ABSTRACT
Ever since the end of 1970s, when the Chinese government launched the family planning policy encouraging only one child per couple, China’s birth rate has plummeted and the number of only children has drastically increased. According to data provided by the China Population Information and Research Center, in 1995, among 320 million Chinese families, 20.72% are with only one child, with the number of only children totaling around 66 million. It is estimated that by the end of the 20th century, Chinese only children have exceeded 90 million. The growth, development and education of a generation of only children have always been a matter of concern for Chinese society. During the growing process of these children, one important aspect is their personality development. Therefore, it is of great significance to understand characteristics of only children’s personality and analyze factors influencing their personality development so as to facilitate their personality development and education. In recent years, Chinese psychological and educational workers have conducted abundant research on the personality of only children. However, due to different definitions of personality and different instruments, measurements and indices in measuring personality in different research, results of these studies seldom agree with each other. The data of the present chapter is based on surveys of personality status of 3,284 only children aged 10-15 in 12 Chinese cities nationwide, which are: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjing, Shenyang, Nanjing, Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Xi’an, Lanzhou and Chongqing. Thus, comparatively speaking, this is a comprehensive and representative research among many studies on only children at present.
