The gendered division of labor and family outcomes in germany

The literature on the predictors of the division of household labor continues to expand, but the effect of this division on family outcomes has not been explored. Using the German SocioEconomic Panel (N= 628), I analyze the effect of men's participation in housework and child care on the likelihood of second birth and divorce. Fathers' greater relative child‐care time increases couples' odds of second birth, attenuating the negative effect of mothers' employment. Husbands' relative housework time is insignificant in predicting second birth or divorce among couples with at least one child, but increases the likelihood of divorce among childless couples. This is evidence that the division of domestic labor affects family outcomes, but effects differ depending on the outcome and presence of children.     

Clarifying the Association Between Mother–Father Relationship Aggression and Parenting

Although much research examines the association between fathers' relationship aggression and mothers' parenting, little attention is given to mothers' aggression, mutual aggression, or fathers' parenting. Using a sample of coresiding couples from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 973), the authors examine the association between mothers' and fathers' relationship aggression, measured as frequency and perpetration–victimization types (mutual, mother only, father only), and mothers' and fathers' parenting. Fixed effects regression models show that fathers' aggression is positively related to mothers' parenting stress, whereas father‐only or mother‐only aggression is related to fathers' stress. For both parents, aggression perpetration is negatively related to their own engagement with children. Mother‐only aggression is negatively related to mothers' spanking and positively related to fathers' spanking. These findings suggest the importance of examining both parents' aggression and perpetrators' as well as victims' parenting to better understand the link between relationship aggression and parenting.     

Explaining fathers' involvement in childcare: an ecological approach

The study was conducted among a sample of 113 Israeli fathers, and aimed to examine the variables that explain paternal involvement in care of children between the ages of one and six. Based on Bronfenbrenner’s ecological approach, the study examined the contribution of variables representing three ecological systems of the fathers: the ontogenic system – the fathers' background variables, and their childhood experiences with paternal involvement; the microsystem – children’s characteristics (age and temperament); and mothers' characteristics (education, hours of work outside of the home, and fathers' assessments of maternal gatekeeping); and the macrosystem – type of community of residence (rural or urban). Maternal gatekeeping most significantly explained paternal involvement in most of the domains of childcare that were examined. Fathers living in urban communities who assessed their wives' maternal gatekeeping as high tended to be more involved in the domain of physical care than their counterparts living in rural communities. The child’s temperament explained paternal involvement in the domains of showing love and playing with the children, whereas the fathers' childhood experiences with paternal involvement were related to their involvement in the domain of physical care. The implications of the findings for families and communities are discussed.     

What Explains Divorced Women's Poorer Health? The Mediating Role of Health Insurance and Access to Health Care in a Rural Iowan Sample

Economic restructuring in rural areas in recent decades has been accompanied by rising marital instability. To examine the implications of the increase in divorce for the health of rural women, we examine how marital status predicts adequacy of health insurance coverage and health care access, and whether these factors help to account for the documented association between divorce and later illness. Analyzing longitudinal data from a cohort of over 400 married and recently divorced rural Iowan women, we decompose the total effect of divorce on physical illness a decade later using structural equation modeling. Divorced women are less likely to report adequate health insurance in the years following divorce, inhibiting their access to medical care and threatening their physical health. Full‐time employment acts as a buffer against insurance loss for divorced women. The growth of marital instability in rural areas has had significant ramifications for women's health; the decline of adequate health insurance coverage following divorce explains a component of the association between divorced status and poorer long‐term health outcomes.     

Comparing Father and Mother Reports of Father Involvement Among Low‐Income Minority Families

Currently available data and concerns about the validity of reports by mothers significantly truncate the ability of researchers to address a myriad of research questions concerning the involvement of fathers in families. This study aimed to inform this concern by examining predictors of father involvement and father‐mother discrepancies in reports of involvement within a low‐income, predominantly minority sample of families with both resident and nonresident fathers (n= 228). Paired hierarchical linear models were used to control for the interrelation between pairs of reporters. The results indicate that although fathers' and mothers' reports are similar, mothers consistently report lower levels of involvement than do fathers. Parental conflict, fathers' nonresidence, and fathers' age, as well as mothers' education and employment, predicted larger discrepancies between fathers' and mothers' reports.     

