In China, the government promoted a "one-child norm" in its Population Policy. What kind of Malthusian theory was it adopting?

preventive checks

The correct answer is Option (1) → preventive checks

Malthus talked about two types of checks on population:

• Preventive checks → measures taken to reduce birth rate (e.g., late marriage, celibacy, family planning, population policies).

• Positive checks → factors that increase death rate (e.g., famine, war, epidemics).

China’s one-child norm directly aimed at reducing births, so it is a preventive check.