Work—Family Conflict Within the Family

Abstract

To better understand the work—family interface within the family domain, this study investigated crossover effects of two types of work—family conflict among 120 participants (60 married couples), these conflicts' relations with parental self-efficacy and perceived quality of parent—child interaction, and the contribution of attributions of importance to life roles on variance in these two parental outcomes. Results indicated complementary correlations between men's and women's conflicts. That is, work family conflict of one spouse was positively correlated to family work conflict of the other spouse. Both types of conflict were negatively correlated with parental self-efficacy and perceived quality of parent—child interaction. Parents' sense of self-efficacy in their parenting role was associated with the higher value they attributed to that role and to the dual role of working parent, and with the stronger sense of commitment to the parenting and dual roles. Theoretical and practical issues are discussed.

Relationships between work–family dynamics and parenting experiences: a dyadic analysis of dual-earner couples

“…Consistent with findings of prior investigations (e.g., Cinamon et al, 2007;Costigan et al, 2003;Greenberger et al, 1994;Repetti, 1994;Roeters et al, 2010), we found negative effects of work-family conflict on parenting (perceived sense of competence, involvement, quality of attachment, and relational frustration). We additionally found evidence of the positive effects of work-family enrichment on parenting experiences; indeed, we believe these findings extend the relevant literature in that most of the extant research has adopted the work-stress perspective that emphasizes the detrimental effects of parental work and largely neglects consideration of the positive work-family spillover effects on parenting experiences.…”

“…To our knowledge, only one prior study explicitly addressed work-family linkages and parenting from a dyadic perspective (Cinamon et al, 2007). Though these authors did not find a crossover effect between (partner) work-family conflict and (self) quality of parent-child interaction, we sought to expand their focus by simultaneously analyzing work-family enrichment and conflict and their associations with a wider array of parent-child relationship dimensions, including attachment, involvement, parenting confidence, and relational frustration.…”

“…Relatively few studies have specifically considered how work-family conflict and work-family enrichment conjointly relate to parenting practices and experiences (Cinamon, Weisel, & Tzuk, 2007;Lau, 2010). Most have focused on how parents' daily work experiences associate with family functioning (Crouter, Bumpus, Head, & McHale, 2001;Galambos, Sears, Almeida, & Kolaric, 1995;Repetti, 1994;Roeters, Van der Lippe, & Kluwer, 2010).…”

“…Work-family conflict has been associated with less favorable parent-child interactions (Cinamon et al, 2007;Lau, 2010), Running head: WORK-FAMILY DYNAMICS AND PARENTING 8 such as lower parental engagement in educational and recreational activities with the children (Cho & Allen, 2012), less maternal warmth and responsiveness, and greater maternal irritability (Cooklin et al, 2014). Also, work-family conflict was negatively related to parental self-efficacy (Cinamon et al, 2007) and to individuals' engagement in social activities with their spouses and children (Ilies et al, 2007), and positively related to parenting stress, especially in the case of avoidantly attached individuals (Vieira, Ávila, & Matos, 2012). By contrast, work-family enrichment has been negatively associated with parenting stress (Vieira et al, 2012) and positively related with mothering consistency and warmth (Cooklin et al, 2014).…”

Trajectories of parental engagement in early childhood among dual-earner families: Effects on child self-control.

“…Also, mothers and fathers from dual-earner families are confronted with exceptional work and family demands, likely affecting their availability to engage in child-rearing activities (Bonney et al, 1999;Danner-Vlaardingerbroek, Kluwer, van Steenbergen, & van der Lippe, 2013;Meteyer & Perry-Jenkins, 2010;Zick et al, 2001). Although some structural conditions of parents' work environment (e.g., long working hours, atypical schedules, and husband-wife wage differentials) are associated with parental involvement in dual-earner families (Hook & Wolfe, 2013;Wood & Repetti, 2004;Yeung et al, 2001), the way parents perceive balance between their work and family demands exerts a strong influence on parenting (Cinamon, Weisel, & Tzuk, 2007;Corwyn & Bradley, 1999;Perry-Jenkins, Repetti, & Crouter, 2000;Vieira, Matias, Ferreira, Lopez, & Matos, 2016). Some studies reported that parents' WFC, meaning the experience perceived by the parents as not having enough time and energy to manage all work and family responsibilities, has a negative effect on their psychological availability and socioemotional investment in their children (Matias et al, 2017;Corwyn & Bradley, 1999;Danner-Vlaardingerbroek et al, 2013).…”