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. 2022 Jun;43(6):1555-1578.
doi: 10.1177/0192513X211026953. Epub 2021 Jun 25.

Work-to-Family Conflict and Children's Problems with School, Friends, and Health: Household Economic Conditions and Couple Relationship Quality as Contingencies

Lei Chai  1 , Scott Schieman  1
Affiliations

Work-to-Family Conflict and Children's Problems with School, Friends, and Health: Household Economic Conditions and Couple Relationship Quality as Contingencies

Lei Chai et al. J Fam Issues. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

What is the relationship between work-to-family conflict (WFC) and children's problems with school, friends, and health? And does that association depend on household economic conditions and couple relationship quality? Using four waves of longitudinal data from the Canadian Work, Stress, and Heath Study (2011-2017), the present study finds that-overall-both fathers' and mothers' levels of WFC are associated with elevated levels of children's problems over time. However, we also discover that household income and spousal disputes moderate this focal relationship-and they do so differently for mothers and fathers. First, the positive association between WFC and children's problems is stronger for mothers (but not fathers) in households with lower income. Second, the positive association between WFC and children's problems is stronger for fathers (but not mothers) who report more frequent disputes with their spouse. We discuss the implications of these patterns for current theorizing about stress amplification dynamics and situate that discussion within broader ideas in the ecological model of human development.

Keywords: children’s problems; couple relationship quality; ecological model of human development; economic conditions; stress amplification theory; work-to-family conflict.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Predicted value in children’s problems by work-to-family conflict and household income for fathers (left) and mothers (right), with all covariates held at their means.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Predicted value in children’s problems by work-to-family conflict and spousal disputes for fathers (left) and mothers (right), with all covariates held at their means.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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