Early maternal employment and children's academic and behavioral skills: A comparative analysis (original) (raw)
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Child Development
The goal of this dissertation was to delineate the repercussions of early maternal employment for children's early developmental competencies in the U.S., Australia, and the U.K. and to test economic and psychological theories regarding potential mechanisms linking maternal employment with children's development, including time, money, and stress. Prior research has focused on older, non-representative cohorts of American children, with results suggesting full-time employment in the first year after childbirth is linked with lower cognitive and behavioral skills. It is unclear if these same patterns exist in more recent cohorts and in other countries with differing cultural expectations and policy environments for families, most notably more comprehensive parental leave policies. Data came from representative samples of children born in each country between 2000 and 2004: (1) the U.S.'s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (N=10,100), (2) Australia's Longitudinal Study of Australian Children-Birth Cohort (N=5,093), and (3) the U.K.'s Millennium Cohort Study (N= 18,497). In each dataset, mother's employment data were coded to assess the month of entry into employment following childbirth. Extensive, well-validated direct assessment, mother report, and teacher report measures assessed children's cognitive and behavioral skills following entry into formal schooling. Descriptive data showed very different patterns of entry into employment: American mothers entered employment the earliest and at the highest intensity with more gradual, lower intensity returns by Australian and British mothers. OLS regression models weighted with propensity scores and controlling for a rich array of child and maternal characteristics suggested that early movements into employment had few associations with children's cognitive or behavioral skills in any of the countries. These neutral associations were not differentiated by maternal time, stress, or wages. However, as non-maternal household income decreased, early employment was linked with higher cognitive skills in the U.S. while employment begun before two years was linked with higher behavioral skills in Australia. There was no evidence of moderation by nonmaternal household income in the U.K. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for work family policy.
The effects of early maternal employment on child cognitive development
Demography, 2002
This paper uses data from the ALSPAC cohort of 12000 births to explore the effects of early maternal employment on child cognitive and behavioural outcomes. The results indicate that full time maternal employment begun in the 18 months after childbirth has small negative effects on later child outcomes. Part-time work and work begun later than 18 months, however, do not seem to have any adverse consequences. We explore the issue of whether our results are biased by unobserved heterogeneity but find no evidence that our results are sensitive to the inclusion of controls for a wide range of background factors. We conduct sub-group analyses to investigate whether certain groups may be more vulnerable to the effects of early full time maternal employment than others. This paper also explores the mechanisms linking maternal employment to children's development. The mechanisms examined relate to the parenting behaviours of the mother and father, breastfeeding behaviour, maternal tiredness and stress, household income and the use of non-maternal childcare. We find that a number of factors work to minimise the effect of mothers' labour market participation on their children. Fathers are significantly more involved in child rearing in households where mothers return to work early and this more equal division of parenting has strongly beneficial effects on later child outcomes. Negative employment effects are concentrated in those families where mothers work full time and also rely on unpaid care by a friend or relative. The use of paid childcare protects children from these negative effects and attendance at a centre-based provider may actually lead to better cognitive outcomes than if the child were at home with a non-working mother.
Child Development, 2002
With increased numbers of women employed in their children's first year of life and with increased attention being paid by parents and policy makers to the importance of early experiences for children, establishing the links that might exist between early maternal employment and child cognitive outcomes is more important than ever. Negative associations between maternal employment during the first year of life and children's cognitive outcomes at age 3 (and later ages) have been reported using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth-Child Supplement. However, it was not known whether these findings would be replicated in another study, nor whether these results were due to features of child care (e.g., quality, type), home environment (e.g., provision of learning), and/or parenting (e.g., sensitivity). Observation of the Measurement of the Environment Scale), parental sensitivity, and child-care quality and type over the first 3 years of life. Maternal employment by the ninth month was found to be linked to lower Bracken School Readiness scores at 36 months, with the effects more pronounced when mothers were working 30 hr or more per week and with effects more pronounced for certain subgroups (i.e., children whose mothers were not sensitive, boys, and children with married parents). Although quality of child care, home environment, and maternal sensitivity also mattered, the negative effects of working 30 hr or more per week in the first 9 months were still found, even when controlling for child-care quality, the quality of the home environment, and maternal sensitivity. Implications for policy are also discussed.
