Matthias Pollmann-Schult

Family policies and fathers’ working hours: cross-national differences in the paternal labour supply

Despite extensive research on the effect of family policies on the labour supply of mothers, little is known about how these policies affect fathers’ labour market outcomes. Using European panel data (EU-SILC) from 2003 to 2009 and multi-level models, this study analyses the effect of family policies on fathers’ working hours. The results indicate that fathers work less than childless men if they live in countries that offer well paid, non-transferable parental leave for fathers, short parental leave for mothers and generous family allowances. The effects, however, are strongly contingent on fathers’ educational levels. Whereas short maternal leaves are associated with shorter working hours among highly educated fathers, generous family allowances and father friendly parental leave schemes reduce the working hours of less educated fathers.

Sons, Daughters, and the Parental Division of Paid Work and Housework:

Children play an important role in shaping the division of labor within couples. This study examines whether the impact of parenthood on the household division of paid work and housework is moderated by child gender, and thereby extends previous work on the effect of child gender on family life. The empirical analysis used fixed effects models and data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (1985-2011, N = 7,572). It showed that both fathers and mothers of boys spend more hours on paid work than parents of girls. This child-gender effect is, however, much stronger for women than for men. There is also suggestive evidence that mothers and fathers of a same-sex child spend more time on housework than mothers and fathers of an opposite-sex child. Overall, the analysis indicates that having a daughter is associated with a more traditional division of labor than having a son.

Parenthood, child care, and nonstandard work schedules in Europe

ABSTRACT An increasing proportion of the European labor force works in the evening, at night or on weekends. Because nonstandard work schedules are associated with a number of negative outcomes for families and children, parents may seek to avoid such schedules. However, for parents with insufficient access to formal child care, working nonstandard hours or days may be an adaptive strategy used to manage child-care needs. It enables ‘split-shift’ parenting, where parents work alternate schedules, allowing one of the two to be at home looking after the children. This study examines the prevalence of nonstandard work schedules among parents and nonparents in 22 European countries. Specifically, we ask whether the provision of formal child care influences the extent to which parents of preschool-aged children work nonstandard schedules. Using data from the European Social Survey and multilevel models, we find evidence that the availability of formal child care reduces nonstandard work among parents. This indicates that access to formal child care enables parents to work standard schedules. To the extent that nonstandard work schedules are negatively associated with child well-being, access to formal child care protects children from the adverse effects of their parents’ evening and night work.

Poverty and Child Behavioral Problems: The Mediating Role of Parenting and Parental Well-Being

The detrimental impact of poverty on child behavioral problems is well-established, but the mechanisms that explain this relationship are less well-known. Using data from the Families in Germany Study on parents and their children at ages 9–10 (middle childhood), this study extends previous research by examining whether or not and to what extent different parenting styles and parents’ subjective well-being explain the relationship between poverty and child behavior problems. The results show that certain parenting styles, such as psychological control, as well as mothers’ life satisfaction partially mediate the correlation between poverty and child behavioral problems.

The reproduction of educational inequalities – do parenting and child behavioural problems matter?

The strong link between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and children’s success in school is well established. However, mechanisms that underpin this association remain a major issue in current research on social inequality. Using data from the Families in Germany Study and structural equation modelling, this study demonstrates that parenting styles and child behavioural problems explain, in part, the association between parental SES and child school grades for mathematics and German between the ages of 9 and 10. We found that parents with a low SES are more likely to be inconsistent in their parenting and to use psychological control with their children more often, these two factors being linked to child behavioural problems. Adverse parenting and behavioural problems are, in turn, associated with low school grades. Our findings also show that behavioural problems in children are associated with lower school grades independent of parenting style. These findings suggest that parenting styles and child behavioural problems and their interplay may be potential pathways that underpin the influence of parental SES on children’s school achievement.

Single Motherhood and Life Satisfaction in Comparative Perspective: Do Institutional and Cultural Contexts Explain the Life Satisfaction Penalty for Single Mothers?:

Life satisfaction research regularly identifies single mothers as relatively unhappy. This comparative study refines this view by assessing how broader institutional and cultural contexts shape the life satisfaction of single mothers. Using data from the European Social Survey for 24 European countries, this study shows that generous family benefits, extensive child care provision, and high levels of gender equality are associated with smaller life satisfaction penalties for single mothers, whereas societal attitudes toward single motherhood are not related to the life satisfaction of single mothers. Overall, the life satisfaction gap between single mothers and childless singles is substantially smaller than that between single mothers and partnered mothers. Moreover, single women residing in countries with supportive family policies and high levels of gender equality report similar levels of life satisfaction than childless singles. This latter finding challenges the notion that single motherhood inevitably reduces women’s life satisfaction.

Evening and night work schedules and children's social and emotional well-being

ABSTRACT An emerging body of evidence shows that parents’ non-standard work schedules have a detrimental effect on childrens well-being. However, only a limited number of studies have investigated mediating factors that underpin this association. Likewise, only a few studies have examined the impact of fathers’ non-standard work schedules on childrens well-being. Based on data from the Families in Germany Study (FiD), this study aimed to address these research gaps. The sample consists of parents and their children at ages 7–8 and 9–10 (nu2009=u2009838 child observations in dual-earner families). The data were collected in the years 2010–2013. Non-standard work hours were defined as working in evenings and or at night (every day, several times a week, or changing as shifts). Childrens social and emotional well-being was measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The findings show that both mothers’ and fathers’ evening and night work schedules are linked to an increase in childrens externalizing and internalizing behavior and that this association is partially mediated by mothers’ and fathers’ harsh and strict parenting, with a stronger mediation effect for fathers parenting.