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. 2014 Oct 1;76(5):1025-1046.
doi: 10.1111/jomf.12130.

Maternal Employment and Parenting Through Middle Childhood: Contextualizing Factors

Cheryl Buehler  1 , Marion O'Brien  1 , Kevin M Swartout  2 , Nan Zhou  1
Affiliations

Maternal Employment and Parenting Through Middle Childhood: Contextualizing Factors

Cheryl Buehler et al. J Marriage Fam. .

Abstract

The authors used data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,364) to examine maternal work hour status and parenting (sensitivity and learning opportunities) from infancy through middle childhood. Work hour status was conceptualized as nonemployment, part time, and full time. Adjusting for covariates, mothers employed part time had higher sensitivity scores and higher provision of child learning opportunity scores than did mothers who were not employed, and these differences characterized families during early childhood rather than middle childhood. Mothers' provision of child learning opportunities was greater when employed full time (vs. part time) during early childhood. In addition to child age, mothers' ethnic minority status and partner status moderated the association between maternal work hour status and mothers' parenting. In general, the findings supported ideas forwarded by role expansionist theory.

Keywords: cognitive; employment; family; parenting; part time; sensitivity; work.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Maternal Nonemployment and Part-Time Work Hours by Child Age in Prediction of Maternal Sensitivity.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Maternal Part-Time and Full-Time Work Hours by Partner Status in Prediction of Maternal Sensitivity.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Maternal Nonemployment and Part-Time Work Hours by Child Age in Prediction of Maternal Provision of Child Learning Opportunities.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Maternal Part-Time and Full-Time Work Hours by Child Age Prediction of Maternal Provision of Child Learning Opportunities.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Maternal Nonemployment and Part-Time Work Hours by Ethnic Minority Status in Prediction of Maternal Provision of Child Learning Opportunities.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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