(ECNS) -- Chinese parents who have a daughter are happier than those with a son due to mainly economic reasons, according to researchers.
When sons are aged between 17 and 30 years old, their parents are significantly less happy than parents who have a daughter, claims a study that includes 4309 sample families from 10 major Chinese cities.
Data show that when children are attending primary or middle school, their gender has no significant effect on their parents' happiness. However, when children are between the ages of 17 and 30 years old, especially from 24 to 30, parents who have a son are significantly less happy than those that have a daughter.
The research was jointly conducted by Lu Fangwen, an associate professor from Renmin University of China, and Liu Guo'en from the National School of Development at Peking University.
The theory behind it is that girls are increasingly competitive at school and work, according to Lu. Girls are also more attentive to their parents.
In comparison, boys are supposed to buy the marital house, which brings pragmatic economic pressure. Therefore, the higher real estate prices are, the more a son's parents worry.
According to the survey, sons are less likely than daughters to live with their parents.
Most sample families have only one child. The research measures multiple indexes, including individual happiness and child numbers, gender, age, education, income and health. Results were presented at a forum in Nanjing, Jiangsu province on May 16.
