School of Social and Political Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemP024 Children’s sleep and fathers’ health and wellbeing: a systematic review(Oxford University Press (OUP), 2021-10-07)Abstract Introduction Night-waking is typical across infancy and early childhood. Although mothers are traditionally primary carers for children overnight, child sleep may impact others in the household, such as co-dwelling fathers. Despite expectations of more ‘hands on’ fathering, the relationship between children’s sleep and fathers’ health and wellbeing has not been previously synthesised. Methods This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement and registered with the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). Focusing on fathers, this review synthesised evidence pertaining to effects of children’s sleep (from birth to 12 years) on fathers’ health and wellbeing. Results From 4,421 records, 29 studies met inclusion criteria. Findings showed: (1) child sleep was associated with father’s sleep when child sleep was measured through father-report or objective measurement; (2) poorer child sleep was associated with poorer general health and wellbeing among fathers, however, associations of poor child sleep with depression were fewer; and (3) poor child sleep was negatively associated with quality of within-couple and parent-child relationships. Discussion Results suggested two principal issues: (1) Systematic variation in measures and findings underscores importance of objective measurement. Yoked actigraphy techniques are vital for understanding inter-relationships of family sleep and attendant outcomes. (2) Different patterns of child sleep and parent outcomes suggest direct and indirect pathways of effect. Understanding patterns of overnight caregiving, and factors underpinning parent decisions, are important for understanding mechanisms linking child sleep to fathers’ outcomes and for designing effective interventions to support parents.
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ItemGendered housework under China's privatization: the evolving role of parents(Taylor & Francis, 2021)In China’s multigenerational society, parents fulfill essential family functions including housework–a critical site of gender inequality with important consequences. Combining data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (n = 14,096 person-years, 1997–2015) with a province-level privatization index, we find that co-residing with parents was associated with less housework time, whereas co-residing with sick parents was associated with more housework time. These associations were stronger for women than men. Our results highlight the increasingly important role of parents to help their adult daughters or daughters-in-law cope with housework demands as China’s economy was privatized.
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ItemHarried and Unhealthy? Parenthood, Time Pressure, and Mental Health(WILEY, 2019-04)Objective: This study investigates the effects of first and second births on time pressure and mental health and how these vary with time since birth and parental responsibilities. It also examines whether time pressure mediates the relationship between parenthood and mental health. Background: Childbirth is a major life course transition that adds a new role to parents' role set and contributes to role strain, of which time pressure is one manifestation. Longitudinal analyses can help determine whether the impact of children on parental time pressure endures or eases over time and whether any changes affect parents' mental health. Method: This study uses 16 years of panel data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (n = 20,009 individuals). The data are modeled using fixed effects panel regression models. Results: First and second births increase time pressure to a similar extent. Their estimated effects are larger for women than men and persist over time, but there is limited evidence of moderation by parental responsibilities. Maternal mental health improves after a first child, whereas second children are associated with declines in paternal mental health. These effects are long lasting. Mediation analyses suggest that in the absence of time pressure maternal mental health would improve significantly. Conclusion: Children have a stronger effect on mothers' than fathers' experiences of time pressure. These differences are not moderated by changes in parental responsibilities or work time following births. The increased time pressure associated with second births explains mothers' worse mental health. Implications Parenthood is an important factor underpinning gendered experiences of time pressure. Reducing time pressure among parents may improve parental mental health, particularly among mothers.
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ItemMission Impossible? New Housework Theories for Changing Families(WILEY, 2018-03)Theoretical approaches to housework do not reflect contemporary families and gender relations. We evaluate assumptions about gender and families in three dominant explanations and propose theoretical extensions. First, we suggest a work–family fit approach that examines housework and resources at a household level. Second, we propose the diverse capital perspective that extends earnings centered assessments of housework bargaining. Finally, a “doing genders” approach captures how gender shapes housework in nuanced ways. Our study does not focus on the more general issue of power in relationships, nor do we seek to dismantle existing theoretical perspectives or solve all shortcomings of the inherently couple‐centered and cissexist heteronormative approach to families that primarily focuses on the United States. Rather, we provide some insight into how these theories can be expanded given the realities of diverse family arrangements, stalled gender revolutions, and shifts and fluidity in gender and sexual identities.
