Rationales, design and recruitment for the Elfe longitudinal study

Background Many factors act simultaneously in childhood to influence health status, life chances and well being, including pre-birth influences, the environmental pollutants of early life, health status but also the social influences of family and school. A cohort study is needed to disentangle these influences and explore attribution. Methods Elfe will be a nationally representative cohort of 20 000 children followed from birth to adulthood using a multidisciplinary approach. The cohort will be based on the INSEE Permanent Demographic Panel (EDP) established using census data and civil records. The sample size has been defined in order to match the representativeness criteria and to obtain some prevalence estimation, but also to address the research area of low exposure/rare effects. The cohort will be based on repeated surveys by face to face or phone interview (at birth and each year) as well as medical interview (at 2 years) and examination (at 6 years). Furthermore, biological samples will be taken at birth to evaluate the foetal exposition to toxic substances, environmental sensors will be placed in the child's homes. Pilot studies have been initiated in 2007 (500 children) with an overall acceptance rate of 55% and are currently under progress, the 2-year survey being carried out in October this year. Discussion The longitudinal study will provide a unique source of data to analyse the development of children in their environment, to study the various factors interacting throughout the life course up to adulthood and to determine the impact of childhood experience on the individual's physical, psychological, social and professional development

Fatherhood regimes and father involvement in France and the UK

This paper contrasts and compares the institutional framework for fatherhood and father involvement and the survey evidence relating to fathers’ contribution to childcare and domestic work in the two countries. It shows that while men’s contribution to such activities appears to be increasing in both France and the UK, change is slow and father involvement does not necessarily seem to correlate directly either with patterns of female labour force participation or with the support offered by the institutional framework. The authors explore the theoretical frameworks most appropriate for explaining their findings and situate them primarily in terms of Pfau-Effinger’s theorization of the gender arrangement (1998, 2002, 2004). The authors conclude that while change in father involvement is slow, the introduction of statutory and organizational worklife balance measures which alter the gender order open up opportunities for negotiated change in the division of the labour in the home

Fathers' and Mothers' Involvement in Parental Tasks : An Unequal Division

This chapter looks at the division of parental tasks by focusing on the gender relations at play both in the parents' generation, as they tie in with other social relations approached through demographic and socioeconomic characteristics (age differences between partners, educational level, occupation, income, work time, etc.), and between parents and children. The aim is to verify whether, in addition to gender relations in the parental couple, family composition - number, age and especially gender of the children - an influence on fathers' and mothers' day-to-day involvement in childcare. Less involved in routine daily tasks, fathers still appear to be secondary players in the education and care of their children. Paternal investment varies according to the types of task involved, however (dressing the children, putting them to bed, taking them places, leisure activities and homework), and according to the characteristics of the couple and the children. Questions of identity and gender relations within the family thus explain the persistently wide gender gap in parental involvement