Comparative study on emotional behavior and parental job stress of only-child and non-only-child preschool children

Table 1 Comparison of two groups of general data before matching, n (%)

General information		Only child group (n = 691)	Non-only group (n = 623)	χ2/t	P value
Age (mean ± SD, years)		4.23 ± 1.12	4.22 ± 1.11	0.162	0.871
Child sex	Man	207 (29.96)	179 (28.73)	0.237	0.627
	Woman	484 (70.04)	444 (71.27)
Parity	1 time	273 (39.51)	234 (37.56)	0.698	0.706
	2 time	401 (58.03)	376 (60.35)
	More than 3	16 (2.32)	13 (2.09)
Mother age (mean ± SD, years)		36.95 ± 5.17	37.11 ± 5.02	0.568	0.570
Father's age (mean ± SD, years)		35.86 ± 4.61	36.21 ± 4.45	1.397	0.163
Motherhood occupation	Civil servants; teacher	115 (16.64)	118 (18.94)	12.790	0.025
	Technology; finance; financial worker	110 (15.91)	76 (12.20)
	Freelancer; individual operator	91 (13.17)	115 (18.46)
	Workers; employees of industrial and commercial enterprises	111 (16.06)	107 (17.17)
	Unemployed person	34 (4.92)	30 (4.82)
	Other	230 (33.29)	177 (28.41)
Father's occupation	Civil servants; teacher	141 (20.41)	141 (22.63)	5.787	0.328
	Technology; finance; financial worker	94 (13.60)	63 (10.11)
	Freelancer; individual operator	143 (20.69)	145 (23.27)
	Workers; employees of industrial and commercial enterprises	122 (17.66)	106 (17.01)
	Unemployed person	11 (1.59)	13 (2.09)
	Other	180 (26.05)	155 (24.88)
Mother education	Junior high school and below	19 (2.75)	18 (2.89)	5.590	0.232
	High school or technical secondary school	69 (9.99)	72 (11.56)
	Universities and colleges	219 (31.69)	164 (26.32)
	Undergraduate course	312 (45.15)	309 (49.60)
	Master degree or above	72 (10.85)	60 (9.63)
Father's education	Junior high school and below	19 (2.75)	15 (2.41)	4.729	0.316
	High school or technical secondary school	75 (10.85)	88 (14.13)
	Universities and colleges	227 (32.85)	201 (32.26)
	Undergraduate course	312 (45.15)	279 (44.78)
	Master degree or above	58 (8.39)	40 (6.42)
Family type	Nuclear family (parents and children)	390 (56.44)	340 (49.06)	1.862	0.602
	Single parent	10 (1.45)	9 (1.30)
	Of three generations under one roof	281 (40.67)	259 (37.37)
	Other	10 (1.45)	15 (2.16)
Main caregivers	Mother	494 (71.49)	479 (76.89)	5.141	0.162
	Father	47 (6.80)	33 (5.30)
	Grandparents or grandparents	147 (21.27)	108 (17.34)
	Housemaid	3 (0.43)	3 (0.48)
Parents' attitude towards children's discipline	Highly consistent	173 (25.04)	165 (23.81)	0.642	0.726
	Basically the same	503 (72.79)	442 (63.78)
	Basically different	15 (2.17)	16 (2.31)
The attitude of the elderly and parents towards children's discipline	Highly consistent	22 (3.18)	18 (2.60)	1.468	0.480
	Basically the same	279 (40.38)	272 (39.25)
	Basically different	390 (56.44)	333 (48.05)
Proportion of children's expenses	One fifth or less	158 (22.87)	150 (21.65)	5.982	0.113
	One quarter	242 (35.02)	202 (29.15)
	One third	193 (27.93)	203 (29.29)
	A half	98 (14.18)	68 (9.81)
Family atmosphere	Very harmonious	297 (42.98)	305 (48.96)	8.063	0.089
	Good	294 (42.55)	250 (40.13)
	Common	97 (14.04)	66 (10.59)
	Bad	3 (0.43)	1 (0.16)
	Very bad	0 (0.00)	1 (0.16)
Conjugal relation	Harmonious	594 (85.96)	550 (79.37)	1.645	0.439
	Common	80 (11.58)	60 (8.66)
	Other circumstances (such as single parent/separation, etc.)	17 (2.46)	13 (1.88)
Children's personality characteristics	Extroverted	228 (33.00)	258 (37.23)	11.366	0.003
	Middle	387 (56.03)	316 (45.60)
	Introverted	76 (11.00)	49 (7.07)
Child rearing practices	Absolute authority type	621 (89.87)	558 (89.57)	12.386	0.006
	Spoiling type	36 (5.20)	15 (2.40)
	Neglect indifference type	31 (4.49)	48 (7.70)
	Absolute authority type	3 (0.43)	2 (0.32)
Coping styles of children's negative emotions	Encourage expression	655 (94.79)	597 (86.15)	1.042	0.594
	Neglect	19 (2.75)	12 (1.73)
	Punish	17 (2.46)	14 (2.02)
Questionnaire filled by	Father	138 (19.97)	134 (19.34)	0.472	0.492
	Mother	553 (80.03)	489 (70.56)
SDQ score (mean ± SD, score)		44.44 ± 4.52	44.63 ± 4.34	0.775	0.438
PSI-SF score (mean ± SD, score)
PD total score		28.51 ± 10.78	28.14 ± 11.19	0.610	0.542
P-CDI total		19.41 ± 7.88	18.73 ± 7.11	1.636	0.102
DC total		22.80 ± 9.80	22.14 ± 8.48	1.299	0.194
Aggregate score		70.72 ± 24.18	69.00 ± 22.53	1.330	0.184

SDQ: Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire; PSI-SF: Parenting Stress Index-Short Form; PD: Parenting distress; P-CDI: Parent-child dysfunctional interaction; DC: Difficult children.