Division of parental leave and perceived parenting stress among mothers and fathers

Abstract

Objective: To explore associations between division of parental leave and perceived parenting stress in mothers and fathers of infants.Background: In Sweden, both parents have the same right to parental leave, and fathers use about a quarter of the total 480 benefit days. Little is known about the parents’ psychological well-being in terms of stress arising from the parenting role and its association with equal or unequal division of parental leave.Methods: 280 parents completed the Swedish Parenthood Stress Questionnaire (SPSQ) at 6 months and 18 months after childbirth.Results: Fathers who shared parental leave equally were less affected by perceived parenting stress than those who shared unequally (adjusted B –0.20; 95% CI –0.33 to –0.06). No such association was found among mothers.Conclusion: Parents’ choices regarding parental leave division were associated with perceived parenting stress among fathers, but not among mothers. Unequal division of leave contributed to parenting stress in fathers.