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Is Care by Grandparents or Parents Better for Children's Non-cognitive Skills? Evidence on Locus of Control from China

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  • Ao, Xiang

    (Renmin University of China)

  • Chen, Xuan

    (Renmin University of China)

  • Zhao, Zhong

    (Renmin University of China)

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of grandparental care on children's locus of control (LOC), which is an important non-cognitive skill that affects children's future development. We use data from the China Family Panel Studies, which is a nationally representative survey, and employ instrumental variables to address the endogeneity of family childcare choice. We find that children in the care of their grandparents have more external LOC than children in the care of their parents do; that is, they are more likely to attribute individual success to external factors, such as luck, fate, and family background. This finding is robust to different measures of grandparental care and different model specifications. We further examine the potential mechanisms underlying this effect. Grandparents have more external LOC than parents do, which can affect children's LOC through intergenerational transmission of LOC. Their parenting attitudes and styles are also different from parents' in that grandparents take less responsibility for children's academic performance than parents do and are less strict with children. In addition, grandparental care induces adverse effects on children's family environment.

Suggested Citation

  • Ao, Xiang & Chen, Xuan & Zhao, Zhong, 2021. "Is Care by Grandparents or Parents Better for Children's Non-cognitive Skills? Evidence on Locus of Control from China," IZA Discussion Papers 14183, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14183
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    2. Babar Nawaz Abbasi & Zhimin Luo & Ali Sohail, 2023. "Effect of parental migration on the noncognitive abilities of left-behind school-going children in rural China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.
    3. Barschkett, Mara & Spieß, C. Katharina & Ziege, Elena, 2021. "Does Grandparenting Pay off for the Next Generations? Intergenerational Effects of Grandparental Care," IZA Discussion Papers 14795, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Wang, Jianxin & Yuan, Caiyun & Zhang, Qian & Houser, Daniel, 2023. "Parents’ absence harms norm obedience of girls more than boys," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 17-29.
    5. Bao, Te & Yuan, Yuemei & Luo, Weidong & Xu, Bin, 2024. "Unlucky to have brothers: Sibling sex composition and girls’ locus of control," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    6. Bai, Yu & Emmers, Dorien & Li, Ying & Tang, Lei, 2022. "Parental locus of control and early childhood development: Evidence on parent and grandparent caregivers in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Cheng, Ziyi & Chen, Xi, 2024. "Cognitive ability, the Big Five, and rural-to-urban migration in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    8. Zhu, Chen & Jin, Zhuo & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2022. "The impact of informal care from children to their elderly parents on self-employment? Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    intergenerational childcare; locus of control; non-cognitive skill;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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