IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/eurpop/v38y2022i5d10.1007_s10680-022-09643-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Gendered Effects of Divorce on Mothers’ and Fathers’ Time with Children and Children’s Developmental Activities: A Longitudinal Study

Author

Listed:
  • Tomás Cano

    (Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED))

  • Pablo Gracia

    (Trinity College Dublin)

Abstract

How divorce influences parents’ and children’s time use has received very little scientific attention. This study uses high-quality longitudinal time-diary data across six waves from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children to examine how parental separation shapes parent–child time and children’s daily activities. Results show that separation leads to a strong increase of gender inequalities in parents’ time use. After separation, mother–child time doubles, two-parent time declines by three, and father–child time remains low. Parental separation also leads to a decline in children’s time allocated to educational activities (e.g., studying, reading) and an increase in children’s time in unstructured activities (e.g., TV watching, video gaming, smartphone use). Additionally, the effect of separation on children’s time use is twice as large for boys than for girls, with gender gaps in children’s unstructured time increasing over time. Finally, mother–child time returns to similar pre-separation levels over time, but only after 4 years since separation occurred. The study findings are robust to different panel regression strategies. Overall, this study implies that parental divorce negatively affects children’s developmental time use, especially among boys, and leads lone mothers to experience increasing ‘time penalties’ associated with gender inequalities in society.

Suggested Citation

  • Tomás Cano & Pablo Gracia, 2022. "The Gendered Effects of Divorce on Mothers’ and Fathers’ Time with Children and Children’s Developmental Activities: A Longitudinal Study," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(5), pages 1277-1313, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurpop:v:38:y:2022:i:5:d:10.1007_s10680-022-09643-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10680-022-09643-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10680-022-09643-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10680-022-09643-2?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. Mario Fiorini & Michael P. Keane, 2014. "How the Allocation of Children's Time Affects Cognitive and Noncognitive Development," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 32(4), pages 787-836.
    2. Raj Chetty & Nathaniel Hendren & Maggie R Jones & Sonya R Porter, 2020. "Race and Economic Opportunity in the United States: an Intergenerational Perspective [“Intergenerational Mobility of Immigrants in the US Over Two Centuries,”]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(2), pages 711-783.
    3. Daniela Del Boca & Chiara Monfardini & Cheti Nicoletti, 2017. "Parental and Child Time Investments and the Cognitive Development of Adolescents," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 35(2), pages 565-608.
    4. Letizia Mencarini & Silvia Pasqua & Agnese Romiti, 2019. "Single-mother families and the gender gap in children’s time investment and non-cognitive skills," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 149-176, March.
    5. Emilia Del Bono & Marco Francesconi & Yvonne Kelly & Amanda Sacker, 2016. "Early Maternal Time Investment and Early Child Outcomes," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(596), pages 96-135, October.
    6. repec:nas:journl:v:115:y:2018:p:9875-9881 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. Ann Meier & Kelly Musick & Sarah Flood & Rachel Dunifon, 2016. "Mothering Experiences: How Single Parenthood and Employment Structure the Emotional Valence of Parenting," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(3), pages 649-674, June.
    8. 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.
    9. David Brady & Ryan Finnigan & Sabine H bgen, 2017. "Rethinking the risks of poverty: a framework for analyzing prevalences and penalties," LIS Working papers 693, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    10. Shelly Lundberg, 2005. "Sons, Daughters, and Parental Behaviour," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 21(3), pages 340-356, Autumn.
    11. Michael Baker & Kevin Milligan, 2016. "Boy-Girl Differences in Parental Time Investments: Evidence from Three Countries," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(4), pages 399-441.
    12. Man Kan, 2008. "Measuring Housework Participation: The Gap between “Stylised” Questionnaire Estimates and Diary-based Estimates," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 86(3), pages 381-400, May.
    13. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    14. Kiernan, Kathleen E. & Huerta, Maria Carmen, 2008. "Economic deprivation, maternal depression, parenting and children's cognitive and emotional development in early childhood," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 43720, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    15. Juho Härkönen & Fabrizio Bernardi & Diederik Boertien, 2017. "Family Dynamics and Child Outcomes: An Overview of Research and Open Questions," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 33(2), pages 163-184, May.
    16. Jacob Cheadle & Paul Amato & Valarie King, 2010. "Patterns of nonresident father contact," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 47(1), pages 205-225, February.
    17. Ariel Kalil & Rebecca Ryan & Elise Chor, 2014. "Time Investments in Children across Family Structures," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 654(1), pages 150-168, July.
    18. Melissa Bohnert & Pablo Gracia, 2021. "Emerging Digital Generations? Impacts of Child Digital Use on Mental and Socioemotional Well-Being across Two Cohorts in Ireland, 2007–2018," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(2), pages 629-659, April.
    19. Emilia Del Bono & Marco Francesconi & Yvonne Kelly & Amanda Sacker, 2016. "Early Maternal Time Investment and Early Child Outcomes," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(596), pages 96-135, October.
    20. Tina Haux & Lucinda Platt, 2021. "Fathers’ Involvement with Their Children Before and After Separation," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 37(1), pages 151-177, March.
    21. Amy Hsin, 2009. "Parent’s Time with Children: Does Time Matter for Children’s Cognitive Achievement?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 123-126, August.
    22. Thomas Leopold & Matthijs Kalmijn, 2016. "Is Divorce More Painful When Couples Have Children? Evidence From Long-Term Panel Data on Multiple Domains of Well-being," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(6), pages 1717-1742, December.
    23. Thomas Leopold, 2018. "Gender Differences in the Consequences of Divorce: A Study of Multiple Outcomes," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(3), pages 769-797, June.
    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. Tosi, Marco & Arpino, Bruno, 2024. "Gender Inequality In Intergenerational Contact After Parental Separation In The Digital Era," SocArXiv yzpbe, Center for Open Science.
    2. Gracia, Pablo, 2023. "Child and Adolescent Time Use and Well-Being: A Study of Current Debates and Empirical Evidence," OSF Preprints 9qmrk, Center for Open Science.

