Fighting over the kids

Gender roles, patrilineage, and child custody in Chinese courts

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5657875
AutoresYifeng Wan (0000-0002-6445-1690, University of Virginia, autor de correspondencia)
Año2025
Volumen104
Número4
Páginas1363-1385
Fecha de publicación2025-10-09
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocial Forces (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0037-7732 • E-ISSN: 1534-7605
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/sf/soaf148
OpenAlexW4415008260
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas65

Who receives child custody-mother, father, or both-offers insight into family institutions and gender dynamics. Analyzing over 220,000 digitized divorce decrees from China's patrilineal family system, this study reveals a paradox: despite mothers serving as primary caregivers, fathers more frequently obtain custody. Two institutional pillars of patrilineage explain this outcome. First, paternal grandparents commonly assume childcare responsibilities as fathers' proxies, reducing mothers' custody prospects. Second, fathers' predominant ownership of the marital home creates additional barriers for mothers seeking custody. This paternal advantage intensifies in cases involving sons and in rural areas. Among families with multiple children, split custody arrangements predominate, typically allocating sons to fathers and daughters to mothers. These findings illuminate the interplay between family law, patrilineal tradition, and gender inequality

Child custody · Child rearing · Chinese family · Coparenting · Grandparent · Primary caregiver · Stepfamily · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender, Security, and Conflict