NEWS

2021.09.29

The 36th AJI Frontier Seminar on "Influences of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Families with Young Children: A Comparison between Japan and China"

On September 14, the 36th AJI research Frontier Seminar was held online. Dr. Cindy Sun (Research Fellow of the Asia-Japan Research Institute, Ritsumeikan University) who is researching on family relations, especially the quality of life (QOL) of mothers and young children, gave a presentation entitled "Influences of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Families with Young Children: A Comparison between Japan and China".

COVID emergency conditions in China and Japan have prevented families from leaving their homes, causing isolation from family and friends and even job loss and financial difficulties. This has resulted in a deterioration of health and increased mental and emotional stress, especially for mothers with children of kindergarten age. To evaluate the effects on mothers’ QOL, Dr. Sun conducted surveys through questionnaires and evaluated the data using regression analysis. Surprisingly, she found although enforcement measures were much stricter in China, Japanese mothers experienced higher stress levels, became angry more frequently, and felt a lower sense of fulfillment. The reason could be that grandparents and children in China tend to live together, relieving the burden on mothers. Results showed that Chinese mothers were more concerned about children’s loss of learning time and excessive use of electric devices, while Japanese mothers were most concerned about children not being able to play outside with friends. On a positive note, fathers staying at home due to the pandemic increased family time which positively affected mothers’ and children’s wellbeing, and enduring difficulties together strengthened family bonds.

This presentation was followed by a lively Q&A session. It was pointed out that sample of children in Japan was younger which might have affected the results negatively. Dr. Sun replied that she was addressing this point and that her research was still ongoing. The listeners all appreciated this very interesting presentation on an important topic.

Dr. Cindy Sun delivering her presentation
Please visit the following link for previous AJI Frontier Seminars:
: https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/research/aji/young_researcher/seminar/archive/