Seeing Both Sides of the Coronavirus Crisis

The pandemic's impact is often said to be overall negative. But how about the positive side-effects of COVID-19

Introduction to the Special Issue "Parental work and family/child well-being"

The "new economy" is characterized by increasing levels of nonstandard employment. A significant proportion of employees work very long hours, work with high intensity, or have long commutes to work. Also, many workers struggle to secure adequate, stable employment or good quality jobs, and work evening and night shifts or work multiple jobs in order to make ends meet. This special issue examines the consequences of the new economy for the wellbeing of family and children. The studies included in this special issue address the impact of parents’ nonstandard work schedules (shift work), long work hours, temporary employment, and long commutes to work on parental and child health and wellbeing, relationship satisfaction, work-family balance, and the division of labour

Nonstandard work schedules in 29 European countries, 2005-15: differences by education, gender, and parental status

Data from the European Working Conditions Surveys from 2005, 2010, and 2015 for 29 European countries show that the prevalence of nonstandard work schedules (evenings, nights, weekends, and rotating shifts) differs markedly across European regions with different public policies. Working nonstandard schedules also differs by education, gender, and parental status across Europe

The reproduction of educational inequalities - do parenting and child behavioural problems matter?

The strong link between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and children’s success in school is well established. However, mechanisms that underpin this association remain a major issue in current research on social inequality. Using data from the Families in Germany Study and structural equation modelling, this study demonstrates that parenting styles and child behavioural problems explain, in part, the association between parental SES and child school grades for mathematics and German between the ages of 9 and 10. We found that parents with a low SES are more likely to be inconsistent in their parenting and to use psychological control with their children more often, these two factors being linked to child behavioural problems. Adverse parenting and behavioural problems are, in turn, associated with low school grades. Our findings also show that behavioural problems in children are associated with lower school grades independent of parenting style. These findings suggest that parenting styles and child behavioural problems and their interplay may be potential pathways that underpin the influence of parental SES on children’s school achievement

Socioeconomic disparities in the mental health of Indigenous children in Western Australia

Background: The burden of mental health problems among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children is a major public health problem in Australia. While socioeconomic factors are implicated as important determinants of mental health problems in mainstream populations, their bearing on the mental health of Indigenous Australians remains largely uncharted across all age groups. Methods: We examined the relationship between the risk of clinically significant emotional or behavioural difficulties (CSEBD) and a range of socioeconomic measures for 3993 Indigenous children aged 4–17 years in Western Australia, using a representative survey conducted in 2000–02. Analysis was conducted using multivariate logistic regression within a multilevel framework. Results: Almost one quarter (24%) of Indigenous children were classified as being at high risk of CSEBD. Our findings generally indicate that higher socioeconomic status is associated with a reduced risk of mental health problems in Indigenous children. Housing quality and tenure and neighbourhood-level disadvantage all have a strong direct effect on child mental health. Further, the circumstances of families with Indigenous children (parenting quality, stress, family composition, overcrowding, household mobility, racism and family functioning) emerged as an important explanatory mechanism underpinning the relationship between child mental health and measures of material wellbeing such as carer employment status and family financial circumstances.Conclusions: Our results provide incremental evidence of a social gradient in the mental health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Improving the social, economic and psychological conditions of families with Indigenous children has considerable potential to reduce the mental health inequalities within Indigenous populations and, in turn, to close the substantial racial gap in mental health. Interventions that target housing quality, home ownership and neighbourhood-level disadvantage are likely to be particularly beneficial

Who suffered most? Parental stress and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany

