Children's Development and Child-Rearing Environment : Parenting and the QOL of Children in China

Along with the diversified socioeconomic development status found among provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, children’s health and development also vary widely with regions in China. The objectives of this study are to examine children’s health and development status, particularly their psychological development, to analyze disparities of children’s and parents’ quality of life among regions and to explore factors affecting those geographical disparities. A total of 546 children and their parents from both urban, rural and minority areas in Shandong Province, Anhui Province, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region were interviewed. As the results, there is a significant difference in Children’s and parent’s quality of life between the surveyed provinces, between the urban and the rural regions, and between majority and minority populations. There is also a significant correlation between parent’s health status and quality of life and children’s behavioral and cognitive development and quality of life. Parent’s socioeconomic background tends to have an impact on children’s developmental outcomes. The results suggest the importance of life environment on children’s development and comprehensive interventions targeting the household and the life environment necessary to improve children’s development and well-being.