Determinants of family life satisfaction in reforming urban China

Since the late 1970s, mainland China has embarked on an unprecedented economic reform. This reform not only helped China move away more successfully from a centrally planned economy than the former Soviet Union and its East European satellites, it also improved the quality of life for China massive population, especially its urban population. While the impact of this reform on family life such as household composition, marriage patterns, childbearing decisions, and inter-generational relationships has been well documented, research on family life satisfaction during this political and economic transformation is nearly nonexistent. To fill this research void, we use the 1993 China Housing Survey conducted in Shanghai and Tianjin to explore the determinants of family life satisfaction among married urban Chinese. Our Confirmatory Factor Analysis conceptualizes family life satisfaction as a multi-dimensional concept, encompassing satisfaction with marriage, family economy, family relations, and family life in general. The OLS regression analysis indicates that varying individual characteristics, marital and parental roles, kinship, social and political ties, and community context are predicative of family life satisfaction in urban China. Gender differences in these determinants are noticeable.