The influence of family environment and child temperament on work/family role strain for mothers and fathers

Abstract

This study examined the additive effect of structural variables, child characteristics, and the family environment on mothers' and fathers' work/family role strain. Differences between mothers and fathers on these variables were also examined. The sample consisted of 36 dualearner families whose children had been in daycare from infancy through 4 years of age. Structural variables included work schedules and time spent with child for mothers only, fathers only, and both parents together with child. Child characteristics included temperament and health. Family environment variables included different components of the family environment (conflict, cohesion, expressiveness, organization, and control) and parenting daily hassles. Results showed that mothers' time with child and caregiving for child were greater than fathers'. Mothers reported more expressiveness in the family and more daily hassles with children than fathers. Mothers' level of role strain was also significantly higher than fathers'. For mothers, role strain was associated with hours away from home, child sociability, family conflict, and daily hassles resulting in an R 2 of 0.57. Fathers' role strain was associated with family expressiveness, organization, and their wives' daily hassles resulting in an R 2 of 0.37. Data suggest that mothers' and fathers' role strain may be driven by somewhat different factors. For women, aspects of the family and the child and work hours accounted for a considerable portion of the variance while for men, only aspects of the family environment were associated with their level of role strain.

Family relationships during infancy and later mother and father vocabulary use with young children

“…Previous research using a similar sample of middle-class dual-earner families has shown that parents in these families spent more time, on average, per week in triadic interactions with their spouse and child than in dyadic interactions alone with their child (Lee, Vernon-Feagans, Vazquez, & Kolak, 2003;Manlove & Vernon-Feagans, 2002). The vocabulary used by parents in triadic family interactions during early childhood has been linked to children's later language development (Pancsofar & Vernon-Feagans, 2006).…”

Work characteristics and fathers' vocabulary to infants in African American families

“…When considering associations between fathers’ work characteristics and father-child vocabulary, it may be important to also control for fathers’ role overload, or feeling overwhelmed by multiple commitments. Research has also linked high levels of perceived role overload with a host of negative individual and family-level factors for fathers, including depression, relationship conflict, and a negative family emotional climate (Costigan, Cox, & Cauce, 2003; Lee, Vernon-Feagans, Vazques, & Kolak, 2003; Perry-Jenkins et al, 2007; Wiersma & Van den Berg, 1991), and high levels of work pressure have been associated with feelings of overload for mothers and fathers (Crouter, Bumpus, Maguire, & McHale, 1999; Ransford, Crouter, & McHale, 2008). …”

Mothers’ and Fathers’ Roles in Caring for an Adult Child with an Intellectual Disability

“…While there has been relatively little consideration of role strain in fathers, the existing data strongly suggest that women are more likely to experience role strain (see, e.g., Lee, Vernon-Feagans, Vazquez, & Kolak, 2003). While there has been relatively little consideration of role strain in fathers, the existing data strongly suggest that women are more likely to experience role strain (see, e.g., Lee, Vernon-Feagans, Vazquez, & Kolak, 2003).…”