Mothers at Work: Effects on Children's Well-Being / Edition 1

by Lois Hoffman, Lisa Youngblade

Overview

There is perhaps no greater controversy resulting from womens' increasing autonomy than the debate over the effects of a mother's employment on family life and children's well-being. This important volume starts with a thorough review of previous research on this topic and then reports the results of a study designed to answer the key questions that emerge. The study focuses on 448 families with an elementary school child, living in an industrialized city in the Midwest. They include both one-parent and two-parent families, African Americans and Whites, and a broad range of economic circumstances. Extensive data have been obtained from mothers, fathers, children, teachers, classroom peers, and school records. The analysis reported reveals how the mother's employment status affects the father's role, the mother's sense of well-being, and child rearing patterns and how these, in turn, affect the child. The book provides an intimate picture of urban life and how families cope with mothers' employment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521668965
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/28/1999
Series:	Cambridge Studies in Social and Emotional Development
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	354
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.79(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Introduction and review of the literature; 2. Methodology; 3. Children's daily lives: the after-school day interview; 4. The husband-wife relationship; 5. The mother's well-being; 6. Childrearing; 7. Maternal employment and child outcomes: the direct relationships; 8. The father's role, gender attitudes, and academic outcomes; 9. The mother's well-being and child outcomes; 10. Childrearing patterns and child outcomes; 11. Nonmaternal care and supervision: prevalence and effects of child-care arrangement on child well-being; 12. Summary and overview.

Editorial Reviews

"This well-designed and rigorously executed study makes an important contribution to our understanding of these complex issues." J Hum Lact 16

From the Publisher