The effect of homemaker's employment status on children's time allocation in single- and two-parent families

This study compares the effect of homemaker's employment status on children's time allocation in single- and two-parent families. Specifically under investigation is the effect of living in a family in which the mother is employed professionally, employed non-professionally, or not employed outside the home on older child's time allocated to household work, school work, and recreation in single- and two-parent families. Age and sex of older children and constraints on their time, such as school attendance, are controlled for in the analysis. The data are from a California study. A two-step multiple regression procedure is used. The effect of homemaker's employment status on older child's time allocated to household work, school work, and recreation is not found to differ by family structure. Homemaker's employment status does not explain a significant amount of variance in older child's time allocation.Rosemary J. Key is Assistant Professor, Department of Consumer Economics and Housing, Cornell University, 103 Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Ithaca, New York 14850. Her research interests include substitutability between family members' time in household production, and sequencing techniques used in household production activities. She received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.Margaret Mietus Sanik is Associate Professor, Department of Family Resource Management, The Ohio State University, 1787 Neil Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210. Her research interests include time use among family members and household production. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University.     

Use of time and preferences for time allocation among urban,employed, married women

This study examines the relationship between employed wives' preferences for household production time, employment time, leisure, and their actual time use. A random sample of 235 employed, married women estimate their time use on an average weekday and weekend day in 13 activities and indicate their preferences for time in those activities. Hierarchical multiple regression procedures are used to examine the relationships between actual and preferred time use. Weekday employment time is not related to preferences for more or less time in household production but wives allocating more time to employment want to spend less time at that employment and more time in leisure. Weekend employment time is related to preferences for more time in leisure, child care, and other household work. Time spent performing household work is not related to preferences for more or less time in any activity except the desire for more leisure time on weekends.Ann Renigar Hiatt is Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Services, College of Education and Allied Professions at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223. Her research interests include employed women's time allocation, time pressures, and use of time management strategies. She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.Deborah D. Godwin is Associate Professor in the Department of Housing and Consumer Economics at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Her research has focused on husbands' and wives' time allocation to household production, the effects of women's employment on family economic functioning, and family financial management. She received her Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensbore.     

Time allocation of one- and two-parent mothers

Using data from one- and two-parent households with two children in rural and urban areas of California, this study analyzes time allocation decisions in market work, household work, and leisure activities among single and married mothers. Results of the seemingly unrelated regression procedures indicate that family structure affects time in household work but not market work or leisure activities. Of the socio-demographic variables, only day of the week explains time allocation to household work, market work, and leisure activities among single and married mothers.This research has been supported by the United States Department of Agriculture through the Georgia Agricultural Experiment Station under Southern Regional Project S-206.Teresa Mauldin is an Assistant Professor and Carol B. Meeks is an Associate Professor in the Department of Housing and Consumer Economics, the University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Dr. Mauldin received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University and is interested in time use, economic well-being of individuals and families, and family structure. Dr. Meeks also received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University and her research interests include time use, family structure, and economic aspects of housing.     

Time demands on families: Is there a bottom line?

As families continue to adapt to interpersonal and marketplace pressures, time available for household production is becoming scarce. The purpose of the study reported here is to explore the utility of regional economic analyses in determining minimal levels of household production as measured in terms of time. The results provide a minimum family time required in the long term of approximately 35 hours per week and a short term requirement of 2 hours per week. Theoretical frameworks used in family science are integrated in the discussion to explain these findings.Pamela N. Olson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Counseling and Family Studies, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131. Her current research interests are family member time-use and families in debt. She completed her Ph.D. at Oregon State University.James J. Ponzetti, Jr. received his Ph.D. from Oregon State University. He is currently an Assistant Professor in Family Studies in the Department of Home Economics, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA 98926. His current research interests include divorce, loneliness, and family planning.Geraldine I. Olson is Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Family Resource Management, College of Home Economics, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97131. She completed her Ph.D. at The Ohio State University and current research interests include family member time-use, assessing managerial activities, and factors which influence the substitution of marketplace goods with household production.     

