Parents' nonstandard work schedules and parents' perception of adolescent social and emotional wellbeing

Atypische Arbeitszeiten der Eltern und die Wahrnehmung des sozialen und emotionalen Wohlbefindens von Jugendlichen durch die Eltern

Jianghong Li, Hannah Kenyon Lair, Jakob Schӓfer and Garth Kendall

EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, 2022, vol. 34, issue 2, 782-801

Abstract: [Objective:] We investigated the association between joint parents' work schedules and parent-reported adolescent mental health and test parental time for adolescents and parenting style as mediators [Background:] Increasing evidence shows that parents' evening/night/irregular work schedules have a negative impact on children’s physical and mental health. Few studies examine adolescents and joint parental work schedules. [Method:] We analysed one wave of the Australian Raine Study data, focusing on adolescents who were followed up at ages 16-17 and lived in dual earner-households (N=607). Adolescent mental health was measured in the Child Behavioural Checklist (morbidity, internalising behaviour, externalising behaviour, anxiety/depression). Parental work schedules were defined as: both parents work standard daytime schedules (reference), both parents work evening/night/irregular shifts; fathers work evening/night/irregular shifts - mothers day schedules, mothers work evening/night/irregular shifts - fathers daytime schedules. We estimated a linear regression model with robust standard errors and log transformation of the dependent variables. [Results:] Compared to the reference group, when one or both parents worked evening/night/irregular schedules, there was a significant increase in parent-reported total morbidity, externalizing behaviour and anxiety/depression in adolescents. Fathers’ only evening/night/irregular schedules was associated with a significant increase in parent-reported total morbidity and externalizing behaviour. Inconsistent parenting partially mediated this association. Mothers’ only evening/night/irregular schedules was not significantly associated with parent-reported adolescent mental health. [Conclusion:] Our findings underscore the importance of fathers' work-family balance with implications for adolescent mental health.

Keywords: evening/nights/irregular shifts; parental joint work schedules; adolescent mental helath; social and emotional wellbeing; the Raine Study; Abend-/Nacht-/unregelmäßige Schichten; Arbeitszeiten der Eltern in Kombination; psychische Gesundheit von Jugendlichen; soziales und emotionales Wohlbefinden; die Raine-Studie (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:espost:261095

DOI: 10.20377/jfr-776

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