隨著計(jì)劃生育政策(the family planning policy)的推行和家庭觀念的改變，中國傳統(tǒng)的家庭規(guī)模和結(jié)構(gòu)發(fā)生了明顯變化。一是獨(dú)生子女家庭增多，家庭平均人口逐漸下降。二是家庭結(jié)構(gòu)呈現(xiàn)出小型化(miniaturization)趨勢，傳統(tǒng)的大家庭逐漸被核心家庭取代。家庭規(guī)模與結(jié)構(gòu)的變化，使家庭中的人際關(guān)系變得簡單，成員之間的相互依賴性日益增強(qiáng)。但是，家庭規(guī)模和結(jié)構(gòu)的變化也帶來了一些負(fù)面影響，如中國的人口老齡化速度急劇上升，空巢家庭(empty-nest family)增加等。

　　With the implementation of the family planning policy and the change of the concept of family, the size and structure of traditional Chinese families have undergone evident changes. One is that the number of one-child families increases, resulting in a gradual decrease in the average number of family members. Another is the miniaturization trend of the family structure, which leads to the traditional extended family being replaced by nuclear family. Changes in size and structure of households contribute to simple family relationship and increasing mutual dependence of family members. However, the changes also exert negative influences, such as a surge in the speed of population aging and the increasing number of the empty-nest families.