The Reliability of Measurement and the Cross‐Time Stability of Individual and Family Variables

Using data from a 31‐year panel study, we evaluate both the reliability of measurement of family attitudes, relationships, and self‐concepts and the stability of these variables across time. We also compare the reliability of measurement and the stability of variables across time in these domains of family life with the reliability and stability of behavioral dimensions. Our results provide considerable support for the hypothesis that family relationships, attitudes, and self‐concepts can be measured reliably. We also demonstrate that self‐concepts and family relationships and attitudes have high levels of stability across significant periods of time, and that these are comparable to those for the behavioral indicators we examined.     

Who Do I Look Like? Gaining a Sense of Self‐Authenticity Through the Physical Reflections of Others

The question Who do I look like? rarely arises for individuals raised in a biological family context. In contrast, searching adoptees report an incomplete sense of physical self from not seeing their bodily traits reflected in biological relatives. Meeting birth relatives and matching physical characteristics creates a stronger sense of self‐authenticity. An analysis of these social processes provides a unique opportunity to contribute to the symbolic interactionist understanding of the relationships existing among the physical body, self, and the reflected appraisals of others. An integration of phenomenological theoretical concepts with symbolic interactionist concepts furthers that understanding.     

The utilization of child care by households engaged in home-based employment

A logit procedure is used to examine the factors associated with the likelihood of using child care services among a sample of households with both a home-based worker and a child designated as needing care. Being a single-parent, having high family income, and the presence of a two-year old child are positively associated with the likelihood of using child care. Being an older worker, having a child who is one year or less or children who are 11 to 12 years, and having a less professional occupation decreases the likelihood of using child care. Self-employment decreases the likelihood of usage; owning a business that hires employees or services increases the likelihood of usage. The major conclusion is that home-based work may be a coping strategy for some child care needs, but home-based working households often need and use child care.This article reports results from the Cooperative Regional Research Project, NE-167, entitled, At-Home Income Generation: Impact on Management, Productivity and Stability in Rural/Urban Families, partially supported by the Cooperative States Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Experiment Stations at the University of Hawaii, Iowa State University, Lincoln University (Missouri), Michigan State University, Cornell University (New York), The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania State University, Utah State University, and the University of Vermont. Authors are listed in descending order of their contributions to this research paper. Appreciation is expressed to Frank Chiang for the computer assistance needed to complete these analyses. Patsy Sellen was instrumental in formatting and stylizing this article to required guidelines.Her current research interests include household asset and debt formation, working families and employers' benefits, and home-based employment. She received her Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1978.Nancy C. Saltford, has recently been a Visiting Scholar at the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a public policy research organization in Washington D.C. where she specialized in employer policies for working families. Her Ph.D. was received from Purdue University in 1971.Her research interests include the economics of divorce and at-home income generation. She received her Ph.D. from Oregon State University in 1986.Her primary areas of research are rural families, household production, family time use and its meaning, and the interactive aspects of managerial, productive and affective functions of families. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1983.     

Work and family: Understanding men's role evaluations

Analysis of data provided by a random sample (N=92) of married police officers was used to evaluate the effects of time constraints, job stress, family strengths, family structure, and social networks on men's role evaluations. These men had generally positive evaluations of their income provider, husband, father, and home care roles. Multivariate analysis showed complex relationships between work, family, and network conditions and men's evaluations of their roles. Commuting time, job stress, family strengths, number of children, kin available, friends available and contact with friends effected role evaluations. The centrality of family roles for these men and the patterns of personal gain they received did not support stereotypic images of men's family relationships.This is a revised version of a paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the National Council on Family Relations, November, 1985. I wish to thank Kuo-Liang Lin for his able assistance, and Robert A. Lewis and Fred Piercy for their helpful comments.Karen Altergott received her doctorate in Sociology from the University of Minnesota, and is currently Assistant Professor of Family Studies at Purdue University. Areas of research include family relations and social networks across the life course, comparative family studies, and family gerontology. Send correspondence to Dr. Altergott at Family Research Institute, 525 Russell Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907.     

