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Marital Status and Mothers’ Time Use: Childcare, Housework, Leisure, and Sleep

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  • Joanna R. Pepin

    (University of Maryland)

  • Liana C. Sayer

    (University of Maryland)

  • Lynne M. Casper

    (University of Southern California)

Abstract

Assumptions that single mothers are “time poor” compared with married mothers are ubiquitous. We tested theorized associations derived from the time poverty thesis and the gender perspective using the 2003–2012 American Time Use Surveys (ATUS). We found marital status differentiated housework, leisure, and sleep time, but did not influence the amount of time that mothers provided childcare. Net of the number of employment hours, married mothers did more housework and slept less than never-married and divorced mothers, counter to expectations of the time poverty thesis. Never-married and cohabiting mothers reported more total and more sedentary leisure time than married mothers. We assessed the influence of demographic differences among mothers to account for variation in their time use by marital status. Compositional differences explained more than two-thirds of the variance in sedentary leisure time between married and never-married mothers, but only one-third of the variance between married and cohabiting mothers. The larger unexplained gap in leisure quality between cohabiting and married mothers is consistent with the gender perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Joanna R. Pepin & Liana C. Sayer & Lynne M. Casper, 2018. "Marital Status and Mothers’ Time Use: Childcare, Housework, Leisure, and Sleep," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(1), pages 107-133, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:demogr:v:55:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s13524-018-0647-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s13524-018-0647-x
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    8. Xiaodong Sun & Kaisheng Lai & Hong Han & Chenyan Yang, 2023. "Could Children’s Gender Predict Their Parents’ Housework Behavior?," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, July.
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    10. Deepak Malghan & Hema Swaminathan, 2021. "Intra-household Gender Inequality, Welfare, and Economic Development," LWS Working papers 34, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    11. Giselle Torres Pabon, 2021. "Uso del tiempo y práctica alimentaria. Análisis sociodemográfico para los hogares colombianos, 2012 y 2017," Ensayos de Economía 20141, Universidad Nacional de Colombia Sede Medellín.
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    14. Molly A. Martin & Margaret Gough Courtney & Adam M. Lippert, 2022. "The Risks and Consequences of Skipping Meals for Low-Income Mothers," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(6), pages 2613-2644, December.
    15. Maude Pugliese & David Pelletier & Céline Bourdais, 2023. "Separation and Savings in Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts Among Canadian Men and Women," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(4), pages 1-33, August.
    16. Nicola Daniele Coniglio & Rezart Hoxhaj & Huber Jayet, 2023. "The most precious resource: time allocation of immigrants in the U.S," EGEIWP 02-2023, Dipartimento di Economia e Finanza - Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", revised Dec 2023.
    17. Jennifer L. Hook & Eunjeong Paek, 2020. "A Stalled Revolution? Change in Women's Labor Force Participation during Child‐Rearing Years, Europe and the United States 1996–2016," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 46(4), pages 677-708, December.
    18. 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).
    19. Su, Qinghe & Azam, Mehtabul, 2023. "Does access to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) reduce the household burden of women? Evidence from India," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    20. Danielle Docka‐Filipek & Lindsey B. Stone, 2021. "Twice a “housewife”: On academic precarity, “hysterical” women, faculty mental health, and service as gendered care work for the “university family” in pandemic times," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(6), pages 2158-2179, November.
    21. Marisa Bucheli & Andrea Vigorito, 2023. "Well-being, time use, and women's empowerment after couple separation: Longitudinal evidence for Uruguay," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 23-05, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    22. Alejandra Ros Pilarz & Leah Awkward-Rich, 2024. "Mothers’ Work Schedules and Children’s Time with Parents," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 117-136, March.
    23. Zhuofei Lu & Shuo Yan & Jeff Jones & Yucheng He & Qigen She, 2023. "From Housewives to Employees, the Mental Benefits of Employment across Women with Different Gender Role Attitudes and Parenthood Status," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-13, February.
    24. Su, Qinghe & Azam, Mehtabul, 2022. "Does Access to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Reduce Women Household Burden? Evidence from India," IZA Discussion Papers 15842, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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