Early maternal employment and children's school readiness in contemporary families
Developmental psychology, 2014
This study assessed whether previous findings linking early maternal employment to lower cognitive and behavioral skills among children generalized to modern families. Using a representative sample of children born in the United States in 2001 (N = 10,100), ordinary least squares regression models weighted with propensity scores assessed links between maternal employment in the 2 years after childbearing and children's school readiness skills at kindergarten. There were neutral associations between maternal employment and children's school readiness, which were not differentiated by maternal time, stress, or wages. However, as nonmaternal household income decreased, maternal employment begun prior to 9 months was linked with higher cognitive skills, while employment begun between 9 and 24 months was linked with lower conduct problems.
THE EFFECT OF MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT AND CHILD CARE ON CHILDREN'S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT*
International Economic Review, 2008
This article develops and estimates a dynamic model of employment and child care decisions of women after childbirth to evaluate the effects of these choices on children's cognitive ability. We use data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to estimate it. Results indicate that the effects of maternal employment and child care on children's ability are negative and sizable. Having a mother that works full-time and uses child care during one year is associated with a reduction in ability test scores of approximately 1.8% (0.13 standard deviations). We assess the impact of policies related to parental leave and child care on children's outcomes. * Manuscript
The Effects of Early Maternal Employment on Child Development in the UK
2003
This paper uses data from the ALSPAC cohort of 12000 births to explore the effects of early maternal employment on child cognitive and behavioural outcomes. The results indicate that full time maternal employment begun in the 18 months after childbirth has small negative effects on later child outcomes. Part-time work and work begun later than 18 months, however, do not seem to have any adverse consequences. We explore the issue of whether our results are biased by unobserved heterogeneity but find no evidence that our results are sensitive to the inclusion of controls for a wide range of background factors. We conduct sub-group analyses to investigate whether certain groups may be more vulnerable to the effects of early full time maternal employment than others. This paper also explores the mechanisms linking maternal employment to children's development. The mechanisms examined relate to the parenting behaviours of the mother and father, breastfeeding behaviour, maternal tiredness and stress, household income and the use of non-maternal childcare. We find that a number of factors work to minimise the effect of mothers' labour market participation on their children. Fathers are significantly more involved in child rearing in households where mothers return to work early and this more equal division of parenting has strongly beneficial effects on later child outcomes. Negative employment effects are concentrated in those families where mothers work full time and also rely on unpaid care by a friend or relative. The use of paid childcare protects children from these negative effects and attendance at a centre-based provider may actually lead to better cognitive outcomes than if the child were at home with a non-working mother.
Maternal Employment and Young Children's Development: A Longitudinal Investigation
1985
This multivariate, longitudinal'study examined the role of mothers' employment with respect to children's cognitive and social development, children's home environment;,. and mothers' attitudes toward employment. A total of 130 middle class children and their-mothers participated. Data on children's cognitive and social development, the home environment, maternal employment status, and family structure variables were collected from the children's first to fifth year of age. When their children were 1 year old, 36 percent of the mothers worked; when children were 5 years old, 56 percent were employed. At the child's fifth year, mothers were questioned regarding their work patterns, attitudes toward work, and perceptions of the influence of their employment on their children's development. Multiple regressions indicated that maternal employment status did not significantly predict children's development or home environment, whereas family structure variables were:Significant predictors. Mothers' attitudes were favorable, with the majority reporting a positive influence of employment ontheir child's development and family relationships. These data, 'in conjunction with previous longitudinal findings on home environment, indicate that the experiences to which children are exposed are important for development, regardless of maternal employment status. Results thus support a favorable view of maternal employment. Public policy implications are suggested. (Author/RH)