The Impact of Child Behaviour Problems on Maternal Employment: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

Nes, Ragnhild Bang; Hauge, Lars Johan; Kornstad, Tom; Kristensen, Petter; Landolt, Markus A.; Eskedal, Leif; Irgens, Lorentz M.; Vollrath, Margarete E.

doi:10.1007/s10834-013-9378-8

Cited by 24 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 59 publications

(85 reference statements)

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“…However, the effects are more pronounced among the mothers, and the sickness absence differences between the two groups of mothers are particularly large during the two first years after birth. This finding is consistent with previous research demonstrating that the birth of a child with a chronic illness or disability influences maternal health negatively (Burton et al, 2008;Nes et al, 2014). Moreover, the results are also in line with a Norwegian study (Wendelborg and Tøssebro, 2015), which found higher sickness absences among parents caring for a disabled child, and that mothers were particularly affected.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Gendered effects of intensified care burdens: employment and sickness absence in families with chronically sick or disabled children in Norway

Brekke

Nadim

2016

Work, Employment and Society

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Using longitudinal register data from Norway, the article examines the impact of having a child with intensified care needs on maternal and paternal employment, within a gender equality promoting welfare state. The hypothesis is that parents with a chronically sick or disabled child will have lower employment probabilities, lower labour earnings and higher sickness absence than parents with a healthy child, and that mothers are more affected than fathers when having a child with extra care needs. A quasi-experimental difference-in-difference regression model shows that the employment probabilities of parents with a sick or disabled child are comparable to those of parents with a healthy child, both for mothers and fathers. The analyses further reveal that having a chronically sick or disabled child reduces labour earnings and increases long-term sickness absence among mothers, while fathers' labour earnings and sickness absence are less affected.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Gendered effects of intensified care burdens: employment and sickness absence in families with chronically sick or disabled children in Norway

Brekke

Nadim

2016

Work, Employment and Society

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“…However, the present study suggests that the availability of quality child care options and decentralization of special education services do not eliminate the excess risk of maternal work absence due to children's language impairments. This is also in line with findings from a previous study based on the MoBa cohort, which showed that previously employed mothers of children with behavior problems are at risk of leaving paid employment by child age 3 years (Nes et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Nevertheless, on the basis of previous research on caregiving, health, and employment, we predicted lower employment and higher sick leave rates among mothers who reported language impairment in their child. We expected the risk to be higher for co‐occurring problems given that behavior problems have been shown to be particularly closely related to mothers' caregiving strains (King et al, ; Raina et al, ) and to constitute a barrier to paid employment in mothers of preschool‐age children (Nes et al, ). We also hypothesized that differences in work absence between groups of mothers remain or increase, given that language impairment generally persists and is associated with social, emotional, and academic problems that often become more pronounced with age.…”

Section: Language Impairment and Maternal Work Absencementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A majority of mothers tend to adjust their work participation to meet family goals, making employment decisions in response to an intricate web of interconnected relational issues (Holmes, Erickson, & Hill, ; Mainiero & Sullivan, ), including their children's health and behavior (DeRigne, ; Gordon, Rosenman, & Cuskelly, ). A number of studies have also documented associations between children's special care needs and lowered maternal employment rates (DeRigne, ), with more mothers working part time (Gordon et al, ) or leaving work altogether (Nes et al, ), despite not having a weaker desire for work (Gordon et al, ), with the more severe child care conditions most strongly related to lower employment rates (DeRigne, ; Montes & Halterman, ), and the employment differences becoming more pronounced with child age (Hauge et al, ).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Maternal Work Absence: A Longitudinal Study of Language Impairment and Behavior Problems in Preschool Children

Nes

Hauge

Kornstad

et al. 2015

J of Marriage and Family

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Combining work and family responsibilities is challenging when children have special needs, and mothers commonly make employment-related adjustments. In this study, the authors examined associations between maternal work absence and child language impairment and behavior problems in preschool children. Questionnaire data at child age 3 years from 33,778 mothers participating in the prospective population-based Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study were linked to national register data on employment and long-term physician-certified sick leave at child age 3–5 years. Mothers who reported having a child with language impairment had a consistently higher risk of not being employed and were at increased risk of taking long-term sick leave at child age 5 years. Co-occurring problems were associated with excess risk. Language impairments in preschool children, in particular when they are co-occurring with behavior problems, are likely to have a range of negative short- and long-term consequences for the financial and overall health and well-being of mothers and their families.

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“…Although there has been some longitudinal research, 3 , 15–17 there is very little European evidence 9 , 10 , 18 . In order to investigate these two potential mechanisms, we used longitudinal data from Millennium Cohort Study, a large, contemporary cohort of UK children born in 2000, with information on childhood long-term limiting illness and maternal employment recorded in early to middle childhood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of child long-term illness on maternal employment: longitudinal findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

Hope¹,

Pearce²,

Whitehead

et al. 2016

Eur J Public Health

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Background: Maternal employment has increased in European countries, but levels of employment are lower among mothers whose children have a limiting long-term illness or disability. However, we do not know whether having a child with a limiting illness prevents take-up or maintenance of paid employment or whether ‘common causes’, such as lack of qualifications or maternal disability lead to both maternal unemployment and childhood illness. Longitudinal data have the potential to distinguish between these. Methods: We analyzed four waves (3, 5, 7 and 11 years) of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) to examine the relationship between childhood limiting illness and maternal employment, unadjusted and adjusted for covariates. Multinomial regression models were used to test the association between child illness and trajectories of maternal employment. Fixed effects models assessed whether a new report of a child illness increased the odds of a mother exiting employment. Results: At every wave, maternal employment was more likely if the child did not have a limiting illness. After adjustment for covariates, childhood illness was associated with risks of continuous non-employment (adjusted Relative Risk Ratio = 1.46 [Confidence Interval: 1.21, 1.76]) or disrupted employment (aRRR = 1.26 [CI: 1.06, 1.49]), compared with entering or maintaining employment. If a child developed a limiting long-term illness, the likelihood of their mother exiting employment increased (adjusted Odds Ratio = 1.27 [CI: 1.05, 1.54]). Conclusions: ‘Common causes’ did not fully account for the association between child illness and maternal employment. Having a child with a limiting illness potentially reduces maternal employment opportunities.

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The Impact of Child Behaviour Problems on Maternal Employment: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

Cited by 24 publications

References 59 publications

Gendered effects of intensified care burdens: employment and sickness absence in families with chronically sick or disabled children in Norway

Gendered effects of intensified care burdens: employment and sickness absence in families with chronically sick or disabled children in Norway

Maternal Work Absence: A Longitudinal Study of Language Impairment and Behavior Problems in Preschool Children

Effects of child long-term illness on maternal employment: longitudinal findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

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