scholarly journals By Default: The Origins of Gendered Inequalities in Pandemic Parenting

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica McCrory Calarco ◽  
Emily Victoria Meanwell ◽  
Elizabeth M. Anderson ◽  
Amelia Knopf

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increased families’ childcare responsibilities, disproportionately affecting mothers and undermining their careers and wellbeing. Using two waves of interviews with 77 mothers of young children, we examined why mothers—especially in dual-earner, different-gender couples—took on more pandemic parenting. We found that pre-pandemic gendered structures of paid work led many families to lean on mothers by default. First, within-couple gaps in job types, pay, and work hours led some mothers to do more childcare to protect partners’ work as primary earners. Second, educational gaps within couples led some mothers to do more as the only parent able to work fully remote. Third, pre-pandemic childcare gaps within couples led children (and partners) to rely more heavily on mothers, even when both partners were home full-time. We discuss the implications for research on gender inequalities in paid work and parenting and for policy efforts to address gender inequalities at home.

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (13) ◽  
pp. 1852-1877 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth Gaunt ◽  
Jacqueline Scott

This study draws on identity theory to explore parental and work identities. It examined gender differences in identities, as well as the moderating role of gender in the effects of individuals’ sociostructural characteristics. A sample of 148 couples with young children completed extensive questionnaires. As hypothesized, couples’ paid-work strategy moderated gender differences in the salience and centrality of parental and work identities. Whereas significant differences in identities were found between stay-at-home mothers and their breadwinning husbands, no differences were found among dual-earner couples. Moreover, men’s work identity centrality increased when they had more and younger children, whereas women’s work identity centrality decreased. Finally, men’s parental identity centrality increased with their income, whereas women’s parental identity centrality decreased the more they earned. These findings attest to the importance of examining differences within as well as between genders, by taking into account the interactive effects of gender with other sociostructural characteristics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (10) ◽  
pp. 2155-2173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera van de Straat ◽  
Loretta G. Platts ◽  
Jussi Vahtera ◽  
Hugo Westerlund ◽  
Piet Bracke

AbstractAlthough retirement involves a radical change in daily activities, income, social roles and relationships, and the transition from paid work into retirement can, therefore, be expected to affect sleep, little is known about the effects of old-age retirement on changes in sleep disturbances, and how the impact of retirement may vary by gender, age and prior working conditions. This study modelled reported sleep disturbances up to nine years before to nine years following retirement in a sample of 2,110 participants from the Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health (SLOSH). Sleep disturbances over the retirement transition were modelled using repeated-measures regression analysis with Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) in relation to gender, age at retirement, working patterns (night work, full-time/part-time work), control over work hours, and psychological and physical working conditions. The analyses controlled for civil status, education level, income obtained from registers and self-rated health. Retiring from paid work was associated with decreased sleep disturbances. Greater reductions in sleep disturbances were reported by women, as well as by participants who retired before age 65 years, who were working full-time, who lacked control over their work hours and who had high psychological demands. These results, suggesting that old-age retirement from paid work is associated with reductions in disturbed sleep, pose a challenge for governments seeking to increase retirement ages.


2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 437-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Dillaway ◽  
Elizabeth Paré

