Who takes paternity leave? A cohort study on prior social and health characteristics among fathers in Stockholm

Abstract

Progress towards gender equality involves changes in the traditional parental division - female caring and male breadwinning. One aspect is increased parental leave for fathers, which may benefit the health of mothers, children, and fathers themselves. We examined how social and health characteristics (2002) were associated with paternity leave in excess of the 'father quota' of 60 days (2003-2006) in the Stockholm Public Health Cohort. Generally, fathers with stable social position, fit lifestyles, and good health had increased chances of paternity leave uptake. Our findings may contribute to identifying target groups for parental leave strategies among fathers; they indicate also that research on gender equality and public health must carefully address the problems of confounding and health-related selection.

Parental gender equality and use of oral contraceptives among young women: A longitudinal, population-based study in Sweden

“…The remaining days were remunerated at a basic rate of 60 Swedish crowns (SEK) per day. [1516] Paternity leave was included as a number of remunerated days (i.e., categories into 0, 1-30, 31-90, >90 days) during the periods of 1988-1990, come from the Swedish Social Insurance Register (Social Insurance Registry).…”

“…[1516] Although gender equality is highly appreciated in Sweden, men take only 20% of parental leave days. [17] Gender equality has an impact on fertility and childbearing issues that often nowadays assumed in family-demographic research.…”

Could gender equality in parental leave harm off-springs' mental health? a registry study of the Swedish parental/child cohort of 1988/89

“…That is, it could be the result of selection bias where a certain type of "conscious parenthood" involves ambitions of gender equality as well as ambitions of healthy children [41]. Based on ancient views regarding gender and health, a tentative proposal is that even gender-equal parents and health care professionals could be more prone to direct girls to anxious (hysteric), and boys to depressive (melancholic) signs and diagnoses [20].…”

Men’s health across the life course: A gender relational (critical) overview

“…In heterosexual couples, for example, men and women are affected differently by this transition and we must consider the fact that one of the keys to successful parenthood adaptation is linked to both partners' efforts in this regard (Keizer et al, 2010). Accordingly, an important issue is to identify target groups among fathers who are in need of parental work leave, as this may be of benefit to the health of mothers, children and the fathers themselves (Mansdotter et al, 2010). In this regard, a noteworthy period to promote health intervention is during pregnancy and early parenthood; unsurprisingly, parents' prioritization of their own health is often low during this time, while the risks to their children's health appear to constitute the primary driving force for a lifestyle change.…”