IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jfamec/v37y2016i4d10.1007_s10834-015-9480-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Maternal Working Hours and the Well-Being of Adolescent Children: Evidence from British Data

Author

Listed:
  • Silvia Mendolia

    (University of Wollongong)

Abstract

This study investigates how maternal working hours are related to various outcomes in children aged 11–15 using a sample of mothers and adolescents in the British Household Panel Survey. Research that examines the effects of maternal employment on children has been motivated by the rapid increase of female participation rates in the labour market and increased shares of children living in female-headed or single-mother households. The existing literature on this issue is very limited, mostly based on American data, and provides conflicting results. Fixed effects have been used in the present analysis to control for characteristics of children and mothers that do not vary over time. The results suggest that full-time maternal employment (as opposed to part-time) has little or no effect on the propensity of adolescents to smoke, their life satisfaction, self-esteem, or intention to leave school at 16. These results are stable and consistent across various specifications of the model and different socio-economic status.

Suggested Citation

  • Silvia Mendolia, 2016. "Maternal Working Hours and the Well-Being of Adolescent Children: Evidence from British Data," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 566-580, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:37:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s10834-015-9480-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10834-015-9480-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10834-015-9480-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10834-015-9480-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mary Katras & Erin Sharp & Elizabeth Dolan & Laura Baron, 2015. "Non-standard Work and Rural Low-Income Mothers: Making It Work," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 84-96, March.
    2. James Heckman, 2011. "Policies to foster human capital," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 3, pages 73-137.
    3. James Bishop, 2011. "The Effect of Maternal Employment on Youth Overweight in Australia," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 87(s1), pages 92-104, September.
    4. Nora Reich, 2014. "Fathers’ Childcare: The Differences Between Participation and Amount of Time," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 190-213, June.
    5. Alison L. Booth & Jan C. Van Ours, 2008. "Job Satisfaction and Family Happiness: The Part‐Time Work Puzzle," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 118(526), pages 77-99, February.
    6. Waldfogel, Jane, 2007. "Welfare reforms and child well-being in the US and UK," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 6208, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Jane Waldfogel, 2007. "Welfare Reforms and Child Well-Being in the US and UK," CASE Papers case126, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    8. Guang Guo & Kathleen Harris, 2000. "The mechanisms mediating the effects of poverty on children’s intellectual development," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(4), pages 431-447, November.
    9. Wen You & George Davis, 2011. "Childhood Overweight: Does Quality of Parental Childcare Time Matter?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 219-232, June.
    10. Daniel Miller, 2011. "Maternal Work and Child Overweight and Obesity: The Importance of Timing," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 204-218, June.
    11. Ruhm, Christopher J., 2008. "Maternal employment and adolescent development," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 958-983, October.
    12. Christopher J. Ruhm, 2004. "Parental Employment and Child Cognitive Development," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(1).
    13. Karina Shreffler & David Johnson, 2013. "Fertility Intentions, Career Considerations and Subsequent Births: The Moderating Effects of Women’s Work Hours," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 285-295, September.
    14. Greve, Jane, 2011. "New results on the effect of maternal work hours on children's overweight status: Does the quality of child care matter?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(5), pages 579-590, October.
    15. repec:cep:sticas:/126 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Lisa Gennetian & Leonard Lopoo & Andrew London, 2008. "Maternal work hours and adolescents’ School outcomes among low-income families in four urban counties," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 45(1), pages 31-53, February.
    17. Aughinbaugh, Alison & Gittleman, Maury, 2004. "Maternal employment and adolescent risky behavior," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 815-838, July.
    18. John Sandberg & Sandra Hofferth, 2001. "Changes in children’s time with parents: United States, 1981–1997," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 38(3), pages 423-436, August.
    19. Suzanne Bianchi, 2000. "Maternal employment and time with children: Dramatic change or surprising continuity?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(4), pages 401-414, November.
    20. Jonathan Gruber, 2001. "Risky Behavior among Youths: An Economic Analysis," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number grub01-1.
