title: Parental Expectations and Child Screen and Academic Sedentary Behaviors in China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study examined sociodemographic patterns of parental expectations for academic performance, terminal degree, and future occupation for middle school students in China, and how these expectations influence students' screen-based and academic-related sedentary behaviors through parenting control practices.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on data collected in 2013-2014 from 19,487 Chinese middle school students, bivariate logistic regressions tested associations between sociodemographic variables and parental expectations; structural equation models tested associations between parental expectations and students' self-reported daily time on TV/Internet/homework, with parental controls as potential mediators. Analyses were performed in October 2015.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Chinese students spent 0.96 (SD=1.44) hours/day on TV, 0.56 (SD=1.20) on Internet use, and 2.79 (SD=2.07) on homework. Girls spent more hours/day on homework (2.98 [SD=2.07] vs 2.62 [SD=2.04]) than boys but less on TV (0.90 [SD=1.37] vs 1.02 [SD=1.50]) and Internet (0.42 [SD=0.98] vs 0.69 [SD=1.36]). More than 30% of students were expected by parents to reach the top five of their class, almost 90% were expected to earn a college degree or higher, and >80% were expected to have a professional occupation. Students in rural areas, with siblings, and with lower parental SES tended to bear lower parental expectations. Children experiencing higher parental expectations spent more time on homework but less time on TV/Internet, partially explained by stricter parental homework and screen control.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High parental expectations suppress screen use but promote academic-related sedentary behaviors for Chinese children. Interventions should attend to academic-related sedentary behaviors and call for broader policies addressing sociocultural factors fueling high parental expectations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Fisher Institute of Health and Well-Being, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Renmin University of China, Haidian District, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Weidong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Fisher Institute of Health and Well-Being, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. Electronic address: ywang26@bsu.edu.
authors.forename: Youfa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000076363:Academic Success; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000208:ethnology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D012737:Sex Factors; D012922:Social Change; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013690:Television / Q000706:statistics & numerical data