Search Results (13)

Background: Partner support and work–life balance (WLB) are important for families’ well-being. Previous research has linked perceived family support, WLB, and satisfaction with food-related life (SWFoL); however, there is limited information regarding each parent’s support from their partner. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, the work–home resources, and the actor–partner interdependence model (APIM), this study examined the direct and indirect effects of parents’ perceived partner support, WLB, and the SWFoL of dual-income parents and their adolescents, considering the moderating role of parents’ gender-transcendent attitudes. Methods: A total of 516 dual-earning parents with one adolescent child were recruited in Chile using non-probability sampling. The parents completed scales measuring perceived partner support, WLB, and gender role attitudes. The three family members responded to the Satisfaction with Food-Related Life scale. The data were analyzed using the mediation APIM, structural equation modeling, and multi-group analysis. Results: The model fit was robust (RMSEA = 0.016; SRMR = 0.052; CFI = 0.982; TLI = 0.978). The findings showed that the mothers’ SWFoL was indirectly and positively affected by their and the fathers’ perceived partner support through both parents’ WLB. The fathers’ SWFoL was directly and positively affected by their perceived partner support and indirectly via their WLB. The adolescents’ SWFoL was directly and positively affected by the mothers’ perceived partner support and indirectly by the fathers’ perceived partner support through the fathers’ WLB. In families where the fathers exhibited low gender-transcendent attitudes, the relationship between the mothers’ perceived partner support and WLB was stronger. Conclusions: Thus, it can be concluded that the mediating role of work–life balance is significant, as it facilitates the transmission of resources within and between individuals to enhance parents’ and adolescents’ SWFoL. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted work-family balance due to lockdown measures. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of working mothers in Spain and the consequences of trying to balance work and family for their health and wellbeing. We conducted a qualitative study based on 18 semi-structured interviews with mothers of children under 10. Five themes were identified: (1) Telework—characteristics and challenges of a new labor scenario; (2) Survival and chaos—inability to work, look after children, and manage a household at the same time; (3) Is co-responsibility a matter of luck?—challenges when sharing housework during lockdown; (4) Breakdown of the care and social support system; and (5) decline in health of women trying to balance work and family life. Mothers who had to balance telework against family life suffered physical, mental, and social effects, such as anxiety, stress, sleep deprivation, and relationship problems. This study suggests that, in situations of crisis, gender inequality increases in the household, and women tend to shift back to traditional gendered roles. Governments and employers should be made aware of this, and public policies should be implemented to facilitate work-family reconciliation and co-responsibility within couples Full article

How do academic mothers navigate their embodied selves in a disembodied academic life? More particularly, how do mothers in Philippine Higher Education balance the demands of mothering and teaching during the pandemic? This qualitative study used a narrative inquiry approach involving in-depth interviews with academic mothers from various faculties and ranks at some Philippine Higher Education Institutions. This approach explored the complex and often contradictory discourses surrounding the tension between the polarizing models of the ideal caring mother and ideal academic, trying to excel in both roles during the pandemic. The research began with an overview by way of a literature review of the pre-pandemic mother academics. It then reflected on eight mother college professors who balanced their careers with childcare, some with adult care, as this pandemic amplified deeply ingrained traditional social norms that perpetuate social inequities. Finally, it concluded that the two domains—academy and family—remained inhospitable to professing mothers in the Philippines. This study proposed that care work should be valorized, work–family narratives normalized and mainstreamed, and public and educational policies that support mothering and teaching rethought. Full article

This article focuses on women who have opted to be mothers on their own by choice in the UK and Spain, and how their access to assisted reproductive technologies in the National Health Service was affected because they were 35 years old or older, forcing them to go to private clinics for their treatment. Having given birth to their children, the participants face a second obstacle: the lack of policies that support work-life balance. A third obstacle also arises, in the form of a lack of childcare and early-education provision, particularly in the UK. The last two obstacles affect the whole population, but they are intensified in the case of solo-mother-families where the mother is responsible for simultaneously being the caregiver and the sole economic provider. Solo motherhood by choice highlights the impact of the absence of these policies, and the inequalities that result from current contemporary conceptualizations of family, woman and early-childhood-care and education. This article draws on ethnographic research that took place in the UK and Spain where I conducted 60 in-depth interviews and participant observations. The aim is to provide an analysis capable of capturing and confronting how inequalities affect women-mothers-workers and their children. Full article

The participation of women with young children in the Japanese labor force has increased dramatically in recent years, bringing growing potential for conflict between work and family roles amid inadequate social systems, such as childcare support. Thus, work–life balance (WLB) of mothers may influence their children’s mental health and lifestyle. This study aims to clarify the relationship between parents’ WLB and children’s mental health, as well as the underlying factors of parental stress and nurturing attitude. The study is based on a questionnaire survey administered in 2019 to fifth-grade elementary school students and their caregivers in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The regression results indicated that the higher the work–family negative spillover, the higher the child’s externalizing and internalizing problems, and the higher the positive spillover, the lower the problems and the higher the prosocial behaviors. Path analysis indicates that maternal WLB is negatively and positively related to children’s behavior through maternal stress and parenting practices. The study suggests that maternal WLB is related to children’s emotional and behavioral problems. WLB may impact children’s emotional and behavioral problems through parents’ mental health and involvement with their children, particularly because of work arrangements changing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Full article

