On gender similarities and differences in attitudes towards life positions, aspirations and value orientations among Chinese youth - based on questionnaire survey results, 2016

The present article, based on a survey conducted in 2016 in five cities of China (Beijing, Shanghai, Harbin, Changchun, Dalian), discusses the similarities and differences in attitudes, aspirations and value orientations of Chinese young people. The survey respondents were 650 ethnic Chinese young people (314 males and 336 females), mostly under the age of 25. The questionnaire was comprised of 22 questions, grouped into four sections. The first section contained questions designed to reveal the attitudes of Chinese young people to life, including their most common aspirations and values; the second section focused on the Chinese young people's relationships with parents and friends. The third section targeted the attitudes of Chinese young people to employment issues, and, finally, the aim of the fourth section was to specify the social portrait of the respondents of the questionnaire. The responses to each question of the questionnaire were statistically analyzed and presented in graphs. The results of the present survey reveal that life aspirations and values of young Chinese males and females are similar in many aspects. More similarities than differences between the two sexes were identified, and the ethnic factor proved to be more important in determining life attitudes and values than the gender factor. Yet, a number of gender differences were detected. The survey results reveal that young Chinese males - in contrast to females - have advanced further along the path of westernization and demonstrate greater willingness to revise many traditional Chinese values. The Chinese females' responses, on the other hand, are characterized by greater conservatism in daily life, and a stronger inclination towards traditional family values. Nevertheless, females demonstrated more egocentric tendencies than males in regard to finding employment and choosing working conditions.