Are we investing less in the next generation? Historical trends in time spent caring for children

Historical and current data sets are used to trace the time married women and men spend caring for their own children on a daily basis. The data are also used to estimate the total time parents spend in raising two children to the age of 18. The analysis is restricted to primary child care time; i.e., the actual, direct administration of personal care, including physical care (feeding, bathing, dressing, putting to bed) and such other direct personal care as teaching, chauffering, supervising, counseling, managing, training, amusing, and entertaining. Secondary parental child care time is not studied. Although white married women spent about. 56 hours per day per child in primary child care in the 1924–1931 period, by 1981, the time had decreased to about 1.00 hour per day per child. Married men spent 0.25 hours per day per child in 1975, the first year for which national data exists. By 1981, this figure had increased to 0.33 hours per day per child. Raising two children to age 18 required about 5,789 hours of a white, employed, married woman's time and 14,053 hours of a white, unemployed, married woman's time in 1981. Husbands of white, employed married women spent about 1,500 more hours in raising two children to age 18 than the husbands of white, unemployed married women.His research interests include the economics of family time use, household production, consumption, and demand.Her research interests include household production, family structure and family well-being, and family policy.     

The roles of role strain,economic resources and time demands in explaining mothers' life satisfaction

Time diary and questionnaire data from mothers who are full-time homemakers, members of dual-earner households, and heads of single-parent households are analyzed to determine the influence of family structure, economic resources, and time demands on their life satisfaction. The multivariate analysis reveals that family structure is moderately related to mothers' satisfaction with progress in life but not to satisfaction with life as a whole. Mothers' satisfaction with life as a whole does vary with their life cycle stage, economic situation, and their use of time.Her research interests include time use of household members and CADD education for interior design students. She received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University.Her research assesses the impact of household composition changes on economic well-being. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University.     

Do working mothers have healthy children?

This paper examines the effects of maternal employment on children's physical and mental health. The data used are from the Health Interview Survey 1981, Child Health Supplement. A health production model is developed on the basis of Becker's household production theory. The results reveal that a mother's employment is a significant factor affecting her child's physical health. Use of physician services, prices (i.e., CPI used as a proxy variable), sex of the child, receipt of Medicaid, the number of relocations, the mother's education, the mother's health status, breast-feeding practices, and the birth weight of the child are other important variables explaining the health status of children. The role of each of these factors varies according to the marital status of the mother.The authors wish to thank anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments resulting in a much improved product.She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1990. Her current research interests include health care of children and elderly, teen pregnancy and welfare use, children and divorce, and immigrant consumers.She received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1983. Her research includes long-term health care for frail and ethnic elderly, health insurance purchases for the elderly, and health services utilization by the employed and working poor.     

Individual vs. household determinants of the demand for medical care: A study of rural families

This article investigates, from a household perspective, the demand for medical care. Earlier (economic) studies have typically focused on individual utilization patterns; however, the data set employed here allows for an investigation of the role of other family members on individual demand. The theoretical results suggest that the labor force status (via the wage rate) of one family member may, in addition to influencing that person's rate of medical care use, effect the utilization of other household members. Separate physician visit demand equations are estimated for husbands, wives, and the household unit. The empirical results indicate that the wife's (full) cost of receiving medical care is a significant determinant of utilization by both the husband and other family members. Overall, the findings suggest that demand studies should take the presence of other household members and family structure into consideration when analyzing the determinants of individual medical care utilization.This study was supported in part by grant no. 1R03 HSO 2417-01 from the National Center for Health Services Research, HHS.Laurence Miners received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is currently an Associate Professor at Fairfield University and his research interests are focused mainly in the areas of health and labor economics. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Laurence Miners, Department of Economics, Fairfield University, Fairfield, CT 06430.     

