Ann C. Crouter

A longitudinal and multi-source test of the work–family conflict and job satisfaction relationship

Job satisfaction is one of the most frequently studied outcomes in the work–family conflict literature. This study extends the previous research by examining the unique effects of work interfering with family (WIF) and family interfering with work (FIW) on job satisfaction by (1) controlling for family, personal, and job characteristics of dual-earner couples, (2) employing cross-sectional and longitudinal methods, and (3) predicting job satisfaction with a spousal rating of the target’s WIF. Consistent with previous research, WIF was related to job satisfaction cross-sectionally for men and women, and this effect existed beyond negative mood, job autonomy and monotony, and FIW. When predicting a change in job satisfaction a year later, and when using spouse rating of the target’s WIF, WIF was predictive of women’s job satisfaction but not men’s, which is consistent with gender role theory. The fact that WIF predicted job satisfaction for women beyond affective and job characteristic variables, over time, and with non-self reported measures, provides more confidence in this directional relationship than could previously be assumed. Societal and managerial implications are discussed.

The Family Contexts of Gender Development in Childhood and Adolescence

We review research on the familys role in gender development during childhood and adolescence. Our discussion highlights childrens dyadic family relationship experiences with their parents and siblings; additionally, we describe ways in which the larger system of family relationships, including gendered dynamics in the marriage and the differential family experiences of sisters versus brothers may have implications for gender development. We also emphasize the significance of contextual factors—ranging from situational demands and affordances to forces emanating from the larger social ecology—in family gender socialization. We conclude that family experiences may have a more important impact on gender development than has previously been believed, and we highlight directions for future study. These include: (1) applying more complex models of parent socialization and family dynamics to the study of the familys role in gender development; (2) expanding on research directed at the socialization of sex differences to study how family dynamics are linked to individual differences in girls’ and boys’ gendered qualities and behaviors; and (3) further exploring how contextual factors exert an impact on gender socialization in the family.

Free-Time Activities in Middle Childhood: Links with Adjustment in Early Adolescence

This study assessed links between free-time activities in middle childhood (hobbies, sports, toys and games, outdoor play, reading, television viewing, and hanging out) and school grades, conduct, and depression symptoms both concurrently and 2 years later, in early adolescence. It also explored two mechanisms that might underlie activity-adjustment links: whether the social contexts of childrens activities mediate these links, child effects explain these connections, or both. Participants were 198 children (M = 10.9 years, SD = .54 years) in Year 1, and their parents. In home interviews in Years 1 and 3 of the study, mothers rated childrens conduct problems, children reported on their depression symptoms, and information was collected on school grades from report cards. In seven evening phone interviews, children reported on the time they spent in free-time activities during the day of the call and their companions in each activity. Links were found between the nature of childrens free-time activities and their adjustment. The social contexts of free-time activities explained activity-adjustment links to a limited degree; with respect to child effects, evidence also suggested that better adjusted children became more involved in adaptive activities over time.

The Influence of the Family on Vocational Development

In accord with the growing interest in work and the family, this paper critically examines the issue of the family of orientations impact on vocational development. First, limitations of the literature on vocational development and the family are discussed, specifically the failure to consider (a) vocational development, (b) the family as a functioning whole, and (c) familial and vocational changes over time. Second, the literature is viewed according to the impact of the familys (a) location in the broader social context, (b) structural features, and (c) process-oriented features, on vocational development. Various gaps in the literature are identified. In conclusion, conceptual issues are considered, and a framework with which to view the family as a context for vocational development is offered.

The life course : a sociological perspective

An exceptionally well-known social psychologist offers the most definitive work to date on life-cycle sociology. Appropriate as a text or supplement for courses on socialization, social psychology, and aging. Foundations of Modern Sociology series.

Longitudinal linkages between sibling relationships and adjustment from middle childhood through adolescence.

