Differences in School Performance Between Only Children and Non-only Children: Evidence From China

This study aimed to investigate the features of only child status related to physical health, mathematics achievement, and school feelings and expectations from a different perspective. A representative sample of 91,619 Grade 4 students with an average age of 10.4 ± 0.7, among which 28,631 were only children, were assessed. We used propensity score matching (PSM) and the average treatment effects on the treatment to analyze data. The treatment was the only child of a family. The results indicated that only children have better academic achievement and school feelings (only for urban only child girls), while non-only children have better physical status and anaerobic fitness (AF). In addition, gender and rural vs. urban areas differences were also explored. The adverse situation for rural only boys is emphasized for families, researchers, and governments to focus on. Some suggestions are given under the Two- and Three-Child Policy.

The Prevalence of Insufficient Sleep and Bedtime Delay Among Kindergarten Children Aged 3 to 6 Years in a Rural Area of Shanghai: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction: Sleep deprivation in children is a global public health problem that affects the physical and mental development of children. Bedtime delay induced by longer screen time and heavy study load is a common cause of sleep deprivation in children. However, the prevalence of insufficient sleep and bedtime delay and related influencing factors among kindergarten children is limited in Shanghai, China.Methods: In 2018, we selected 8,586 children aged 3 to 6 years and their parents in Songjiang District, Shanghai. Data was collected among parents by face-to-face questionnaire interview with signed informed consent. We defined insufficient sleep as those who slept for < 10 h in children aged 3–5 years or 9 h in children aged 6 years within 24 h, and we define bedtime delay as children with bedtime after 21:00. SAS 9.1.3 software was used to calculate the prevalence of bedtime delay and insufficient sleep, and logistic regression was used to explore potential influencing factors.Results: The prevalence of insufficient sleep and bedtime delay among children aged 3 to 6 years was 11.67 and 56.85%, respectively. The prevalence of insufficient sleep among boys was slightly higher than among girls [odds ratio (OR) = 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.04–1.35]. With the increase of the age of children, the prevalence of insufficient sleep increased gradually (P < 0.05). The prevalence of insufficient sleep was higher among the only child in the family (OR = 1.18, 95% CI: 1.02–1.36) and those with longer hours of TV watching (OR = 109, 95% CI: 1.02–1.16). Meanwhile, the prevalence of bedtime delay was also higher among the only child in the family (OR = 1.17, 95% CI: 1.06–1.79), among those with parents accompanying for sleep (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.10-1.34), and those with longer TV watching time (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.07–1.18).Conclusions: Insufficient sleep and bedtime delay were prevalent in Chinese children aged 3 to 6 years, especially in boys and older children. TV watching as well as parents accompanying for sleep were associated with insufficient sleep and bedtime delay. We recommend that parents should limit the screen time of children, advocate earlier bedtime and later morning wake-up among children, as well as make their children sleep in separate beds or rooms in younger age.

Smartphone Addiction and Depression among Low-Income Boys since COVID-19: The Moderating Effect of Being an Only Child

Even though boys’ depression has become important, and their smartphone use has increased since COVID-19, little is known about low-income middle and high school boys’ depression in the context of whether they have siblings. Thus, this study investigates the relationship between smartphone addiction and depression as well as the moderating effect of being an only child on the relationship. Participants were limited to middle and high school students whose families were regarded as having a low-income. A total of 129 low-income boys were selected for the final sample. The PROCESS macro 3.4 for Statistical Product and Service Solutions was used to identify the moderating effect. Smartphone addiction was positively related to depression among low-income male students. Being an only child significantly moderated the relationship between smartphone addiction and depression. This study contributes to understanding the importance of examining mental health problems among middle school boys since COVID-19, particularly among low-income boys. It is necessary to provide tailored mental health services for middle school boys in low-income families. Alternative activities and social programs should be provided for adolescent boys who are only children to safely socialize with friends and peers without a smartphone.

Cooperation B.V. Klyuchevsky with S.F. Platonov on the distribution of his father's work

Much of S.F. Platonov's organizational work remains unknown. The revealed archival materials in his personal fund allow us to expand our understanding of his personal interest in providing the students of the Women's Pedagogical Institute, where he was the director, with the best scientific literature. The director's hand-drawn rough sketches provide an insight into the extent of his collaboration and informal relationships with his female students. The office materials introduced into scientific circulation for the first time give an idea of the unknown side of the activity of B.V. Klyuchevsky the son of the great historian. In historiography, the opinion has been established that he mainly performed the duties of secretary to his father. The researchers ' interest in the tragic fate of the only child of V.O. Klyuchevsky began to manifest itself recently. He was not spared the fate of a prisoner exiled to Kazakhstan. Previously unknown, his work in the warehouse of V.O. Klyuchevsky's printed products allows him to open a new page of his studies. Despite a certain dryness of office materials (receipts of postal orders, forms, invoices), they in this case allow us to analyze the functioning of the warehouse for the distribution of V.O. Klyuchevsky's works, to find out the scale of trade. Some inaccuracies established in historiography concerning the facts from the life of S.F. Platonov and B.V. Klyuchevsky are corrected

The Family Function and Exercise Behavior of Chinese College Students: A Moderated Mediation Model of Exercise Value Cognition and Only-Child Status

The purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating role of exercise value cognition between family function (FF) and exercise behavior and the moderating role of an only-child status. A questionnaire survey was conducted on 504 Chinese college students using the FF scale, the exercise value cognition scale, and the exercise behavior scale. The analysis yielded four main findings. (1) There are significant differences between an only-child and a non-only-child for negative exercise behavior and FF. The only-child group has a higher average FF score and a lower average negative exercise score. (2) Exercise behavior and four of its dimensions—exercise autonomy, attention control, exercise planning, and situational induction—are each significantly positively correlated with FF and exercise value cognition. (3) FF is a significantly positive predictor of exercise behavior, both directly and through exercise value cognition, which plays a partial mediating role. (4) Only-child status significantly moderates the mediating effect of exercise value cognition in the link between FF and exercise behavior. The intergroup differences mainly manifest in the influence of FF on exercise behavior and the influence of exercise value cognition on exercise behavior. In the only-child subsample, exercise value cognition plays a complete mediating role. The results of the current study demonstrated the important role that FF and exercise value cognition played in promoting the exercise behavior of college students. These findings have important implications for exercise behavior in adolescents by maintaining sound communication between family members and developing a healthy lifestyle or value cognition.

Parental Response to Only Children: Breaking the Stereotypes

While much has been written about the relationship between only child status and parents’ behavior toward children, and consequent personality and intelligence, little is known about the relationship between only child status, parental response to illness, and subsequent child illness behavior. In this study, 227 mothers of 342 children completed measures designed to assess: (a) their children’s school attendance, (b) their own psychological status, and (c) their own responses to their children’s expressions of stomach pain. Parents of only children were more likely to minimize their children’s gastrointestinal symptoms than were parents of children with at least one sibling. In addition, only children were less likely to miss school. Parental protectiveness did not differ as a function of only child status. These findings are somewhat discrepant with commonly held beliefs about parents’ patterns of responding to only children.