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Early Maternal Employment And Children's School Readiness: Changing Associations Over Time?
1Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut, 348 Mansfield Road, U-1058, Storrs, CT 06269-1058 USA.
Journal of Child and Family Studies
|July 6, 2022
Summary
Early maternal employment shows evolving links to children's school readiness. While full-time work by 9 months now positively impacts language skills, it
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Sociology of the Family
- Labor Economics
Background:
- Maternal employment has become increasingly common, prompting research into its evolving effects on child development.
- Previous studies explored links between mothers' labor force participation and children's well-being, but changes over time remain under-examined.
- Understanding these shifts is crucial, especially for diverse family subgroups.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess changes in the associations between early maternal employment and children's school readiness between two cohorts.
- To investigate how these associations differ across various child outcomes and family characteristics.
- To determine if the impact of maternal employment on school readiness has shifted over a decade.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two large, longitudinal U.S. birth cohort samples (1991 and 2001).
- Employed Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression models to analyze data.
- Examined associations between maternal employment by 9 months and children's skills (reading/language, math) and conduct problems at ages 4 and school entry.
Main Results:
- Full-time maternal employment by 9 months showed increasingly positive associations with reading/language skills from 1991 to 2001.
- Full-time maternal employment was linked to higher conduct problems at school entry in both cohorts; part-time employment showed similar effects by 2001.
- Associations varied by family income, indicating differential impacts across socioeconomic strata.
Conclusions:
- The relationship between early maternal employment and children's school readiness has subtly changed over time.
- While positive for cognitive skills, early full-time maternal employment continues to be associated with conduct issues.
- Family income moderates the effects of maternal employment on child school readiness, highlighting the need for nuanced policy considerations.
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