Tolerance of Infant Distress Among Working Parents: Examining the Roles of Attachment Anxiety and Work–Family Conflict

Parenting styles provide the basis for many developmental outcomes during childhood and beyond. Proper parenting is required for the children to properly adjust in their adult life, as poor parenting has been considered a risk factor for problem behaviour in childhood and later adulthood. This study therefore, examines the influence of work-family conflict on parenting styles among working parents in Makurdi metropolis. A cross-sectional survey was adopted in carrying out the study. A total of 236 working parents involving 108(45.8%) male and 128(54.2%) female parents within the age range of 23-54 years, mean age of 31.84, (SD=8.96) were sampled from a population of working parents in Makurdi metropolis. The Parental Care Scale (Baunmnd, 1991) and Work-Family Conflict Scale (Netemeyer, et al., 1996) were used for the purpose of data collection. Simple linear regression analysis and MANOVA were used in testing the hypotheses. Results revealed a significant influence of work-family conflict on parenting styles among the working parents. A significant difference was also found between male and female working parents on parenting styles. It was concluded that work-family conflict is a significant determinant of parenting styles and that differences in parenting styles also exist between male and female parents. Implications for working parents were discussed and recommendations were also made.

Download Full-text

Longitudinal analysis of work-family conflict and self-rated health among working parents in Germany

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckz186.307 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽

Author(s):

L S Borgmann ◽

P Rattay ◽

T Lampert

Keyword(s):

Family Conflict ◽

Household Income ◽

Odds Ratio ◽

Work And Family ◽

Computer Assisted ◽

Work Family Conflict ◽

Working Parents ◽

Response Options ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

Work Family

Abstract In the wake of a rising labor market participation of women and changing and family arrangements, parents are increasingly faced with the challenge of reconciling work and family life, which can lead to work-family conflicts (WFC). The present study examined the longitudinal effect of WFC on self-rated health among working parents in Germany. The data was drawn from wave 6 (2013) and wave 8 (2015) of the pairfam family and relationship panel. It included working persons living together with at least one child (662 mothers and 529 fathers). Pairfam is a random sample of about 12,000 persons drawn from German habitants in private households. Data was collected via computer-assisted personal interviews with yearly follow-ups. The drop-out rate of the panel from wave 1 to wave 8 is 62%. Self-rated health was measured as a single item with five response options. Using logistic regressions, we estimated the longitudinal effects of the effect of WFC in wave 8 on self-rated health. Moderating effects of education and household income were considered. The analyses were adjusted for self-rated health in wave 6. The odds ratio for poor self-rated health for mothers who developed WFC in wave 8 compared to mothers who did not report a conflict in both waves was 2.6 (95% CI: 1.47-2.41). For fathers with newly emerged WFC in wave 8, the odds ratio was 2.1 (95% CI: 1.08-3.80). Interaction of WFC with education and household income showed a weak non-significant effect on the self-rated health of mothers and fathers. The health of parents who reported a conflict in wave 6 but not in wave 8 was on a similar level as the health of parents with no conflict in both waves. The results point out that WFC can lead to a decline of self-rated health. Further investigations should be carried out to determine groups who are particularly affected by health-related outcomes of WFC. It also remains to be discussed how self-rated health can be improved e.g. through reconciliation policies. Key messages Work-family conflict leads to a poorer self-rated health of working parents in Germany. The health of working parents with lower education and income is affected more severely by work-family conflict compared to parents with higher education and income.

Download Full-text