Objective: This study examines gender and socioeconomic inequalities in parental psychological wellbeing (parenting stress and psychological distress) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Background: The dramatic shift of childcare and schooling responsibility from formal institutions to private households during the pandemic has put families under enormous stress and raised concerns about caregivers' health and wellbeing. Despite the overwhelming media attention to families’ wellbeing, to date limited research has examined parenting stress and parental psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Germany. Method: We analyzed four waves of panel data (N= 1,771) from an opt-in online survey, which was conducted between March 2020 and April 2021. Multivariable OLS regressions were used to estimate variations in the pandemic's effects on parenting stress and psychological distress by various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Results: Overall, levels of parenting stress and psychological distress increased during the pandemic. During the first and third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, mothers, parents with children younger than 11 years, parents with two or more children, parents working from home as well as parents with financial insecurity experienced higher parenting stress than other sociodemographic groups. Moreover, women, respondents with lower incomes, single parents, and parents with younger children experienced higher levels of psychological distress than other groups. Conclusion: Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in parents' psychological wellbeing increased among the study participants during the pandemic.Fragestellung: Diese Studie untersucht geschlechtsspezifische und sozioökonomische Ungleichheiten bei elterlichem Stress und psychischen Belastungen während der COVID-19 Pandemie in Deutschland. Hintergrund: Zur Eindämmung der COVID-19 Pandemie wurde die Verantwortung für Kinderbetreuung und schulische Bildung von formellen Institutionen auf die Eltern verlagert, was diese mutmaßlich unter enormen Stress gesetzt und ihr psychisches Wohlbefinden beeinträchtigt hat. Obwohl medial ausführlich über die zusätzlichen Belastungen von Familien berichtet wurde, haben elterlicher Stress und psychische Belastungen während der Krise im Rahmen wissenschaftlicher Untersuchungen wenig Aufmerksamkeit erhalten. Das gilt insbesondere für Untersuchungen zu Deutschland. Methode: Die vorliegende Studie nutzt daher vier Wellen (N= 1.771) einer Opt-in-Panelbefragung, die zwischen März 2020 und April 2021 durchgeführt wurde. Mithilfe multivariabler OLS-Regressionen untersuchen wir die Auswirkungen der Pandemie auf elterlichen Stress und psychische Belastungen unter Einbeziehung einer Vielzahl demographischer und sozio-ökonomischer Merkmale. Ergebnisse: Insgesamt haben sich Stress und psychische Belastungen von Eltern durch die Pandemie erhöht. Während der 1. und 3. Pandemiewelle hatten Mütter sowie Eltern mit Kindern unter 11 Jahren, Eltern mit zwei und mehr Kindern, Eltern, die im Homeoffice arbeiteten, ebenso wie Eltern in finanziell prekären Lagen eine größere Verschlechterung bei Stress zu verzeichnen als andere soziodemografische Gruppen. Eine Verschlechterung bei psychischen Belastungen scheint es bei Frauen, Haushalten mit geringerem Einkommen, Alleinerziehenden und Eltern jüngerer Kinder gegeben zu haben. Schlussfolgerung: Die geschlechtsspezifischen und sozialen Ungleichheiten beim psychischen Wohlbefinden der Eltern nahmen bei den Studienteilnehmern während der Pandemie zu

Parents' nonstandard work schedules and parents' perception of adolescent social and emotional wellbeing

Objective: We investigated the association between joint parents' work schedules and parent-reported adolescent mental health and test parental time for adolescents and parenting style as mediators. Background: Increasing evidence shows that parents' evening/night/irregular work schedules have a negative impact on children’s physical and mental health. Few studies examine adolescents and joint parental work schedules. Method: We analysed one wave of the Australian Raine Study data, focusing on adolescents who were followed up at ages 16-17 and lived in dual earner-households (N=607). Adolescent mental health was measured in the Child Behavioural Checklist (morbidity, internalising behaviour, externalising behaviour, anxiety/depression). Parental work schedules were defined as: both parents work standard daytime schedules (reference), both parents work evening/night/irregular shifts; fathers work evening/night/irregular shifts - mothers day schedules, mothers work evening/night/irregular shifts - fathers daytime schedules. We estimated a linear regression model with robust standard errors and log transformation of the dependent variables. Results: Compared to the reference group, when one or both parents worked evening/night/irregular schedules, there was a significant increase in parent-reported total morbidity, externalizing behaviour and anxiety/depression in adolescents. Fathers’ only evening/night/irregular schedules was associated with a significant increase in parent-reported total morbidity and externalizing behaviour. Inconsistent parenting partially mediated this association. Mothers’ only evening/night/irregular schedules was not significantly associated with parent-reported adolescent mental health. Conclusion: Our findings underscore the importance of fathers' work-family balance with implications for adolescent mental health