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ItemConflict Between Work and Family: An Investigation of Four Policy Measures(SPRINGER, 2013-01)
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ItemWork-to-Family and Family-to-Work Spillover: The Implications of Childcare Policy and Maximum Work-Hour Legislation(SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG, 2012-09)
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ItemEmotional and financial health during COVID-19: The role of housework, employment and childcare in Australia and the United States(WILEY, 2021-09)During the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world witnessed major economic, school, and daycare closures. We sampled respondents in Australia and the US during the height of the first restrictions to understand how the first quarantine structured their emotional strain and financial worry (825 Australians and 835 Americans aged between 18 and 65; May 2-3, 2020; source YouGov). We apply structural equation modeling to demonstrate that the emotional well-being impacts of COVID-19 are not only gendered but also vary between childless people and parents. Specifically, we show that compared to Australians, Americans were more impacted by changes in their financial circumstances. Further, while the financial worry and emotional strain impacts were similar between childless people and parents in Australia, significant differences existed between the two groups in the United States. In particular, we identify American mothers as the most disadvantaged group-feeling the most anxious and financially worried about both employment and domestic changes under COVID-19. Policy wise, we argue that COVID-19 is exacerbating gender inequality in emotional health. To slow down this trend, more adequate mental health supports are needed, particularly for mothers.
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ItemProfiling racial prejudice during COVID-19: Who exhibits anti-asian sentiment in Australia and the United States?(WILEY, 2021-12)Following the COVID-19 outbreak, anti-Asian racism increased around the world, as exhibited through greater instances of abuse and hate crimes. To better understand the scale of anti-Asian racism and the characteristics of people who may be expressing racial prejudice, we sampled respondents in Australia and the United States over 31 August-9 September 2020 (1375 Australians and 1060 Americans aged 18 or above; source YouGov). To address potential social desirability bias, we use both direct and indirect (list experiment) questions to measure anti-Asian sentiment and link these variables to key socioeconomic factors. We find that, instead of being universal among general populations, anti-Asian sentiment is patterned differently across both country contexts and socioeconomic groups. In the United States, the most significant predictor of anti-Asian bias is political affiliation. By contrast, in Australia, anti-Asian bias is closely linked to a wide range of socioeconomic factors including political affiliation, age, gender, employment status and income.
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ItemEarly Signs Indicate That COVID-19 Is Exacerbating Gender Inequality in the Labor Force.(SAGE Publications, 2020)In this data visualization, the authors examine how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis in the United States has affected labor force participation, unemployment, and work hours across gender and parental status. Using data from the Current Population Survey, the authors compare estimates between February and April 2020 to examine the period of time before the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States to the height of the first wave, when stay-at-home orders were issued across the country. The findings illustrate that women, particularly mothers, have employment disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Mothers are more likely than fathers to exit the labor force and become unemployed. Among heterosexual married couples of which both partners work in telecommuting-capable occupations, mothers have scaled back their work hours to a far greater extent than fathers. These patterns suggest that the COVID-19 crisis is already worsening existing gender inequality, with long-term implications for women's employment.
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ItemAre States Created Equal? Moving to a State With More Expensive Childcare Reduces Mothers' Odds of Employment(DUKE UNIV PRESS, 2021-04)Married mothers who relocate are less likely to be employed after an interstate move than married childless women and nonmobile mothers. Here, we ask whether moving to a state with more expensive childcare is associated with lower odds of maternal employment among mothers who had been employed prior to relocation. We use hierarchical binomial logistic regression models, combining data from the 2015 American Community Survey five-year sample and state-level childcare costs to assess married mothers' employment following an interstate move, controlling for states' economic conditions. We show that employment odds for married mothers were about 42% lower than those for childless married women in the year following a move. Married mothers who moved to more expensive childcare states had odds of employment that were 18% lower than those of married mothers who moved to less expensive childcare states, showing that childcare accessibility shapes mothers' employment decisions even among those with stronger labor force attachment. Moving back to respondents' or their spouses' state of birth and moving to states with more favorable economic conditions improved odds of employment as well. Overall, we show that moving to states with fewer childcare barriers is associated with higher levels of maternal employment, partly mitigating the negative labor market effects of interstate migration.