Health Insurance and Risk of Divorce: Does Having Your Own Insurance Matter?

Most American adults under 65 obtain health insurance through their employers or their spouses' employers. The absence of a universal health care system in the United States puts Americans at considerable risk for losing their coverage when transitioning out of jobs or marriages. Scholars have found evidence of reduced job mobility among individuals who are dependent on their employers for health care coverage. In this study, the author found similar relationships between insurance and divorce. She applied the hazard model to married individuals in the longitudinal Survey of Income Program Participation (N = 17,388) and found lower divorce rates among people who were insured through their partners' plans without alternative sources of their own. Furthermore, she found gender differences in the relationship between health care coverage and divorce rates: Insurance‐dependent women had lower rates of divorce than men in similar situations. These findings draw attention to the importance of considering family processes when debating and evaluating health policies.     

PREDICTORS OF PATERNAL INVOLVEMENT POSTDIVORCE

Recent research on the effects of divorce on children indicates the relationship of the noncustodial father both to the former spouse and to the child are critical factors affecting the child's adjustment. Guided by a family systems perspective, this study examined the relationship between paternal involvement postdivorce, the divorced coparental relationship and feelings of the former spouses' toward each other. Data were obtained from intensive interviews with 54 pairs of ex-spouses one year after divorce. Comparative analyses of mothers and fathers revealed different perceptions of fathers' involvement. Regression analysis showed that the coparental relationship and selected individual variables were significant predictors of both mothers' and fathers' perceptions of his involvement in child-rearing after divorce.     

Paternal Incarceration and the Housing Security of Urban Mothers

High rates of imprisonment among American fathers have motivated an ongoing examination of incarceration's role in family life. A growing literature suggests that incarceration creates material and socioemotional challenges not only for prisoners and former prisoners but also for their families and communities. The authors examined the relationship between fathers' incarceration and one such challenge: the housing insecurity of the mothers of their children. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,125) and a series of longitudinal regression models, they found that mothers' housing security was compromised following their partners' incarceration, an association likely driven in part, but not entirely, by financial challenges following his time in prison or jail. Given the importance of stable housing for the continuity of adult employment, children's schooling, and other inputs to healthy child development, the findings suggest a grave threat to the well‐being of children with incarcerated fathers.     

Investigation of Change in Adolescent Perceptions of Mothers' and Fathers' Contributions to Interparental Discord From 7th to 9th Grades

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether adolescent perceptions of mothers' and fathers' contributions to interparental discord changed from early to middle adolescence and if the changes were related to adolescent negative mood. Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997. Adolescents who were in 7th grade at the Wave 1 assessment and lived with both biological parents during Waves 1–4 were included in this research (n=812; 55% boys; 69% White). Findings indicated that adolescents' perceptions of their mothers' and their fathers' contributions to interparental discord increased at similar rates from early to middle adolescence. The largest increases in adolescent perceptions of mothers' and fathers' contributions to interparental discord from 7th to 9th grades were associated with the largest increases in adolescent negative mood from 7th to 10th grades. Girls' perceptions of their fathers' contributions to interparental relationship problems increased at a steeper rate compared with boys. Findings are discussed in the context of the sensitization hypothesis.     

Children's Affection Toward Fathers: A Comparison between Japan and the United States

Abstract Previous studies on fatherhood have focused primarily on the extent of paternal involvement from fathers' point of view and the impact of such involvement on children. These studies report that the level of paternal involvement varies depending on such factors as the fathers' ages, and the mothers' employment hours and income, and that the active participation by fathers has a positive impact on children's emotional and cognitive development. The current study not only focuses on paternal involvement but also on questions rarely addressed in the previous studies. How do children perceive the extent of fathers' involvement with them? Are their perceptions highly correlated with the report made by fathers? Further, how does paternal involvement influence children's affection toward fathers? In this paper, these questions are examined using a cross-national data collected in Japan and the United States. The major findings of the survey indicate that the levels of paternal involvement perceived by children and fathers are not as strongly correlated as were expected both in Japan and the United States. In both countries, children who spend more time with their fathers and who are younger and girls express more affection toward fathers. A cross-national difference was found with respect to the impact of social network on children's affection toward fathers.     