Predictors of out-of-pocket medical expenditures in low-income households

From a sample of low-income households, out-of-pocket medical expenses are found to average about $25 per month. For each household, these expenses vary with annual income, type of insurance for medical care, priority of medical expenses, ethnicity, and number of ill family members. Expenses are reported for households with different socioeconomic characteristics and composition. Multiparticipation in insurance programs is shown. Fourteen percent of the survey participants say they have no insurance, public or private. Thirty-three percent participate in Medicaid.Flora L. Williams is an Associate Professor in Consumer Sciences and Retailing at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907. She received her Ph.D. from Purdue University and includes family economic well-being, and financial problems and expenditures among her research interests.Amy Hagler received her M.S. from Purdue University in Consumer Sciences and Retailing.Mary Pritchard is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human and Family Resources at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115-2854. Her Ph.D. was earned at Purdue and her areas of research focus on family economic well-being and economic socialization of adolescents.Marshall A. Martin is a Professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. His research addresses agriculture and food policy, and economic assessment of emerging agricultural technology.William C. Bailey is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Indianapolis, 1400 E. Hanna Avenue, Indianapolis, IN, 46227-3697. He received his Ph.D. from Texas Tech University and focuses his research on economic psychology and health care cost.     

Perceived stress among nonmetropolitan Utah residents

This article examines relationships between perceived stress and variables such as life events, differential economic satisfaction, health problems, and sociodemographic characteristics among respondents in three nonmetropolitan areas in Utah. The three most predictive factors related to perceived stress are economic satisfaction, life events experienced, and religion. The analysis shows an inverse partial relationship between perceived stress scores and economic satisfaction, and a positive partial relationship between the number of life events and perceived stress. Non-Mormons report higher levels of stress than Mormons. A positive but weak relationship is observed between stress and household size. Weak inverse relationships are observed between stress and a measure of household unemployment, income, and respondent's sex.Richard S. Krannich received his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. He is an Associate Professor of Sociology, and Director of the Institute for Social Science Research on Natural Resources, Utah State University, Logan, UT84322-0730. His research interests include rural development processes, community change, and social responses to natural resource developments.Pamela J. Riley received her Ph.D. from Washington State University. She is currently an Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-0730. Research interests include rural family stress, the impacts of tourism on developing countries, and social aspects of on-farm water management.Ann Leffler is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Director of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Program, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-0730. Research interests include nonmetropolitan family stress. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.     

Home-based employment: Historical and current considerations

The purposes of this article are threefold. First, there is a brief review of current and historical research on home-based business with special emphasis on female home-based employment and the impact of such employment on family life. Second, a conceptual model for family work activities is advanced. Finally, concepts related to home-based employment that could be used to frame and describe the empirical study are specified.This article reports results from the Cooperative Regional Research Project, NE-167, entitled At-Home Income Generation: Impact on Management, Productivity and Stability in Rural/Urban Families, partially supported by the Cooperative States Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture and the Experiment Stations at the University of Hawaii, Iowa State University, Lincoln University (Missouri), Michigan State University, Cornell University (New York), The Ohio State University, The Pennsylvania State University, Utah State University, and the University of Vermont.Her research interests include measuring household production, at-home income generation, and rural families. She received her Ph.D. in Family and Consumer Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.Her research interests include home-based business and consumer behavior. She received her Ph.D from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.Her research interests include consumer behavior and family economic issues. She received her Ph.D. from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.     

Time together,time apart: An analysis of wives' solitary time and shared time with spouses

The time spouses spend together in household work activities, leisure activities, and in eating are analyzed and compared with the time spent alone by wives in these same activities. The purpose of the analysis is to distinguish between two hypotheses: (a) that the time spent by spouses together in the same activity is charged with extra meaning when compared with the time spent by the wife alone in the same activity; and (b) that the time spent by spouses together in the same activity is a perfect substitute for time spent alone in the same activity by the wife. Multivariate probit, OLS and Tobit analyses are conducted with data taken from the 1977–78 NE-113 Time-Use Data for Louisiana, New York, Utah, and Wisconsin. Statistical tests confirm the hypothesis that shared times in the three activities studied are charged with extra meaning when compared with wives' solitary time in the same activities. Solitary times spent by the wife in the three activities are negatively related with family income. Solitary time spent by wives in household work activities and in leisure activities are positively related to husband's price of time. Spouses' shared times in these activities rise and wives' solitary times fall on weekends.Thanks are due to Bob Avery, Barbara Brown, Robin Douthitt, Jenny Gerner, Jutta Joesch, Sally Lloyd, Cathy Zick, Peter Zorn, members of S-206 Time-Use Regional Committee, the graduate research workshop of the Department of Family and Consumer Studies, University of Utah, the seminar participants at Utah State University, and the seminar participants of the Department of Family Economics and Management, University of Missouri for stimulating, cautionary, and corrective discussions pertaining to this paper. Any remaining errors and obscurities are the responsibility of the authors.W. Keith Bryant is Professor, Consumer Economics and Housing, 117D Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Dr. Bryant received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Yan Wang is MacNamara Post-Doctorate Fellow, The World Bank, Washington, DC. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell University.     

