Table 1 Basic characteristics of children and the caregivers according to four types of family in urban areas in Zhejiang Province and rural areas in Henan Province, China 2022 (n = 1648)

Children

 Age, years

3.45 (1.59)

3.59 (1.71)

3.00 (1.62)

3.44 (1.50)

3.58 (1.44)

< 0.0001

 Sex

  Male

859 (52.1%)

281 (54.4%)

144 (52.2%)

254 (52.1%)

180 (49.1%)

0.4894

  Female

789 (47.9%)

236 (45.6%)

132 (47.8%)

234 (47.9%)

187 (50.9%)

 Birth order

  First-born

671 (40.8%)

198 (38.4%)

122 (44.2%)

176 (36.1%)

175 (47.7%)

0.0028

  Later-born

974 (59.2%)

317 (61.6%)

154 (55.8%)

311 (63.9%)

192 (52.3%)

Caregivers

 Family role

  Parents

1112 (67.5%)

320 (61.9%)

238 (86.2%)

438 (89.8%)

116 (31.6%)

< 0.0001

  Others

536 (32.5%)

197 (38.1%)

38 (13.8%)

50 (10.2%)

251 (68.4%)

 Age, years

  ≤ 35

1056 (64.1%)

355 (68.6%)

235 (85.1%)

362 (74.2%)

104 (28.3%)

< 0.0001

  35–40

212 (12.9%)

98 (19.0%)

30 (10.9%)

71 (14.5%)

13 (3.6%)

  ≥ 40

380 (23.0%)

64 (12.4%)

11 (4.00%)

55 (11.3%)

250 (68.1%)

 Sex

  Male

287 (17.4%)

89 (17.2%)

37 (13.4%)

72 (14.8%)

89 (24.2%)

0.0006

  Female

1361 (82.6%)

428 (82.8%)

239 (86.6%)

416 (85.2%)

278 (75.8%)

 Education level

  Elementary school or lower

255 (15.6%)

5 (1.0%)

8 (2.9%)

54 (11.1%)

188 (51.2%)

< 0.0001

  Middle school

863 (52.5%)

91 (17.6%)

201 (72.8%)

398 (81.6%)

173 (47.1%)

  Junior college or higher

530 (32.2%)

421 (81.4%)

67 (24.3%)

36 (7.4%)

6 (1.6%)

 Total household income

  Less than average

977 (59.3%)

331 (64.0%)

193 (69.9%)

252 (51.6%)

197 (53.7%)

< 0.0001

  More than average

671 (40.7%)

186 (36.0%)

83 (30.1%)

236 (48.4%)

170 (46.3%)

Physical health score

53.60 (6.55)

54.05 (5.95)

53.40 (5.24)

54.45 (6.26)

51.99 (8.14)

< 0.0001

Mental health score

56.72 (8.93)

55.90 (9.02)

58.80 (7.82)

56.16 (9.23)

57.05 (8.94)

< 0.0001