School of Social and Political Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableDo high childcare costs and low access to Head Start and childcare subsidies limit mothers' employment? A state-level analysis(ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE, 2022-02)Access to affordable childcare is crucial to mothers' employment. Yet, childcare costs and access to Head Start, childcare subsidies, and state-funded preschool vary dramatically across U.S. states. Using data from the 2016 American Community Survey five-year estimates, we apply hierarchical logistic regression models to show mothers are more likely to work in states with inexpensive childcare, higher Head Start enrollment and childcare subsidy participation, and increased availability of state-funded preschool. Childcare subsidy access is associated with higher maternal employment amongst those with lower levels of educational attainment, whereas state-funded preschool is associated with higher employment primarily among the college educated. Additionally, our analysis revealed that Head Start has a stronger association with maternal employment in states where childcare costs are high, reducing the negative relationship of employment with expensive childcare. As national discussions continue to center on the importance of childcare, our research adds evidence that public programs support maternal employment through reducing out-of-pocket childcare costs.
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ItemAN ARGUMENT FOR UNIVERSAL PRESCHOOL AND CHILDCARE IN THE U.S.(Wiley, 2022-06-01)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableChildren's sleep and fathers' health and wellbeing: A systematic review(W B SAUNDERS CO LTD, 2022-02)Night-waking is typical across infancy and early childhood, inevitably disrupting family sleep. For some children, sleep problems develop and endure throughout childhood. This systematic review focused on fathers, and synthesised the evidence pertaining to the effects of children's sleep (from birth to 12 years) on fathers' health and wellbeing. A total of 29 studies were included. Key outcomes reported for fathers were: sleep and fatigue; mental and general health; and family functioning. An association between child sleep and father's sleep was observed when child's sleep was measured via actigraphy or paternal report, but not when measured via maternal report, suggesting that mothers may not always be aware of disruptions that awaken fathers. Findings showed poorer child sleep was associated with poorer general health and wellbeing among fathers, however, associations of poor child sleep with depression were fewer, and less frequent than those reported for mothers in the same households. Poor child sleep was negatively associated with the quality of family relationships, both within the couple and between parent and child. Future studies seeking to understand the interplay of child sleep and family wellbeing should apply objective measurement of sleep and integrate formal measures of family dynamics into the study design.
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ItemResearch Note: School Reopenings During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Implications for Gender and Racial Equity(DUKE UNIV PRESS, 2022-02)In the fall of 2020, school districts across the country reopened under a variety of instructional modes. Some districts returned to in-person instruction and some operated remotely. Others reopened under hybrid models, wherein students alternated times, days, or weeks of in-person instruction. To capture this variation, we developed the Elementary School Operating Status (ESOS) database. ESOS provides data on elementary school districts' primary operating status in the first grading period of the 2020-2021 school year, covering 24 million students in more than 9,000 school districts in all states. In this research note, we introduce these data and offer two analytical examples. We show that school districts with greater representation of Black and Hispanic students were less likely to offer in-person instruction than were districts with greater representation of White students. These racial disparities remained after accounting for geographic locale and COVID-19 prevalence. We also show that the number of in-person elementary school instruction days was associated with mothers' labor force participation relative to fathers and to women without children-that is, the fewer days of instruction, the less likely that mothers were employed. ESOS is a critical data source for evaluating the mid- and long-term implications for students who experienced reduced in-person learning and for mothers who exited employment in the absence of in-person instruction and care.
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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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ItemRestless sleep and emotional wellbeing among European full-time dual-earner couples: gendered impacts of children and workplace demands(Routledge, 2022)Role strain theory illuminates how work and family impinge on our intimate lives in gendered ways. Drawing upon data from the 2012 European Social Survey, we estimate structural equation models to understand the links between work and family conditions on full-time dual-earning couples’ restless sleep and emotional wellbeing. Our results show that young children (aged two or under) disrupt full-time working mothers’ but not full-time working fathers’ sleep, improving emotional wellbeing for fathers but not mothers. Compared to men, women report a significantly larger association between work hour dissatisfaction and restless sleep, probably highlighting the more time strain they experience due to their family responsibility on top of their full-time work. These gender gaps are the most pronounced among those couples working longest hours, suggesting that when inter-role strain intensifies for both partners, women suffer disproportionately. Collectively, our findings identify significant and gendered consequences of childcare and workplace demands and spotlight restless sleep as a key mechanism linking women’s role strain to poor emotional wellbeing.
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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)