Homeschooling during COVID-19: Gender Differences in Work–Family Conflict and Alcohol Use Behaviour among Romantic Couples

Danika I. DesRoches, S. Hélène Deacon, Lindsey M. Rodriguez, Simon B. Sherry, Raquel Nogueira-Arjona, Mariam M. Elgendi, Sandra Meier, Allan Abbass, Fiona E. King and Sherry H. Stewart
Additional contact information
Danika I. DesRoches: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
S. Hélène Deacon: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Lindsey M. Rodriguez: Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
Simon B. Sherry: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Raquel Nogueira-Arjona: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Mariam M. Elgendi: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Sandra Meier: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Allan Abbass: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Fiona E. King: 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

Social Sciences, 2021, vol. 10, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Homeschooling due to COVID-19 school closures is likely to increase conflict between work and family demands, potentially leading to adverse substance-use effects. We conducted a survey with 758 couples focusing on homeschooling, work–family conflict, and alcohol use (April 2020). The 211 homeschooling couples reported more work–family conflict than the 547 non-homeschooling couples; there also were stronger effects on family interference with work in women. Among the homeschooling couples, homeschooling hours were associated with greater partner drinking. In distinguishable dyad analyses by gender, women’s hours homeschooling were associated with greater drinking frequency by both parents. Men’s hours homeschooling were associated with lower drinking frequency in their partners. Increased work–family conflict in homeschooling couples is particularly worrisome given its link to increased stress and poor mental health. Moreover, women’s increased drinking may impede their ability to support their families during the pandemic. Men’s increased drinking could put homeschooling mothers at risk for escalating conflict/domestic violence, given links of male drinking to intimate partner violence. Finally, the protective-partner effects of men’s homeschooling hours on women’s drinking frequency suggests that more egalitarian division of homeschooling labor may have protective cross-over effects.

Keywords: COVID-19; gender inequalities; homeschooling; work–family conflict; alcohol use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/7/240/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/10/7/240/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:10:y:2021:i:7:p:240-:d:580835

Access Statistics for this article

Social Sciences is currently edited by Ms. Yvonne Chu

More articles in Social Sciences from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().