stronger explanatory power for endogenous variables.(3)Further examine the moderating effect of children's average level of education and whether parents receive a pension.First,the average education level of children positively moderates the positive correlation between the number of children and parents' life satisfaction,mediated by intergenerational economic support.When children receive a high level of education,the effect of the number of children on parental life satisfaction is more obvious.At the same time,the number and quality of children have enhanced inter-generational support and improved parental life satisfaction.Second,parents receive pensions to negatively regulate the positive correlation between the number of children and their parents' life satisfaction,with inter-generational economic support as an intermediary.The welfare effect of the number of children shows the "crowding out effect" of economic inter generational support when parents receive pensions,which reduces the satisfaction of parents' life.Based on the above research results,the following Suggestions were put forward:Realizing the optimal Fertility decision of the Family and improving the quality of Fertility;Intensify the maternity welfare policy and transfer the externalization of birth costs;Promote filial piety culture and encourage children to support their gerontic parents;Coordinate a variety of old-age models and improve the pension system;Improving the welfare level of rural endowment insurance and alleviating the vulnerability of the aged.