No abstract

In the U.S., evidence has emerged suggesting that divorce is lower among those with many versus few siblings, a pattern that may indicate that children develop important social skills via their childhood interactions with siblings. However, this pattern has yet to be tested in other countries with varying fertility and divorce rates. We extend the empirical basis of the sibship size/divorce literature by exploring the association in China and Europe, each with unique demographic characteristics. Each additional sibling is associated with an 11 percent decline in the probability of divorce in China and a two percent decline in Europe, net a wide range of covariates. We also test whether these patterns vary across cohorts and alternative coding schemes. The results have implications for our understanding of how growing up with siblings influences later life outcomes and the contextual features that form that relationship.

Women are becoming the majority in China’s universities and colleges. This study examines gender differences in post-college plans of China’s college students under the new social context. Drawing on survey data from college students across 15 universities in Beijing, this study identifies a gendered post-college planning process. Descriptive findings show that the majority of students plan to go to graduate school, while women are less likely to have a graduate school plan and more likely to be unclear about their future than men. Multivariate analyses show that these gender gaps can be partly attributed to women’s underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Moreover, family socioeconomic resources and anticipated parenthood timing are associated with post-college plans, and these associations are more pronounced among women. This paper discusses the implications of these findings for research on the formation of gender stratification in education and career in the global context of women’s progress in education.