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The Kids are All Right: Few Negative Associations With Moms\u27 Return to Work Soon After Having Children

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Children From Lower-Income Households Benefit More When Mother Enters Work ForceThe following was released by the American Psychological AssociationWASHINGTON – Children whose mothers return to work before their offspring turn 3 are no more likely to haveacademic or behavioral problems than kids whose mothers stay at home, according to a review of 50 years ofresearch.“Overall, I think this shows women who go back to work soon after they have their children should not be tooconcerned about the effects their employment has on their children’s long-term well-being,” said psychologistRachel Lucas-Thompson, PhD, lead author of the study conducted with Drs. JoAnn Prause and Wendy Goldberg atthe University of California, Irvine".For some families, having a mom on the job is better for children, according to the meta-analysis of 69 studiesconducted between 1960 and 2010. For example, children from single-parent or low-income families whose mothersworked had better academic and intelligence scores and fewer behavioral problems than children whose mothers didnot work, the authors found. This was probably due in part to increased resources that the income afforded, they said.The findings appear online in Psychological Bulletin, published by the American Psychological Association.“This is the first comprehensive and systematic look at maternal employment during children’s early years and whateffect it has on children, specifically in the area of school performance, intelligence and behavioral problems,” saidLucas-Thompson, PhD, of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. “For years, there has been a lot of debate in thisarea of research and now we can see more clearly for which families there are positive or negative associations withhaving a mom who works.” Lucas-Thompson conducted the study along with JoAnn Prause, PhD, and WendyGoldberg, PhD, at the University of California, Irvine.Children in poorer families may benefit more from having a working mother because the added income helps toreduce the child’s stress and leads to more opportunities, according to Lucas-Thompson. In addition, she said, themothers become positive role models for their children.The analysis included studies where the mother returned to work, either part-time or full-time, within three years ofgiving birth. To be considered, the studies had to measure school performance through achievement test scores,school grades, intelligence test scores and teacher ratings of cognitive abilities. Behavioral problems were assessedby children’s “internalizing behaviors,” such as anxiety and withdrawal; and “externalizing behaviors,” such asaggression and conduct problems. Behavioral problems were reported by parents, teachers or the older childrenthemselves. Many of the studies were longitudinal, meaning the researchers followed families for several years afterthe mothers went back to work – even into the children’s adolescent years.Further analyses suggested that children in middle- and upper-class families with two parents were slightly morelikely to see decreases in achievement later on. In addition, slight increases in externalizing behaviors were evidentlater on if the mother went back to work full-time during the first year of the child’s life. “This suggests that familieswho are not struggling financially may not see as many benefits of maternal employment on very young children,”said Lucas-Thompson.“For these families, it’s possible that alternate care arrangements may not be as emotionally supportive as the child’smother.”Lucas-Thompson said these latter findings help support the calls for more flexible and generous maternity leavepolicies.“Our country does not compare very well with other developed countries that are better at supporting new parents,”she said. “If parents could postpone work or if they were allowed to work fewer hours during that first year, I think itcould only have positive effects on our children.”Despite the fact that this analysis included studies conducted over a half-century, beginning at a time when fewermothers worked outside the home, there were no significant differences in the findings based on the year the studieswere published.Article: “Maternal Work Early in the Lives of Children and Its Distal Associations With Achievement and BehaviorProblems: A Meta-Analysis,” Rachel G. Lucas-Thompson, PhD, Macalester College; Wendy A. Goldberg, PhD andJoAnn Prause, PhD, University of California, Irvine.Psychological Bulletin.The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organizationrepresenting psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA'smembership includes more than 152,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through itsdivisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations,APA works to advance psychology as a science, as a profession and as a means of promoting health, education andhuman welfare.Macalester College, founded in 1874, is a national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 1,958 students.Macalester is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism,multiculturalism and civic engagement.October 15 2010About Macalester (http://www.macalester.edu/about/)Academics (http://www.macalester.edu/academics/)Admissions & Financial Aid (http://www.macalester.edu/admissions/)Life at Mac (http://www.macalester.edu/lifeatmac/)Support Mac (http://www.macalester.edu/supportmac/)

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The Kids are All Right: Few Negative Associations With Moms\u27 Return to Work Soon After Having Children

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DigitalCommons@Macalester College