Division of Labour and Parental Mental Health and Relationship Well-Being during COVID-19 Pandemic-Mandated Homeschooling

Mariam M. Elgendi (), Sherry H. Stewart, Danika I. DesRoches, Penny Corkum, Raquel Nogueira-Arjona and S. Hélène Deacon
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Mariam M. Elgendi: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Sherry H. Stewart: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Danika I. DesRoches: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Penny Corkum: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Raquel Nogueira-Arjona: School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QH, UK
S. Hélène Deacon: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 24, 1-34

Abstract: While the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way parents partition tasks between one another, it is not clear how these division of labour arrangements affect well-being. Pre-pandemic research offers two hypotheses: economic theory argues optimal outcomes result from partners specialising in different tasks, whereas psychological theory argues for a more equitable division of labour. The question of which approach optimizes well-being is more pressing in recent times, with COVID-19 school closures leaving many couples with the burden of homeschooling. It is unknown whether specialisation or equity confer more benefits for mandated homeschoolers, relative to non-homeschoolers or voluntary homeschoolers. Couples ( n = 962) with children in grades 1–5 completed measures of workload division and parental well-being. A linear mixed modelling in the total sample revealed that specialisation, but not equity, promoted increased parental emotional and relationship well-being. These relations were moderated by schooling status: voluntary homeschoolers’ well-being benefitted from specialisation, whereas mandated homeschoolers’ well-being did not benefit from either strategy; non-homeschoolers well-being benefitted from both strategies. Across the mixed-gender couples, mothers’ and fathers’ well-being both benefitted from specialisation; equity was only beneficial for mothers’ well-being. Overall, couples might be advised to adopt highly equitable and specialised arrangements to promote both parents’ well-being.

Keywords: division of labour; COVID-19; homeschooling; equity; specialisation; parents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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