随着计划生育政策(the family planning policy)的推行和家庭观念的改变，中国传统的家庭规模和结构发生了明显变化。一是独生子女家庭增多，家庭平均人口逐渐下降。二是家庭结构呈现出小型化(miniaturization)趋势，传统的大家庭逐渐被核心家庭取代。家庭规模与结构的变化，使家庭中的人际关系变得简单，成员之间的相互依赖性日益增强。但是，家庭规模和结构的变化也带来了一些负面影响，如中国的人口老龄化速度急剧上升，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.