Most women must decide whether to work for pay while mothering or make mothering their sole social role. Often this decision is portrayed in terms of whether they will be “stay-at-home” and presumably “full-time” mothers, or “working mothers” and therefore ones who prioritize paid work over caregiving. Inferred within this construction is women's physical location as well—either women are at home or work, not both. In this article, the authors explore common conceptualizations of stay-at-home versus working motherhood, as evidenced by feminist family scholarship and recent media items. To keep in tune with contemporary media conversations, the authors begin to investigate what cultural discourse about these mothers also illustrates about our definitions of home, and the individuals and activities that exist within this space. In writing this conceptual piece, the authors' goal is to initiate further feminist research on motherhood and paid work, and women's locations while engaging in both.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Femmy M. Bijnsdorp ◽  
Bregje D. Onwuteaka-Philipsen ◽  
Cécile R.L. Boot ◽  
Allard J. van der Beek ◽  
Hanna T. Klop ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Population ageing, an emphasis on home-based care of palliative patients and policies aimed at prolonging participation in the labour market are placing a growing demand on working family caregivers. This study aimed to provide insight into experiences with combining paid work and family care for patients at the end of life, factors facilitating and hindering this combination, and support needs. Method Semi-structured interviews were held between July 2018 and July 2019 with 18 working family caregivers of patients with a life-threatening illness who were living at home. Transcripts were analysed following the principles of thematic analysis. Results Some family caregivers could combine paid work and family care successfully, while this combination was burdensome for others. Family caregivers generally experienced a similar process in which four domains — caregiver characteristics, the care situation, the work situation and the context — influenced their experiences, feelings and needs regarding either the combination of paid work and care or the care situation in itself. In turn, experiences, feelings and needs sometimes affected health and wellbeing, or prompted caregivers to take actions or strategies to improve the situation. Changes in health and wellbeing could affect the situation in the four domains. Good health, flexibility and support at work, support from healthcare professionals and sharing care tasks were important in helping balance work and care responsibilities. Some caregivers felt ‘sandwiched’ between work and care and reported physical or mental health complaints. Conclusions Experiences with combining paid work and family care at the end of life are diverse and depend on several factors. If too many factors are out of balance, family caregivers experience stress and this impacts their health and wellbeing. Family caregivers could be better supported in this by healthcare professionals, employers and local authorities.


1988 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Lee Dunn ◽  
Kathleen W. McCartan ◽  
Robert W. Fuqua

Thirty children, age 36 to 83 months, were interviewed to ascertain the extent of their awareness of their orthopedic disability. Parent and teacher interviews were conducted to determine types and frequencies of discussions about the child's disability. Results supported previous findings that age of the child was significantly correlated with a child's awareness of differences and disability. However, additional findings indicated that occurrence of discussions on disabilities at home, but not at school, was significantly correlated with awareness. Implications of the findings for home and school discussions are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 313-320
Author(s):  
Colti Sistiarani ◽  
Bambang Hariyadi ◽  
Saudin Yuniarno ◽  
Endo Dardjito

