Attitudes to work and parenthood: Adaptation to family transitions

Abstract

While there is extensive\nresearch on the selection process, i.e. how attitudes affect family transitions\nsuch as marriage and childbearing, this paper focuses on the other dimension\nof the reciprocal relationship between attitudes and behavior, namely the\nadaptation process, thereby contributing to the small but growing research area\non the connection between demographic behavior and attitude change. Such\nresearch has been limited by the fact that it requires longitudinal data on\nattitudes which are still relatively rare. \n\nOur study benefits from the\nexistence of the longitudinal data base YAPS (Young Adult Panel Study), a\nthree-wave survey of Swedish young adults. Survey questions were used to\nconstruct two attitude indices that capture respondents’ attitudes to work and\ncareer and to parenthood, respectively. Running OLS regressions on changing\nattitudes as explained by life-course transitions such as union formation and\nchildbearing, separately for men and women, we could conclude that family\ntransitions do influence attitudes to parenthood as well as to work and career,\nbut in opposite directions. Overall, family transitions make attitudes to\nparenthood become stronger and work attitudes weaker, and childbearing seems\nmore influential than union formation.\n\nOur results align well with the observed increase in\npositive attitudes to parenthood and the declining attitudes to work and career\nover the life course, which suggests that family transitions could be largely\nresponsible for the attitudinal changes to work and parenthood that people\nexperience throughout their lives.