The links between changes in sibling conflict and intimacy and changes in perceived peer social competence and depression symptoms were examined from middle childhood through adolescence. Participants were mothers, fathers and first- and second-born siblings from 197 White, working/middle class, two-parent families. Peer competence peaked in early adolescence and then declined; depression symptoms were high in middle childhood and, for girls, in middle adolescence. Controlling for parent-offspring relationships and sibling and parent adjustment, increases in sibling conflict were linked to increases in depression symptoms, and increases in sibling intimacy were linked to increases in peer competence and, for girls, decreases in depression symptoms.

When does parents' differential treatment have negative implications for siblings?

We compared the extent of parents’ differential treatment (PDT) and girls’ and boys’ perceptions of parents’ fairness in middle childhood and adolescence as a function of the gender constellation of the sibling dyad. Further, we examined links between PDT in three domains, parental warmth, parents’ temporal involvement, and the allocation of household tasks, and both siblings’ self esteem and positivity in the sibling relationship. Participants were mothers, fathers and both first- and secondborn siblings from 385 families. To collect information on siblings’ family experiences and well-being, family members were interviewed individually in their homes. During the subsequent 2–3 weeks, 7 evening telephone interviews also were conducted; these focused on siblings’ daily activities. Analyses revealed different patterns of PDT for siblings as a function of age and gender constellation, stronger links with self esteem and sibling positivity for perceptions of fairness than for PDT, and different patterns of association with self esteem and sibling relations across domains of PDT. We emphasize the importance of studying the processes through which PDT experiences have implications for siblings.

Men's Provider-Role Attitudes Implications for Household Work and Marital Satisfaction

The aim of the current investigation was to link mens provider-role attitudes with their involvement in household tasks. This study examines not only the objective division of work both inside and outside of the home, but also emphasizes the importance of examining the cognitions and affect that men attach to their work and family roles. It was proposed that men holding more traditional attitudes about their duty to provide economically for the family would perform fewer household tasks than men with more egalitarian attitudes. The study involved 43 dual-earner couples who participated in home interviews and in a series of telephone interviews. Results revealed that mens provider-role attitudes were related to their involvement in family work. Furthermore, the congruence of role beliefs and the enactment of role behaviors within the home were related to higher levels of marital satisfaction for men.

Sociocultural Factors and School Engagement Among African American Youth: The Roles of Racial Discrimination, Racial Socialization, and Ethnic Identity

This study investigated the links between racial discrimination and school engagement and the roles of racial socialization and ethnic identity as protective factors in those linkages in a sample of 148, sixth through twelfth grade African American adolescents from working and middle-class two-parent families. In home interviews, youth described their ethnic identity, discrimination experiences at school, and school engagement (school bonding, school grades, school self-esteem), and parents rated their racial socialization practices. Analyses revealed that discrimination was negatively related to school self-esteem and school bonding. Racial socialization had additive effects on school self-esteem and school bonding, but did not moderate the discrimination—school engagement association. For boys, ethnic identity had additive effects on school bonding, but for girls, ethnic identity moderated the relation between discrimination and school bonding: when girls experienced more discrimination and had a lower ethnic identity, they reported lower school bonding. Discrimination, racial socialization, and ethnic identity were not related to school grades.

Sibling Differentiation: Sibling and Parent Relationship Trajectories in Adolescence

Studied here were the links between sibling differences in trajectories of change in the qualities of parent-child relationships and the qualities of sibling relationships across a 2-year period in adolescence. Participants were first- and second-born siblings (M age = 14.94 years for firstborns and M age = 12.46 years for secondborns) from 185 predominantly White, working and middle-class families. In home interviews, siblings reported on their dyadic family relationships. For reports of parent-child warmth but not parent-child conflict, results were consistent with sibling differentiation theory: Increasing differences between siblings over time in parent-child warmth were linked to trajectories of increasing warmth and decreasing conflict in the sibling relationship as reported by firstborns, and increasing warmth in the sibling relationship as reported by secondborns. The findings support the view that sibling differentiation may be a strategy for managing sibling conflict and rivalry.