Traditional echoes, contemporary shifts: Chinese college students' views of the “good mother”

• Published date: 01 December 2023
• Author: Tana Xiaoguang Nie,Qianqian Zhang,Wendy L. Bowcher
• Date: 01 December 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12876

RESEARCH

Traditional echoes, contemporary shifts: Chinese

college students’views of the “good mother”

Tana Xiaoguang Nie

1

|Qianqian Zhang

1

|Wendy L. Bowcher

1,2

1

School of Foreign Languages, Sun Yat-sen

University, Guangzhou, China

2

Department of Linguistics, Macquarie

University, Sydney, Australia

Correspondence

Wendy L. Bowcher, School of Foreign

Languages, Room 610, Sun Yat-sen

University, 135 Xingangxi Lu, Guangzhou,

Guangdong 510275, China.

Email: wendylee@mail.sysu.edu.cn

Funding information

This work was supported by the Project of

Humanities and Social Sciences, Ministry of

Education, People’s Republic of China (grant

no. 20YJA740001).

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this research was to investigate

contemporary Chinese college students’perceptions of the

“good mother.”

Background: Increased lifestyle and self-fulfillment choices

have recently become available for college-age students in

China. However, there is government, societal, and family

pressure for women to be married, ideally by 25 years of age,

and to bear children as a patriotic and socially stabilizing duty.

Method: A qualitative study using thematic analysis to

code data from semistructured interviews with 20 male

and female college students.

Results: Five attributes of a good mother were identified:

“is a guide,”“is loving,”“communicates with her child as

with a friend,”“is not overcontrolling,”and “balances paid

work and time with her child.”

Conclusion: This study contributes to ongoing research

across cultures and societies, which aims to understand what

young adults believe to be a “good mother”and how this

may affect their future parenting practices. Within the Chi-

nese context, perceptions of a “good mother”include tradi-

tional echoes—for example, mother as primary caregiver—

mixed with contemporary ideas—for example, pursuing the

right to seek personal fulfillment and financial autonomy

and a move away from a top-down authoritarian style of

parenting. Gendered perceptions of physical punishment,

childrearing anxiety, and parental sacrifice were identified.

Implications: Future policymakers should provide greater

social and workplace options and implement support services

to alleviate the anxiety women experience in their dual aspira-

tions to succeed in paid work and to be good mothers. Edu-

cating men regarding their contribution to caregiving and the

fostering of family harmony should also be prioritized.

Received: 11 October 2021Revised: 3 November 2022Accepted: 1 January 2023

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12876

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits

use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or

adaptations are made.

© 2023 The Authors. Family Relations published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2023;72:2465–2481. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 2465

KEYWORDS

Chinese society, college students’perceptions, good mother, maternal

sacrifice, motherhood, parental expectations

Chinese society has experienced many changes over the past few decades, from a rapid increase

in literacy rates, an economic boom, high rates of urbanization, and a growing middle class.

There is a greater proportion of people who are more affluent, better educated, and have a

wider range of lifestyle choices and expectations of their place in society than their predecessors

(Barton, 2013). Nevertheless, there is pressure on women, regardless of their socioeconomic

class, to be married—ideally by25 years ofage—and to bear children soon after. This is not

just a family issue; there is governmental pressure for young people to get married and have

children as a kind of patriotic duty because it is seen as socially—and hence, politically—

stabilizing (Hong Fincher, 2018). Against this background, this article presents a qualitative

study of Chinese college students’views on the attributes of a “good mother”because, as emerg-

ing adults, expectations and pressures regarding marriage and parenthood are imminent.

BACKGROUND

Recent research into mothering and motherhood has focused on a range of issues. These include

cultural and social regulatory pressures on motherhood (e.g., Goodwin & Huppatz, 2010), paid

employment outside the home in relation to childrearing (e.g., Dillaway & Parè, 2008), mothers’

well-being (e.g., Luthar & Ciciolla, 2015; Musick et al., 2016), maternal satisfaction

(e.g., Preisner et al., 2018), social support for mothers (e.g., Negron et al., 2013; Peters &

Skirton, 2013), and policies concerning the role and rights of mothers in society

(e.g., Barnes, 2012; Petts, 2017; Whitehouse et al., 2012). Previous research has documented the

problems and anxieties that women often experience in the implicit or explicit desire to fit into a

perceived ideal of a “good mother”in a rapidly changing world (e.g., Douglas &

Michaels, 2004; Henderson et al., 2016; Lanctôt & Turcotte, 2018). Women’s self-expectations

as mothers is a theme that emerges from much of this research, and these expectations often

come with anxiety and feelings of guilt (Henderson et al., 2016). In some cases, not reaching the

perceived ideal of a “good mother”has been associated with postpartum depression

(e.g., Ambrosini & Stanghellini, 2012; Gao et al., 2010), maternal guilt (Rotkirch &

Janhunen, 2009), and maternal burnout (e.g., Hubert & Aujoulat, 2018).

Complementary to research into mothers’views is research into perceptions of parenting by

those who are not yet parents. This research has largely focused on adolescents’views

(e.g., McNeely & Barber, 2010; Olivari et al., 2015; Wu & Chao, 2005). For instance, McNeely

and Barber (2010) studied adolescents from 12 ethnic groups, including from China. Although

there were some cultural differences, common themes included emotional and companionate

support, such as showing affection, talking and listening, and doing things together; guidance

and respect; allowing freedom; and providing instrumental support such as giving money,

supporting children’s education, or providing things that they wanted. Adolescents, however,

typically live with parents and do not yet face immediate societal and familial pressures to

marry and have children; parenting is typically a distant possibility.

By contrast, individuals in emerging adulthood, or the period between the ages of 18 and

25 years (Arnett, 2000), routinely confront expectations to marry and have children. Emerging

adulthood is a cultural concept (Arnett, 2011), applied primarily within Western contexts, and

mainly reflects individualistic views about attaining “independence and self-sufficiency”before

“entering adult commitments”such as marriage and childrearing (Arnett, 2011, p. 266). Under-

standing emerging adults’ideas on motherhood, or parenthood in general, can provide insights

2466 FAMILY RELATIONS