The rapid development of technology makes it easier for mothers to provide stimulation related to growth and development using gadgets. However, parental knowledge is needed about the safe limits of using a gadget in early childhood. This study aims to determine the perspective and behavior of mothers about the use of gadgets in toddlers. The method used is quantitative research with a cross-sectional approach. The participants of this study were thirty-one mothers who have early childhood and who are empowering family welfare. The inclusion criteria were mothers who agreed to be respondents, the exclusion criteria for mothers who did not have gadgets. This study uses a questionnaire measurement instrument for data collection. Data analysis was performed univariate and bivariate using the chi-square test. The results of the study concluded that the mother's knowledge regarding the safety of using a gadget was still lacking, with a value of around 54.8%, while the mother's behavior related to the same thing was better, which was around 58.1%. The relationship test shows that there is a strong enough relationship between maternal knowledge and maternal behavior in introducing or using gadgets in toddlers.  Keywords: Early Childhood, Mother Perspective, Gadget Safeness  References Appel, M. (2012). Are heavy users of computer games and social media more computer literate? Computers and Education, 59(4), 1339–1349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.06.004 Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Prentice-Hall. Cingel, D. P., & Krcmar, M. (2013). Predicting Media Use in Very Young Children: The Role of Demographics and Parent Attitudes. Communication Studies, 64(4), 374–394. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2013.770408 Connell, S. L., Lauricella, A. R., & Wartella, E. (2015). Parental Co-Use of Media Technology with their Young Children in the USA. Journal OfChildren and Media, 9(1), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2015.997440 Haines, J., O’Brien, A., McDonald, J., Goldman, R. E., Evans-Schmidt, M., Price, S., King, S., Sherry, B., & Taveras, E. M. (2013). Television Viewing and Televisions in Bedrooms: Perceptions of Racial/Ethnic Minority Parents of Young Children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 22(6), 749–756. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-012-9629-6 Jones, I., & Park, Y. (2015). Virtual worlds: Young children using the internet. Young children and families in the information age. Educating the young child (Advances in theory and research, implications for practice) (I. K. Heider & J. M. Renck (eds.); Volume 10). Springer. Lauricella, A. R., Wartella, E., & Rideout, V. J. (2015). Young children’s screen time: The complex role of parent and child factors. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 36, 11–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2014.12.001 Livingstone, S, Görzig, A., & Ólafsson, K. (2011). Disadvantaged children and online risk. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/39385/ Livingstone, Sonia, Mascheroni, G., Dreier, M., Chaudron, S., & Lagae, K. (2015). How parents of young children manage digital devices at home: The role of income, education and parental style (Issue September). Livingstone, Sonia, Ólafsson, K., Helsper, E. J., Lupiáñez-Villanueva, F., Veltri, G. A., & Folkvord, F. (2017). Maximizing Opportunities and Minimizing Risks for Children Online: The Role of Digital Skills in Emerging Strategies of Parental Mediation. Journal of Communication, 67(1), 82–105. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12277 M, S. (2017). The Impact of using Gadgets on Children. Journal of Depression and Anxiety, 07(01), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.4172/2167-1044.1000296 Marsh, J., Hannon, P., Lewis, M., & Ritchie, L. (2017). Young children’s initiation into family literacy practices in the digital age. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 15(1), 47–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X15582095 Mifsud, C. L., & Petrova, R. (2017). Young Children (0-8) and Digital Technology. In JRC Science and Policies Reports. Nevski, E., & Siibak, A. (2016). The role of parents and parental mediation on 0–3-year olds’ digital play with smart devices: Estonian parents’ attitudes and practices. Early Years, 36(3), 227–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2016.1161601 Nikken, P. (2017). Implications of low or high media use among parents for young children’s media use. Cyberpsychology, 11(3 Special Issue). https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2017-3-1 Nikken, P., & de Haan, J. (2015). Guiding young children’s internet use at home: Problems that parents experience in their parental mediation and the need for parenting support. Cyberpsychology, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2015-1-3 Piotrowski, J. (2017). Media exposure during infancy and early childhood: The effect of content and context on learning and development. In I. R. Barr & D. Linebarger (Eds.), The parental media mediation context of young children’s media use.(pp. 205–219). Springer International Publishing. Plowman, L., Stevenson, O., Stephen, C., & McPake, J. (2012). Preschool children’s learning with technology at home. Computers and Education, 59(1), 30–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.11.014 Rasmussen, E. E., Shafer, A., Colwell, M. J., White, S., Punyanunt-Carter, N., Densley, R. L., & Wright, H. (2016). Relation between active mediation, exposure to Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, and US preschoolers’ social and emotional development. Journal of Children and Media, 10(4), 443–461. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2016.1203806 Smahelova, M., Juhová, D., Cermak, I., & Smahel, D. (2017). Mediation of young children’s digital technology use: The parents’ perspective. Cyberpsychology, 11(3 Special Issue). https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2017-3-4 Troseth, G. L., Strouse, G. A., & Russo Johnson, C. E. (2017). Early Digital Literacy: Learning to Watch, Watching to Learn. In Cognitive Development in Digital Contexts. Elsevier Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809481-5.00002-X Vaala, S. E. (2014). The Nature and Predictive Value of Mothers’ Beliefs Regarding Infants’ and Toddlers’ TV/Video Viewing: Applying the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction. Media Psychology, 17(3), 282–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2013.872995 Zaman, B., & Mifsud, C. L. (2017). Editorial: Young children’s use of digital media and parental mediation. Cyberpsychology, 11(3 Special Issue), 9. https://doi.org/10.5817/CP2017-3-xx


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 2888-2908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandy Lim ◽  
Remus Ilies ◽  
Joel Koopman ◽  
Paraskevi Christoforou ◽  
Richard D. Arvey

We report an experience-sampling study examining the spillover of workplace incivility on employees’ home lives. Specifically, we test a moderated mediation model whereby discrete emotions transmit the effects of workplace incivility to specific family behaviors at home. Fifty full-time employees from southeast Asia provided 363 observations over a 10-day period on workplace incivility and various emotional states. Daily reports of employees’ marital behaviors were provided by the spouses each evening. Results showed that state hostility mediated the link from workplace incivility to increased angry and withdrawn marital behaviors at home. Also, trait hostility served as a moderator such that the relationship between workplace incivility and hostile emotions was stronger for employees with high trait hostility.


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