    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. Briole, Simon & Le Forner, Hélène & Lepinteur, Anthony, 2020. "Children’s socio-emotional skills: Is there a quantity–quality trade-off?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    2. Hélène Le Forner, 2023. "Parents' Separation: What is the Effect on Parents' and Children's Time Investments?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 85(4), pages 718-754, August.
    3. Borra, Cristina & Iacovou, Maria & Sevilla, Almudena, 2023. "Adolescent development and the math gender gap," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    4. Moroni, Gloria & Nicoletti, Cheti & Tominey, Emma, 2019. "Child Socio-Emotional Skills: The Role of Parental Inputs," IZA Discussion Papers 12432, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Bigoni, Maria & Bortolotti, Stefania & Fort, Margherita & Guarini, Annalisa & Iorio, Daniela & Monfardini, Chiara & Sansavini, Alessandra & Sansone, Davide & Suttora, Chiara, 2023. "A New Time-Use Diary App to Measure Parental Investments," IZA Discussion Papers 16661, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Joseph Price & Luke P. Rodgers & Jocelyn S. Wikle, 2021. "Dinner timing and human capital investments in children," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1047-1075, December.
    7. Taryn W. Morrissey, 2023. "The minimum wage and parent time use," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 1043-1062, September.
    8. Arenas-Arroyo, Esther & Schmidpeter, Bernhard, 2022. "Spillover effects of immigration policies on children's human capital," Ruhr Economic Papers 974, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    9. Marlon R. Tracey & Chanita C. Holmes & Marvin G. Powell, 2024. "Parental limit-setting decisions and adolescent subject grades," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 143-171, March.
    10. Jonas Jessen & Christa Katharina Spieß & Sevrin Waights, 2022. "Centre‐Based Care and Parenting Activities," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(6), pages 1356-1379, December.
    11. Elena Claudia Meroni & Daniela Piazzalunga & Chiara Pronzato, 2022. "Allocation of time and child socio-emotional skills," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(4), pages 1155-1192, December.
    12. Michael P Keane & Sonya Krutikova & Timothy Neal, 2018. "The impact of child work on cognitive development: results from four Low to Middle Income countries," IFS Working Papers W18/29, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    13. Jürges, Hendrik & Khanam, Rasheda, 2021. "Adolescents’ time allocation and skill production," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    14. Nicoletti, Cheti & Tonei, Valentina, 2020. "Do parental time investments react to changes in child’s skills and health?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    15. Deborah A. Cobb-Clark & Colm Harmon & Anita Staneva, 2018. "The Bilingual Gap in Children's Language and Emotional Development," Working Papers 2018-075, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    16. Michael Keane & Sonya Krutikova & Timothy Neal, 2022. "Child work and cognitive development: Results from four low to middle income countries," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 13(2), pages 425-465, May.
    17. Cobb-Clark Deborah A. & Harmon Colm & Staneva Anita, 2021. "The bilingual gap in children's language, emotional, and pro-social development," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-41, January.
    18. Greta Morando & Lucinda Platt, 2022. "The Impact of Centre‐based Childcare on Non‐cognitive Skills of Young Children," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(356), pages 908-946, October.
    19. Nguyen, Ha Trong & Connelly, Luke & Le, Huong Thu & Mitrou, Francis & Taylor, Catherine L. & Zubrick, Stephen R., 2019. "Sources of ethnicity differences in non-cognitive development in children and adolescents," EconStor Preprints 205801, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    20. Chang, Grace, 2022. "How is adolescents' time allocation associated with their self-esteem and self-efficacy? Evidence from four developing countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115059, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    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:spr:eurpop:v:38:y:2022:i:5:d:10.1007_s10680-022-09643-2. 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.