Family Facts: Social Science Research on Family, Society & Religion
| Key
Data: Among a sample of low income mothers, for 9 separate
child development outcomes, entering the labor force produced
no consistent negative effects for children, and in fact, transitioning
into the labor force tended to decrease—albeit very moderately—the
psychological distress and anxiety of young adolescents...(more) Low-income mothers appear to face a trade-off between staying home to raise their children and entering the workforce to provide for their families. But for these low-income mothers does entering the workforce always have a negative effect on the wellbeing of their adolescent children? For an article published in the March 2003 issue of Science, researchers surveyed a sample of over 2,400 low-income children and their mothers from low-income neighborhoods in Boston, San Antonio, and Chicago. In two interviews spaced 16 months apart, the researchers recorded each mother’s employment status and the cognitive achievement, problem behaviors, and psychological status of her children. Researchers then examined whether changes in the mothers’ employment status between the two interviews were associated with changes in their children’s wellbeing. For the child outcomes analyzed in the study, choosing to enter the workforce instead of staying at home produced no consistent negative effects for children, and in fact, entering the labor force tended to decrease—albeit very moderately—the psychological distress and anxiety of adolescents aged 10 to 14 at the time of the first interview. While the researchers were careful to avoid broad generalizations, a cautious interpretation of their findings is that low-income mothers can enter the labor force without negatively impacting their adolescent children. |
 Family Research Experts:
Pat Fagan William H. G. FitzGerald Research Fellow in Family and Cultural Issues Christine Kim Policy Analyst, Domestic Policy Studies Jennifer Marshall Director, Domestic Policy Studies For Interviews call Media Relations at (202) 675-1761 |
|
| The Heritage Foundation's familyfacts.org catalogs social science findings on the family, society and religion gleaned from peer-reviewed journals, books and government surveys. Serving policymakers, journalists, scholars and the general public, familyfacts.org makes social science research easily accessible to the non-specialist. | ||
View Findings by Category
Click a Category from the list:
Create Your Own Search
Enter topic, keyword or author:
Resources
Events:Religious Practice and Civic Life: What the Research Says October 4, 2007 |