The Socio-cultural Context of New Mothers’ Mental Health

Presentation will review findings from a longitudinal study of the transition to parenthood for a sample of low-income, employed mothers. Will examine how work conditions and policies for low-wage workers as well as social supports predict levels and changes in mothers’ mental health across the first year of parenthood. We will also present new findings linking mothers’ early experiences to their own and their children’s mental health 6 years later

The Lives of Hourly Workers and their Families

A presentation: Workplace Conditions and the Lives of Hourly Workers and their Families by Maureen Perry-Jenkins, PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst on behalf of Workplace Flexibility 2010

The Lives of Hourly Workers and their Families

A presentation: Workplace Conditions and the Lives of Hourly Workers and their Families by Maureen Perry-Jenkins, PhD, University of Massachusetts Amherst on behalf of Workplace Flexibility 2010

Division of Labor and Working-Class Women\u27s Well-Being Across the Transition to Parenthood

This study examines the degree to which the division of household and child-care tasks predicts working-class women\u27s well-being across the transition to parenthood. Women completed questionnaires about the division of labor and their well-being before the birth of their first child and upon returning to work. Results showed that violated expectations regarding the division of child care were associated with increased distress postnatally, and there was some evidence that this relationship was moderated by gender ideology. Traditional women whose husbands did more child care than they expected them to do were more distressed. Work status also moderated the relationship between violated expectations and distress. The results suggest that the division of child care is more salient in predicting distress than the division of housework, for working-class women, at this time point

The division of labor and perceptions of parental roles: Lesbian couples across the transition to parenthood

No research has examined the division of labor across the transition to parenthood for same-sex couples. The current study examined the division of labor in 29 lesbian couples (58 women) during the transition to parenthood. Women were interviewed during their last trimester and 34 months post-natally. Two theoretical approaches gender theory and economic theory were used to generate competing hypotheses about the findings. Results revealed that couples divided housework quite equally; however, biological mothers tended to contribute more to child care. Despite this, the majority of couples did not perceive the biological mother as the more \u27primary\u27 parent. Results highlight both the utility and limitations of current theories for explaining the division of labor in lesbian couples. Copyright © 2007 SAGE Publications

The Division of labor in lesbian, gay, and heterosexual new adoptive parents

Little research has investigated the division of child care and housework in adoptive or lesbian/gay parent families, yet these contexts control for family characteristics such as biological relatedness and parental gender differences known to be linked to family work. This study examined predictors (measured preadoption) of the division of child care and housework (measured postadoption) in lesbian (n = 55), gay (n = 40), and heterosexual (n = 65) newly adoptive couples. Same-sex couples shared child care and housework more equally than heterosexual couples. For the full sample, inequities in work hours between partners were associated with greater discrepancies in partners\u27 contributions to child care and masculine tasks; inequities in income between partners were related to greater discrepancies in contributions to feminine tasks. Participants who contributed more to child care tended to contribute more to feminine tasks. These findings extend knowledge of how labor arrangements are enacted in diverse groups. © National Council on Family Relations, 2012

Working-class jobs and new parents\u27 mental health

Little research has explored linkages between work conditions and mental health in working-class employed parents. The current study aims to address this gap, employing hierarchical linear modeling techniques to examine how levels of and changes in job autonomy, job urgency, supervisor support, and coworker support predicted parents\u27 depressive symptoms in a sample of 113 dual-earner couples interviewed five times across the transition to parenthood. Increases in job autonomy and decreases in job urgency predicted fewer depressive symptoms in fathers at 1 year postpartum. For mothers, coworker support predicted fewer depressive symptoms, and supervisor support mitigated the negative effects of job urgency on depressive symptoms. Higher work hours coupled with low job urgency predicted declines in mothers\u27 depressive symptoms across the first year of parenthood. Our findings suggest that interventions that lead to greater autonomy, less job urgency, and more supportive work relations may enhance employee well-being among working-class families. © National Council on Family Relations, 2011