    21. José Molina, 2015. "Caring within the Family: Reconciling Work and Family Life," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 1-4, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Liming & Avendano, Mauricio, 2023. "Lone parents' employment policy and adolescents’ socioemotional development: Quasi-experimental evidence from a UK reform," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    2. Elizabeth Dolan & Elena Stancanelli, 2021. "Women’s Employment, Wages, and the Household," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 101-106, July.
    3. Simpson, Julija & Wildman, John & Bambra, Clare & Brown, Heather, 2024. "Longer Working Hours and Maternal Mental Health: A Comparison of Single vs. Partnered Mothers," IZA Discussion Papers 16875, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Berta Schnettler & Edgardo Miranda-Zapata & Germán Lobos & Mahia Saracostti & Marianela Denegri & María Lapo & Clementina Hueche, 2018. "The Mediating Role of Family and Food-Related Life Satisfaction in the Relationships between Family Support, Parent Work-Life Balance and Adolescent Life Satisfaction in Dual-Earner Families," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-18, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mendolia, Silvia, 2014. "Maternal Working Hours and the Well-Being of Adolescent Children," IZA Discussion Papers 8391, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Meyer, Sophie-Charlotte, 2016. "Maternal employment and childhood overweight in Germany," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 23(C), pages 84-102.
    3. Sophie-Charlotte Meyer, 2015. "Maternal Employment and Childhood Overweight in Germany," Schumpeter Discussion Papers SDP15005, Universitätsbibliothek Wuppertal, University Library.
    4. Peng Nie & Alfonso Sousa-Poza, 2014. "Maternal employment and childhood obesity in China: evidence from the China Health and Nutrition Survey," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(20), pages 2418-2428, July.
    5. Ruhm, Christopher J., 2008. "Maternal employment and adolescent development," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 958-983, October.
    6. Gwozdz, Wencke & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso & Reisch, Lucia A. & Ahrens, Wolfgang & Eiben, Gabriele & M. Fernandéz-Alvira, Juan & Hadjigeorgiou, Charalampos & De Henauw, Stefaan & Kovács, Eva & Lauria, Fabio, 2013. "Maternal employment and childhood obesity – A European perspective," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 728-742.
    7. Aughinbaugh, Alison & Gittleman, Maury, 2004. "Maternal employment and adolescent risky behavior," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 815-838, July.
    8. Stephanie von Hinke Kessler Scholder, 2008. "Maternal employment and overweight children: does timing matter?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(8), pages 889-906, August.
    9. Ana Moro-Egido, 2012. "Changing Trends of Mothers’ Active and Passive Childcare Times," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 11-23, March.
    10. Martha H. Stinson & Peter Gottschalk, 2015. "Is there an Advantage to Working? The Relationship between Maternal Employment and Intergenerational Mobility," Working Papers 15-27, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    11. Ziol-Guest, Kathleen M. & Dunifon, Rachel E. & Kalil, Ariel, 2013. "Parental employment and children's body weight: Mothers, others, and mechanisms," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 52-59.
    12. Rucker Johnson & Ariel Kalil & Rachel Dunifon, 2012. "Employment Patterns of Less-Skilled Workers: Links to Children’s Behavior and Academic Progress," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(2), pages 747-772, May.
    13. Rasmussen, Astrid Würtz, 2009. "Allocation of Parental Time and the Long-Term E¤ect on Children's Education," Working Papers 09-22, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Economics.
    14. Fali Huang, 2006. "What Matter for Child Development?," Working Papers 24-2006, Singapore Management University, School of Economics.
    15. Courtemanche, Charles & Tchernis, Rusty & Zhou, Xilin, 2017. "Parental Work Hours and Childhood Obesity: Evidence Using Instrumental Variables Related to Sibling School Eligibility," IZA Discussion Papers 10739, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Felfe, Christina & Hsin, Amy, 2012. "Maternal work conditions and child development," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 1037-1057.
    17. Zhu, Guozhong & Vural, Gulfer, 2013. "Inter-generational effect of parental time and its policy implications," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 1833-1851.
    18. Künn-Nelen, A.C. & de Grip, A. & Fouarge, D., 2013. "The relation between maternal work hours and cognitive outcomes of young school-aged children," Research Memorandum 019, Maastricht University, Graduate School of Business and Economics (GSBE).
    19. Christopher J. Ruhm, 2004. "Parental Employment and Child Cognitive Development," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 39(1).
    20. Angela Fertig & Gerhard Glomm & Rusty Tchernis, 2009. "The connection between maternal employment and childhood obesity: inspecting the mechanisms," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 7(3), pages 227-255, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Maternal working hours; Adolescent well-being; Children smoking;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:37:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s10834-015-9480-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.