Abstract
This study investigates how maternal working hours are related to various outcomes in children aged 11–15 using a sample of mothers and adolescents in the British Household Panel Survey. Research that examines the effects of maternal employment on children has been motivated by the rapid increase of female participation rates in the labour market and increased shares of children living in female-headed or single-mother households. The existing literature on this issue is very limited, mostly based on American data, and provides conflicting results. Fixed effects have been used in the present analysis to control for characteristics of children and mothers that do not vary over time. The results suggest that full-time maternal employment (as opposed to part-time) has little or no effect on the propensity of adolescents to smoke, their life satisfaction, self-esteem, or intention to leave school at 16. These results are stable and consistent across various specifications of the model and different socio-economic status.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
These results have been tested using different threshold to define low self-esteem and low life satisfaction (see p. 7). Main results are unchanged and are available on request.
References
Aughinbaugh, A., & Gittleman, M. (2004). Maternal employment and adolescents risky behaviour. Journal of Health Economics, 4, 815–838. doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2003.11.005.
Bianchi, S. M. (2000). Maternal employment and time with children: dramatic change or surprising continuity? Demography, 37, 401–414. doi:10.1353/dem.2000.0001.
Bishop, J. (2011). The effect of maternal employment on youth overweight in Australia. The Economic Record, 87, 92–107. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4932.2011.00747.
Booth, A., & Van Ours, J. (2008). Job satisfaction and family happiness. The part-time work puzzle. The Economic Journal, 118, F77–F99. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0297.2007.02117.x.
Bryant, W., & Zick, C. D. (1996). Are we investing less in the next generation? Historical trends in the time spent caring for children. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 17, 365–392. doi:10.1007/BF02265026.
Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (2013). Youth risk behaviour surveillance—United States, 2013. Atlanta: Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from Centre for Disease Control and Prevention website: http://www.cdc.gov.
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95–120. doi:10.1177/003804070407700204.
Department of Health & NHS England. (2014). Future in mind. Promoting, protecting and improving our children and young people’s mental health and well-being. Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/improving-mental-health-services-for-young-people.
Elliot, J. (2005). Comparing occupational segregation in Great Britain and the United States: the benefits of using a multi-group measure of segregation. Work Employment and Society, 19, 153–174. doi:10.1177/0950017005051305.
Ermisch J., Francesconi, M., & Pevalin, D. J. (2001). Outcomes for children of poverty. (Research Report 158). Leeds: Department for Work and Pensions.
Francesconi, M., & Gosling, A. (2005). Career paths of part-time workers. Labour Market Trends, 113, 275–283. Retrieved from www.eoc.org.uk/research.
Galinsky, S., Bond, J., & Sakai, K. (2008). 2008 National Study of Employers. New York: The Families and Work Institute.
Gennetian, L. A., Loopo, L., & London, A. (2008). Maternal work-hours and adolescents’ school outcomes among low income families in four urban counties. Demography, 45, 31–53. doi:10.1353/dem.2008.0003.
Greve, J. (2011). New results on the effect of maternal work hours on children’s overweight status: Does the quality of child care matter? Labour Economics, 18, 579–590. doi:10.1016/j.labeco.2011.03.003.
Gruber, J. (2001). Risky Behavior among Youths: An Economic Analysis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Guo, G., & Harris, K. M. (2000). The mechanisms mediating the effects of poverty on children’s intellectual development. Demography, 37, 431–447. doi:10.1353/dem.2000.0005.
Han, W., Miller, D., & Waldfogel, J. (2010). Parental work schedules and adolescents’ risky behaviours. Developmental Psychology, 46, 1245–1267. doi:10.1037/a0020178.
Harvey, E. (1999). Short-term and long-term effects of early parental employment on children of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Developmental Psychology, 35, 445–459. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.35.2.445.
Heckman, J. J. (2000). Policies to foster human capital. Research in Economics, 54, 3–56. doi:10.3386/w7288.
Henderson, H., Nass, L., Payne, C., Phelps, A., & Ryley, A. (2013). Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2012. London: Health and Social Care Information Centre. Retrieved from http://www.hscic.gov.uk/pubs/sdd12fullreport.