Health Limitations Among Mothers and Fathers: Implications for Parenting

Despite the good reasons in which poor health could impede parenting, relatively little research considers this possibility. This study uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3,376) and propensity score matching to examine the relationship between maternal and paternal health limitations—health conditions that limit the amount or type of work one can do—and mother‐ and father‐reported parenting stress, cooperation in parenting, and engagement with children. First, the authors find that mothers' and fathers' health limitations are associated with greater parenting stress. Second, they find evidence of spillover associations; when compared with their counterparts, parents with health limitations report that their child's other parent exhibits less cooperation. Third, they find that the associations between health and parenting are not moderated by parents' coresidential status. Taken together, these findings inform the stress process perspective and its implications for family life.     

Which fathers are the most involved in taking care of their toddlers in the UK? An investigation of the predictors of paternal involvement

Economic provisioning continues to be the essence of ‘good’ fathering, and the work schedules associated with fathers' employment remain a key factor which shapes their involvement in childcare and domestic work at home. However, the relative impact of fathers' and mothers' employment hours on paternal involvement in childcare is unclear, and little is known about the longer-term impact, that is, whether a work arrangement organised when the child is under a year old has an impact on paternal involvement when the child is aged three. Here we focus on employed couples and explore the association that mothers' and fathers' employment hours have with paternal involvement when their child is three years old. Multivariate analysis using the UK's Millennium Cohort Study reveals that it is the mothers' employment hours when the child is aged three that has the largest association with paternal involvement in childcare at this stage in the child's life, independent of what hours the father works. Furthermore, both fathers' and mothers' employment hours when the child was nine months old have a longitudinal influence on paternal involvement when the child reaches three years old, but it is the hours worked by the mother when the child was aged nine months that has the stronger association with paternal involvement at age three. This suggests that mothers' work schedules are more important than fathers' for fostering greater paternal involvement in both the immediate and longer term.     

Relationship Status and Activated Kin Support: The Role of Need and Norms

Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, we examined whether mothers' (N = 4,127) and fathers' (N = 3,405) relationship status influenced their activation of financial support from relatives over time. We found that relationship status influenced the activation of financial support from relatives but that the effects differed somewhat by gender. Mothers were significantly more likely to activate financial assistance if they did not reside with the focal father, whereas fathers had lower odds of activating support if they were no longer in a relationship with the mother. Thus, the need for assistance may encourage mothers to access support; fathers may be less likely to access support when they deviate from social norms.     

The Management of Household and Childcare Tasks and Relationship Satisfaction in Dual-Earner Families

Abstract

The investigation examined the mental work associated with managing a household and raising young children and how such mental work might be associated with relationship satisfaction. Forty-five parents with young children completed questionnaires that assessed marital satisfaction and mothers' and fathers' perceptions of who did what in their household in terms of household tasks, childcare tasks, household management, and childcare management, as well as how much they worried about the completion of each of these tasks. Results indicate that fathers' marital satisfaction and mothers' marital satisfaction differed in terms of the division of labor and management of labor.     

Repartnering Following Divorce: Implications for Older Fathers' Relations With Their Adult Children

This study examined the implications of postdivorce fathers' new unions and additional (step)children for two aspects of older fathers' relations with adult children born from a prior relationship: frequency of social contact and fathers' financial transfers. Data from multiple waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 13,017 observations on 4,997 adult children belonging to 1,917 ever‐divorced fathers) were used to estimate multilevel models. The results indicated that divorced fathers who go on to form a new union have weaker relations with adult children from a prior union than their postdivorce counterparts who remain single. This finding partly reflects the detrimental effects of repartnered older fathers' new biological children and stepchildren. There is no difference between older remarried and cohabiting fathers' intergenerational ties. Moreover, fathers' additional biological children and stepchildren have similarly negative effects on fathers' relations with adult children from a previous union.     