The two significant factors that influence subjective wellbeing are job and life satisfaction, so the work–life balance, that is, balancing between the two areas, is related to several wellbeing outcomes. This issue is of particular interest in those families, where, even if only temporarily, they have chosen the non-traditional sharing of roles, in which the father becomes the primary caregiver and the mother assumes the role of breadwinner. Very few Hungarian studies focus on families where the mother is the prime breadwinner and there has been no research specifically relating to stay-at-home father–working mother families. The qualitative gap filling research that we conducted was utilized to explore the relationship between achieving work-life balance and wellbeing in case of Hungarian stay-at-home father–working mother couples. A total of 31 families were examined through a semi-structured in-depth interview with the fathers and a short questionnaire with the mothers. All participants were white, heterosexual couples with one to four children. As a result of the analysis, four typical patterns in terms of the stay-at-home father and working mother family dynamics could be identified, including to what extent this non-traditional family format contributes to the father’s, mother’s, or both of their wellbeing. Full article

Women are exposed to increased burden of mental disorders during the perinatal period: 13–19% experience postpartum depression. Perinatal psychological suffering affects early mother-child relationship, impacting child’s emotional and cognitive development. Return-to-work brings additional vulnerability given the required balance between parenting and job demands. The MAternal Mental Health in the WORKplace (MAMH@WORK) project aims to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a brief and sustainable intervention, promoting (a) maternal mental health throughout pregnancy and first 12 months after delivery, and (b) quality of mother–child interactions, child emotional self-regulation, and cognitive self-control, while (c) reducing perinatal absenteeism and presenteeism. MAMH@WORK is a three-arm randomized controlled trial. A short-term cognitive-behavioral therapy-based (CBT-based) psychoeducation plus biofeedback intervention will be implemented by psychiatrists and psychologists, following a standardized procedure manual developed after consensus (Delphi method). Participants (n = 225, primiparous, singleton pregnant women at 28–30 weeks gestational age, aged 18–40 years, employed) will be randomly allocated to arms: CBT-based psychoeducation intervention (including mindfulness); psychoeducation plus biofeedback intervention; and control. Assessments will take place before and after delivery. Main outcomes (and main tools): mental health literacy (MHLS), psychological wellbeing (HADS, EPDS, KBS, CD-RISC, BRIEF COPE), quality of mother–child interaction, child–mother attachment, child emotional self-regulation and cognitive self-control (including PBQ, Strange Situation Procedure, QDIBRB, SGS-II, CARE-Index), job engagement (UWES), and presenteeism. Intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses will be conducted; Cohen’s d coefficient, Cramer’s V and odds ratio will be used to assess the effect size of the intervention. MAMH@WORK is expected to contribute to mental health promotion during the perinatal period and beyond. Its results have the potential to inform health policies regarding work–life balance and maternal mental health and wellbeing promotion in the workplace. Full article

The struggle for work–life balance amongst women in academia who are both mothers and scholars continues to be apparent during a global pandemic highlighting the systemic fissures and social inequalities ingrained in our society, including systems of higher learning. Women of color professors on the tenure track are vulnerable to the intersecting ways capitalism, sexism, and racism exacerbate the challenges faced by motherscholars, making it imperative to explore these nuances. While motherscholars may share advice about navigating family leave policies or strategizing scholarship goals, no one could have prepared us for our motherscholar roles during a pandemic. We were, in some ways, unprepared for giving birth with a heightened level of social isolation and feelings of loneliness, while racial unrest and loud exigencies to protect the lives of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) persist. Through three testimonios, we explore how ancestral/indigenous knowledge provides us with ways to persist, transform, and heal during these moments. We share letters written to each of our babies to encapsulate our praxis with ancestral knowledge on mothering. We reflect on matriarchal elders, constricted movement in our daily routines, and ongoing worries and hopes. We theorize this knowledge to offer solidarity with a motherscholar epistemology. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many aspects of daily life. The purpose of this study was to identify how health behaviors, level of stress, financial and food security have been impacted by the pandemic among Canadian families with young children. Parents (mothers, n = 235 and fathers, n = 126) from 254 families participating in an ongoing study completed an online survey that included close and open-ended questions. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the quantitative data and qualitative responses were analyzed using thematic analysis. More than half of our sample reported that their eating and meal routines have changed since COVID-19; most commonly reported changes were eating more snack foods and spending more time cooking. Screen time increased among 74% of mothers, 61% of fathers, and 87% of children and physical activity decreased among 59% of mothers, 52% of fathers, and 52% of children. Key factors influencing family stress include balancing work with childcare/homeschooling and financial instability. While some unhealthful behaviors appeared to have been exacerbated, other more healthful behaviors also emerged since COVID-19. Research is needed to determine the longer-term impact of the pandemic on behaviors and to identify effective strategies to support families in the post-COVID-19 context. Full article