Jacobs, J. A., & Gerson, K. (2004). The time divide: work, family, and gender inequality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Katras, M., Sharp, E., Dolan, E., & Baron, L. (2015). Non-standard work and rural low-income mothers: making it work. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 36, 84–96. doi:10.1007/s10834-014-9410-7.
Kostiainen, E., Martelin, T., Kestila, L., Martikainen, P., & Koskinen, S. (2009). Employee, partner, and mother: woman’s three roles and their implications for health. Journal of Family Issues, 30, 1122–1150. doi:10.1177/0192513X08329597.
Lerner, J. V., & Ree Noh, E. (2000). Maternal employment influences on early adolescent development: a contextual view. In R. Taylor & M. C. Wang (Eds.), Resilience Across Contexts: Family, Work, Culture and Community (pp. 121–146). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Loopo, L. M. (2007). While the cat’s away, do the mice play? Maternal employment and the after-school activities of adolescents. Social Science Quarterly, 88, 1357–1373. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6237.2007.00506.x.
Lyonnette, C., Kaufam, G., & Crompton, R. (2011). ‘We both have to work’: maternal employment, childcare and health care in Britain and the USA. Work Employment & Society, 25, 34–50. doi:10.1177/0950017010389243.
Miller, D. P. (2011). Maternal work and child overweight and obesity: the importance of timing. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 32, 204–218. doi:10.1007/s10834-010-9244-x.
Molina, J. A. (2015). Caring within the family: reconciling work and family life. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 36, 1–4. doi:10.1007/s10834-015-9441-8.
Morril, M. S. (2011). The effects of maternal employment on the health of school-age children. Journal of Health Economics, 30, 240–257. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01541.x.
Morrissey, T., Kalil, A., & Dunifon, R. (2011). Maternal employment, work schedules, and children’s Body Mass Index. Child Development, 82, 66–81. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01541.x.
Muller, C. (1995). Maternal employment, parent involvement, and mathematic achievement. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 57, 85–100. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/353818.
OECD (2013). Education at Glance. United Kingdom Country Note. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/edu/education-at-a-glance-2013-country-notes.htm.
OECD (2015), OECD Family Database. Retrieved from www.oecd.org/social/family/database.htm.
Office of National Statistics (2013). Statistical Bulletin. Families and Households 2013, London: Office of National Statistics. Retrieved from www.ons.gov.uk.
Reich, N. (2014). Fathers’ childcare: the differences between participation and amount of time. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 35, 190–213. doi:10.1007/s10834-013-9359-y.
Ruhm, C. J. (2004). Parental employment and child cognitive development. Journal of Human Resources, 39, 155–192. doi:10.3368/jhr.XXXIX.1.155.
Ruhm, C. J. (2008). Maternal employment and adolescent development. Labour Economics, 15, 958–983. doi:10.1016/j.labeco.2007.07.008.
Sandberg, J. F., & Hofferth, J. F. (2001). Changes in children’s time with parents: United States, 1981–1997. Demography, 38, 423–436. doi:10.1353/dem.2001.0031.
Shreffler, K., & Johnson, D. (2013). Fertility intentions, career considerations and subsequent births: the moderating effects of women’s work hours. Journal of Family and Economics Issues, 34, 285–295.
Sorrentino, C. (1983). International comparison of labour force participation, 1960–81. Monthly Labor Review, 106, 23-36. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1983/02/art3full.pdf.
Stone, P. (2007). Opting Out? Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Waldfogel, J. (2007). Welfare reforms and child well-being in the US and UK. Swedish Economic Policy Review, 14, 137–168. Retrieved from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/6208/1/Welfare_Reforms _and_Child_Well-Being_in_the_US_and_UK.pdf.
Willis, J., & Brauer, J. (2012). Have children adapted to their mothers working, or was adaptation unnecessary? Cohort effects and the relationship between maternal employment and child well-being. Social Science Research, 41, 425–443. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2011.10.004.
World Bank (2013). Labour force participation rate, female (% of female population age 15+) (modelled ILO estimate) Retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS.
You, W., & Davis, G. (2011). Childhood overweight: does quality of parental childcare time matter? Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 32, 219–232. doi:10.1007/s10834-011-9245-4.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mendolia, S. Maternal Working Hours and the Well-Being of Adolescent Children: Evidence from British Data. J Fam Econ Iss 37, 566–580 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-015-9480-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-015-9480-1