Parental Support in Adolescents' Career Development: Parents' and Children's Perceptions

Using social cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 2000 ), this study examined the role of parents' and children's perceptions of parental support in adolescents' career choices. A total of 94 Italian adolescents (30 boys, 64 girls) and both of their parents (N = 188) participated in the study. The authors tested a fully mediated model between mothers' and fathers' perceptions of support and career choice through the indirect effect of adolescents' perceptions of parental support and career self‐efficacy. Results provided support for the model. Specifically, both mothers' and fathers' perceptions of support predicted their adolescents' career choice through the mediating effect of the youths' perceptions of parental support and career self‐efficacy. These results have important implications for practice and underscore that parents need to be involved very early on in their children's vocational development.     

Relieving the Time Squeeze? Effects of a White‐Collar Workplace Change on Parents

Employed parents perceive a time squeeze even as trends from the 1960s show they are spending more time with their children. Work conditions (e.g., hours and schedule control) would seem to affect both parents' time with children and perceived time squeeze, but most studies rely on cross‐sectional data that do not establish causality. The authors examined the effects of the introduction of a workplace flexibility initiative (Results Only Work Environment [ROWE]) on changes in mothers' and fathers' perceptions of the adequacy of their time with children and actual time spent with children (N = 225). Baseline data show the importance of work conditions for parents' sense of perceived time adequacy. Panel data show that mothers (but not fathers) in ROWE report increased schedule control and improved time adequacy, but no change in actual time spent with children, except that ROWE increases evening meals with children for mothers sharing few meals at baseline.     

ADOLESCENT GENDER IDEOLOGY SOCIALIZATION: DIRECT AND MODERATING EFFECTS OF FATHERS' BELIEFS

Previous research examining the intergenerational transmission of gender ideology focuses generally on the influence of mothers' beliefs. This article extends the understanding of gender ideology construction and transmission in two important ways. Utilizing data from the child sample of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (N = 206), we examine the construction of adolescent gender ideology via mothers' and fathers' gender beliefs. Further, we consider the interaction between maternal and paternal ideologies as they influence adolescent ideology. Findings suggest that paternal ideology plays a strong role in adolescent ideology formation, both directly and as a moderator of maternal influence.     

The Shale Boom and Family Structure: Oil and Gas Employment Growth Relationship to Marriage,Divorce, and Cohabitation

Shale oil and gas extraction technology has caused a large shift in the United States' energy landscape over the last decade. This had a wide range of impacts on rural communities mostly in which oil and gas extraction occurs. While many studies have focused on the economic and environmental impact of shale development, researchers have only begun to study the social changes brought on by the shale resource extraction. We examine the influence of shale oil and gas employment as a share of overall county employment on county marriage, divorce, and cohabitation rates. We find evidence that oil and gas employment growth is associated with decreased marriage rates and increased divorce rates from 2009 to 2014. We test several channels through which oil and gas development may influence marriage behaviors and find that changes in female labor force participation, county sex ratios, and median household incomes are associated with oil and gas development. We also test for differences across the rural/urban continuum and find that our results are largely driven by nonmetro counties.     

Predicting the timing of maternal employment after birth among a low-income and ethnically diverse sample

Policy pressures in the USA to transition parents from public assistance to work and concerns about the effects of early maternal employment on children highlight the importance of studying predictors of the timing of postpartum maternal employment. Little attention has been given to postpartum employment patterns of low-income ethnic minorities and immigrants, whose working conditions and employment prospects are different from white, middle-class mothers. Using a sample of low-income Mexicans, Dominicans, and African-Americans (N = 310), we studied whether and when mothers start working the first year following childbirth, and what factors promote or delay postpartum employment. Using discrete-time survival analysis, we modeled the odds of working at each month and tested the influence of family context, mothers' work and family values and plans, maternity leave benefit, and instrumental support availability on the timing of employment. By 11 months, half of the mothers had started working. Having maternity leave, plans to work, childcare arrangements, and a strong work orientation increased the odds of working. Household earnings were related to postpartum employment, but this effect varied over time. For African-Americans, instrumental support availability predicted earlier returns to employment, whereas for Mexicans and Dominicans it related to later returns to employment.