Mothers' and Fathers' Work Hours, Child Gender, and Behavior in Middle Childhood

This study examined the association between typical parental work hours (including nonemployed parents) and children's behavior in two-parent heterosexual families. Child behavior was measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at ages 5, 8, and 10 in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort...

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Main Authors: Johnson, S., Li, Jianghong, Kendall, Garth, Strazdins, L., Jacoby, P.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Wiley Science 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.01030.x/abstract
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/42343
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author Johnson, S.
Li, Jianghong
Kendall, Garth
Strazdins, L.
Jacoby, P.
author_facet Johnson, S.
Li, Jianghong
Kendall, Garth
Strazdins, L.
Jacoby, P.
author_sort Johnson, S.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This study examined the association between typical parental work hours (including nonemployed parents) and children's behavior in two-parent heterosexual families. Child behavior was measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at ages 5, 8, and 10 in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study (N = 4,201 child-year observations). Compared to those whose fathers worked fewer hours per week, children whose fathers worked 55 hours or more per week had significantly higher levels of externalizing behavior. This association was not explained by father–child time during the week, poorer family functioning, or overreactive parenting practice. Further, when stratifying the analysis by child gender, this association appeared to exist only in boys. Mothers' work hours were unrelated to children's behavioral problems. The role of parent and child gender in the relationships between parental work hours and children's behavioral problems, together with mediating factors, warrants further investigation.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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publishDate 2013
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-423432019-02-19T04:28:12Z Mothers' and Fathers' Work Hours, Child Gender, and Behavior in Middle Childhood Johnson, S. Li, Jianghong Kendall, Garth Strazdins, L. Jacoby, P. work hours paternal employment mental health maternal employment middle childhood parental investment/involvement This study examined the association between typical parental work hours (including nonemployed parents) and children's behavior in two-parent heterosexual families. Child behavior was measured by the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at ages 5, 8, and 10 in the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study (N = 4,201 child-year observations). Compared to those whose fathers worked fewer hours per week, children whose fathers worked 55 hours or more per week had significantly higher levels of externalizing behavior. This association was not explained by father–child time during the week, poorer family functioning, or overreactive parenting practice. Further, when stratifying the analysis by child gender, this association appeared to exist only in boys. Mothers' work hours were unrelated to children's behavioral problems. The role of parent and child gender in the relationships between parental work hours and children's behavioral problems, together with mediating factors, warrants further investigation. 2013 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/42343 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.01030.x/abstract Wiley Science restricted
spellingShingle work hours
paternal employment
mental health
maternal employment
middle childhood
parental investment/involvement
Johnson, S.
Li, Jianghong
Kendall, Garth
Strazdins, L.
Jacoby, P.
Mothers' and Fathers' Work Hours, Child Gender, and Behavior in Middle Childhood
title Mothers' and Fathers' Work Hours, Child Gender, and Behavior in Middle Childhood
title_full Mothers' and Fathers' Work Hours, Child Gender, and Behavior in Middle Childhood
title_fullStr Mothers' and Fathers' Work Hours, Child Gender, and Behavior in Middle Childhood
title_full_unstemmed Mothers' and Fathers' Work Hours, Child Gender, and Behavior in Middle Childhood
title_short Mothers' and Fathers' Work Hours, Child Gender, and Behavior in Middle Childhood
title_sort mothers' and fathers' work hours, child gender, and behavior in middle childhood
topic work hours
paternal employment
mental health
maternal employment
middle childhood
parental investment/involvement
url http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2012.01030.x/abstract
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/42343