This study aims to define the perspectives taken by single mothers when combining work and motherhood in a stressful work–life constellation. One of the challenges for single mothers after divorce is to find a work–life balance in their single-parent family system. Regarding work-life balance, we take a General Strain Perspective, describing the work-life conflict as a combination of financial strain and role strain. We argue that both strains are the most problematic for single mothers in comparison to their married and/or male counterparts, as both finances and parenthood ideologies are more under pressure. For this reason, we explore how single mothers coped with this strain, answering the question: ‘Which perspectives on the combination motherhood and work do single mothers take in their attempt to balance role strain and financial strain after divorce?’ To answer this research question, we used a qualitative approach, based on 202 in-depth interviews with single mothers in Belgium. These interviews involved two groups: A primary research population of 13 single mothers and an elaborative research population of 189 single mothers. Timelines were used to structure the single mothers’ narratives. The analysis resulted in the contruction of a typology of four different perspectives based on how single mothers dealt with maternal role strain and financial strain: the re-invented motherhood perspective, the work-family symbiosis perspective, the work-centered motherhood perspective and the work-family conflicted perspective. We found that perspective of single mothers in their work-life strain can be described by the flexibility and/or strictness in either their motherhood ideology and/or their work context. These results point at the needs for policymakers, employers, and practitioners to focus on initiatives improving the work–life balance of single mothers by reducing financial and role strains. Full article

This study explored the associations between family support and satisfaction with life, food-related life and family life. It also assessed the associations between both parents’ work-life balance and satisfaction with life, food-related life and family life among adolescent children from dual-earner families. Questionnaires were administered to 303 dual-earner families with one child between 10 and 17 years in Temuco, Chile. Adolescents answered the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life scale (SWFoL), Satisfaction with Family Life scale (SWFaL) and the Family subscale of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Both parents answered the Work-life Balance (WLB) scale. Using structural equation modelling and having controlled for adolescents’ gender, age and socioeconomic status, we confirmed that adolescent life satisfaction is associated with satisfaction with family life and food-related life. Food-related life satisfaction and family life satisfaction had complete mediating roles between perceived family support and adolescents’ life satisfaction. Satisfaction with food-related life also had a complete mediating role between both parents’ WLB and adolescents’ life satisfaction. Satisfaction with family life had a complete mediating role between mothers’ WLB and adolescents’ life satisfaction. In addition, mothers’ WLB was positively associated with perceived family support among adolescents. These findings suggest the need to improve family support and work-life balance among mothers in order to enhance adolescents’ satisfaction with different domains of life in dual-earner families. Full article

Prior research suggests that socioeconomic standing during the early years of life, particularly in utero, is associated with child health. However, it is unclear whether socioeconomic benefits are only maximized at very young ages. Moreover, given the link between socioeconomic status (SES) and race, research is inconclusive whether any SES benefits during those younger ages would uniformly benefit all racial and ethnic groups. Using 1986–2014 data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY79), this study examines the impact of socioeconomic timing on child weight outcomes by race. Specifically, this research investigates whether specific points exist where socioeconomic investment would have higher returns on child health. Findings suggest that both the timing and the type of socioeconomic exposure is important to understanding child weight status. SES, particularly mother’s employment and father’s education, is important in determining child health, and each measure is linked to weight gain differently for White, Black, and Hispanic children at specific ages. Policies such as granting more educational access for men and work-family balance for women are discussed. Full article

Perinatal depression is prevalent worldwide. However, there are few available studies that discuss the different cultural factors affecting perinatal depression within Asian countries. This study aims to compare the literature regarding related factors relating to perinatal depression in India and Japan, and to synthesize the evidence common to both countries in addition to the country-specific evidence. We conducted a systematic review using several databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, Pubmed, Ovid, SCOPUS, IndMED, and ICHUSI). Keywords were “antenatal depression” or “postpartum depression”, and “India” or “Japan”. Both Japanese and English language papers were reviewed. The identified evidence was compared between the two countries, as well as with non-Asian countries based on previous reports. In total, 15 articles on India and 35 on Japan were reviewed. Although several factors were shared between the two countries as well as with other non-Asian countries (vulnerable personality, being abused, age, marital conflict, and lower socio-demographic status), some differing factors were identified between India and Japan and non-Asian countries; India: poor socioeconomic status, living only with the husband, pregnancy not welcomed by the husband, a female baby, and poor relationship with in-laws; Japan: infertility treatment, conflict with work–life balance, poor relationships with biological mother or in-laws, and concerns about social relations with the other mother’s friends. To conclude, involving the family and community may be important for implementing both global standardized and culture-specific interventions. In India, treatment involving the in-laws may be effective because large family structure is a significant predictor of perinatal depression. In Japan, a family/community approach involving not only the mother’s family of origin but also the working environment is essential. Full article