Time and time again: Implications of time perception theory

This article explores the integration of time perception theory from various root disciplines related to family resource management. It includes anthropological models of time perception and sociological and psychological concepts related to time measure and usage. Examples of issues appropriate to the exploration of time use in the home and instrumentation that may assist in its understanding and measurement are included.This research was supported in part by Lincoln University Cooperative Research.Alma J. Owen is Associate Professor and Small Farm Family Program Leader for Lincoln University Cooperative Extension, 900 Moreau Drive, Jefferson City, MO 65101. Her research interests include measuring household production, at-home income generation, and rural families. She received her Ph.D. in Family and Consumer Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia.     

Spot observation: Advantages and disadvantages for household time use research

The spot observation method of estimating time use is described in this article. Procedures for using this method in developing countries, where household activities are relatively easily observed, are contrasted with procedures used in countries characterized by very private living units and highly separated employment, educational, and household settings. Characteristics of various methods for collecting time use data are compared so that researchers can evaluate the trade-offs they can expect from selecting a particular method. A case example of using the spot observation method in a study of women's household and agricultural activities in the Njoro Region of Kenya is presented.Her research interests are household time allocation and women's economic status in developing countries.Her research interests include the time allocation of rural women and women in international development. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1995.The study of women's and children's time use reported in this paper was supported in part by the Center for African Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and by the Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Egerton University, Njoro, Kenya.     

Differences in allocation of family time spent on household tasks among single-parent,one-earner,and two-earner families

The purpose of this study is to use analysis of covariance to examine variations in time use among single-parent, one-earner, and two-earner families and to assess the effects of two covariates, Age of the Younger Child and Hours of Employment of the Homemaker, on total family time spent on household tasks. Data were collected from 81 single-parent and 210 two-parent California households using a questionnaire, time chart, and personal interviews. The greatest discrepancy between single-parent and two-parent families is that single-parent families spend significantly less time than two-parent families on Maintenance of the home and yard and on Nonphysical Care (social interaction with family members). One-earner families spend almost as much time as two-earner families on Nonphysical Care, but only when Secondary Time is included. Two household activities, Clothing Care and Management, are not affected by either family type or the covariates.This study utilized data from USDA Regional Research Project NE-113, An Urban-Rural Comparison of Families' Time Use.Jeanne M. Hilton is an Assistant Professor of Family Economics and Management, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557. She received her Ph.D. from Oregon State University. Her current research interests include work and family issues within the context of family structure.     

Financial management: Development of scales

This study is a contribution to the development of family resource management scales, specifically financial management scales. Principal axis factor analysis, with varimax rotation, is used to assess underlying relationships in 23 family resource management variables related to time and money resources. Reliability and content, construct, and criterion-related validity of the scales are assessed. Two scales that are reliable and have some degree of validity are developed: frequency of financial problems and frequency of financial management. The scales could be used in future research, teaching, or counseling to organize financial management concepts.Preparation of this research was supported in part by the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station. Data were collected in conjunction with the cooperative regional research project NC-182, Family Resource Utilization as a Factor in Determining Economic Well-Being of Rural Families. Cooperating states are Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, and Minnesota.She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois; her current research interests include gender roles, family financial management, and economic well-being.Her current research interests include family financial management and consumer bankruptcy. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri.Her current research interests include the economic well-being of various family forms. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois. Her research interests are economic well-being and quality of life.