'Child one' is afraid of risk and easy to worry too much

Altruism, competitiveness and risk-taking spirit of people in "one generation" in China is much lower than the previous generation.

The Chinese government began implementing a one-child policy since 1979 to curb population growth. By law, every family in the city is only allowed to have one child. This policy has created hundreds of millions of unique children. They are called "emperors" because they are loved by grandparents, grandmothers, fathers and mothers. All the demands of most children are always met and they do not have to compete with anyone in the family.

To explore the impact of one-child policy on "minor emperors" , Monash University scientists in Australia recruited 421 people (including men and women) in Beijing City. About half of them were born before 1979, when China began to adopt a one-child policy, and the rest were born after 1979.

The team asked volunteers to take tests to test altruism, the level of trust, views on risk, competitiveness and personal character, the AP reported.

Millions of "minor emperors" in China enjoy life
extremely comfortable due to one-child policy. (Photo: Global Post)

The results show that selflessness, reliability, competitiveness, risk-taking spirit in the lives of people born after 1979 are significantly lower than those born before, while their level of pessimism and anxiety before adversity is greater.

"We found that the only child born after 1979 had a lower risk of accepting risks than the previous generation. They did not want to work in areas that required risky spirit - such as financial markets. - and very afraid of self-employment , " said Lisa Cameron, lead researcher.

Cameron argues that the one-child policy will lead to a tendency to evade the adventurous jobs in the labor market and reduce the number of entrepreneurs, because risk-taking is a necessary quality of entrepreneurs.

"In the family, children can access all the best conditions and are carefully covered. When they come into life, they will have to compete fairly with others. The situation is cherished in childhood and makes they feel depressed and anxious to make a living, they don't want to compete with others, " Cameron argues.

Zou Hong, an expert at Beijing Economic Management Academy, said parents of single children often show concern overkill when their child is sick or has a bad event. Their worries spread to their children, making them more sensitive and panic when they become adults.

However, Cameron said that it was possible that Monash University's research results were not true for Chinese citizens born after 1979 but living in rural areas, without having to comply with a one-child policy.