TY - JOUR
T1 - Around-the-clock
T2 - Parent work schedules and children's well-being in a 24-h economy
AU - Strazdins, Lyndall
AU - Korda, Rosemary J.
AU - Lim, Lynette L.Y.
AU - Broom, Dorothy H.
AU - D'Souza, Rennie M.
PY - 2004/10
Y1 - 2004/10
N2 - Family life in developed economies has undergone a fundamental change - shifting from single-breadwinner households (typical of the post war decades) to families where both parents are employed. Equally dramatic has been the emergence of around-the-clock economies, altering the way work is organised, especially working time. Many more children now live in households where one or both parents work non-standard hours (evenings, nights or on weekends). Are there any implications for children's well-being when parents work non-standard schedules? There has been virtually no investigation of how children are faring in these around-the-clock households, despite evidence that non-standard work times affect family functioning and are stressful for parents. Using data from a representative sample of 4433 dual-earner Canadian families and their 2-11-year-old children (N children=6361), we compared families where both parents worked standard hours, with families where one or both worked non-standard times (evenings, nights or weekends). In nearly three-quarters of the families one or both parents regularly worked non-standard times. We found associations between children's well-being and parent work schedules, with higher odds ratios for child difficulties when parents worked non-standard times. These associations persisted after adjusting for several confounding factors including socio-economic status, parent part-time or full-time work, and childcare use, and were evident whether mothers, fathers or both parents worked non-standard times. The findings raise questions about the implications for children of the 24-h economy.
AB - Family life in developed economies has undergone a fundamental change - shifting from single-breadwinner households (typical of the post war decades) to families where both parents are employed. Equally dramatic has been the emergence of around-the-clock economies, altering the way work is organised, especially working time. Many more children now live in households where one or both parents work non-standard hours (evenings, nights or on weekends). Are there any implications for children's well-being when parents work non-standard schedules? There has been virtually no investigation of how children are faring in these around-the-clock households, despite evidence that non-standard work times affect family functioning and are stressful for parents. Using data from a representative sample of 4433 dual-earner Canadian families and their 2-11-year-old children (N children=6361), we compared families where both parents worked standard hours, with families where one or both worked non-standard times (evenings, nights or weekends). In nearly three-quarters of the families one or both parents regularly worked non-standard times. We found associations between children's well-being and parent work schedules, with higher odds ratios for child difficulties when parents worked non-standard times. These associations persisted after adjusting for several confounding factors including socio-economic status, parent part-time or full-time work, and childcare use, and were evident whether mothers, fathers or both parents worked non-standard times. The findings raise questions about the implications for children of the 24-h economy.
KW - Child well-being
KW - Non-standard work hours
KW - Social determinants of health
KW - Work conditions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=3042752329&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.01.022
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.01.022
M3 - Article
SN - 0277-9536
VL - 59
SP - 1517
EP - 1527
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
IS - 7
ER -