Nearly 60% of urban families are considered to have achieved a satisfactory level of happiness, according to a recent survey of Chinese residents in ten provinces and cities.

Happy families share many similarities

In China, urban families are happier with their life and more satisfied than rural families.

Surveys show that whether in urban or rural areas, people agree that the five factors that determine the happiness of a family are "marital harmony", " health of family members", "filial children", "reasonable elders", and "basic material requirements", with "time for family get-togethers" also scoring highly.

Report shows that the husband-wife relationship is the key factor to family relationships, which is the most prominent factor affecting family happiness, followed by inter-generational relationships. The two main reasons for inter-generational tensions are "unreasonable parents-in-law" together with "inconsiderate children". “Family ties" impact much more on family well-being than factors such as "promising children" and "having a car and owning your home".

The survey sampled respondents in 10 provinces and cities from eastern, central and western China. Regional variances were apparent in terms of the contribution of material possessions to happiness. More families from eastern and central China value "family ties" over "having a car and owning your home", according to the report.

Migrants feel pain of separation

Urban and rural residents have common concerns such as pensions, government credibility, and social security, according to the report. To migrant people, ensuring a close family is of great importance.

In the past, short-term economic interest rather than family happiness was always the top consideration of the migrant population, said Zhai Zhenwu, dean of the Social and Population school in Renmin University of China. What has been overlooked is that long-term separation from family members harms both the children estranged from their parents and the elderly, and damages their inter-generational relationships. Zhai proposes that future urbanization programs should include protection mechanisms to ensure that the families of migrant workers are able to spend time together.

Care for the elderly is common concern

Health is a pre-condition for happiness. Urban areas have a lower proportion of families suffering from major health problems than rural areas. In China, 3% of urban families have members with a disability, genetic complaint, or serious illness, while the proportion in rural families is 4.4%.

On care for the elderly, 40.42% rural residents are more willing to live with their children, while 6.3% plan to use a nursing home. For urban residents, the result is just the opposite; more people prefer a nursing home (31.46%) to living with their children (8.94%) when they grew old.

Urban families are more likely to feel insecure

The survey shows that urban families present a significantly lower sense of insecurity than rural households. Nearly three quarters of urban residents opted for “sometimes worried about personal safety” and over 60% of respondents chose "sometimes worried about property safety". Among parents’ concerns about their children, “health” ranks higher than “academic success".

Neighborhood relations in urban areas are slightly better than in rural areas. 80.17% of urban residents are willing to offer help to their neighbors if needed, slightly higher than 79.08% of rural residents.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission joined with China Population Welfare Foundation in hosting a forum titled "2014 China International Family Day of Action - Focus on Urbanization and Chinese family happiness" in Beijing. The report was released at the forum on May 16. 

The article is edited and translated from《“家人团聚”胜过“有房有车”》, source: People’sDaily, author: Li Xiaohong.