Fathers' Occupational Conditions, Values of Self-Direction and Conformity, and Perceptions of Nurturant and Restrictive Parenting in Relation to Young Children's Depression and Aggression

Abstract

Recent estimates indicate that 59.9% of married women with children under age 6 years, 72.8% of married women with children aged 6 to 13 years, and 75.7% of married women with children aged 14 to 17 years are employed (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1992). These percentages suggest that the majority of today's two-parent families are comprised of both employed mothers and employed fathers (Ferber & O'Farrell, 1991). Much research has focused on maternal employment and its effects on mothers' parenting and child outcomes. Relatively little research, however, has focused on paternal employment and its effects on fathers' parenting and child outcomes (Greenberger & Goldberg, 1989; Moss & Brannen, 1987; Repetti, 1987). Nevertheless, paternal employment has far-reaching implications for fathers, mothers, and children, especially because work is traditionally viewed as central to men's identity and family roles (Cohen, 1987). The purpose of this study was to examine how fathers' employment and, in particular, the complexity of fathers' jobs, is related to values of self-direction versus conformity (hereafter referred to as values) that fathers hold for themselves and their young children, as well as to fathers' parenting practices (hereafter referred to as parenting). Moreover, this study sought to predict young children's depression and aggression from fathers' job complexity, values, and parenting. Identifying how fathers' employment is linked to their values, parenting, and children's social development provides practitioners and educators with a frame of reference for better understanding the families with which they work. Several limitations have plagued previous studies on the effects of employment on parents and parenting. First, many investigations linking maternal employment with child outcomes have categorized mothers as either employed versus unemployed or full-time versus part-time workers. These strictly defined categories hide differences in the psychological significance of work, differences which have implications for parenting and child development (Greenberger & Goldberg, 1989). Second, although many studies have examined how husbands and wives in dual-earner families allocate their time between work and family, fewer studies have examined how aspects of occupational conditions influence adults and their parenting (for an exception, see Kohn, 1977, 1973) and, consequently, children's development. The Influence of Occupational Conditions on Adults and Their Parenting A recent study by Grimm-Thomas and Perry-Jenkins (1994) found indirect links between working-class men's occupational conditions and parenting via an aspect of adults' psychological functioning, namely self-esteem. Findings from their study suggest that working-class men's occupational conditions and, in particular, positive versus negative employment experiences, are not directly related to parenting. Instead, men's employment experiences are indirectly related to parenting via self-esteem. Specifically, men who had positive experiences on the job were likely to have enhanced self-esteem. Enhanced paternal self-esteem was, in turn, related to higher levels of acceptance and lower levels of psychological control of children. Thus, one way in which work and family are linked is through the influence that work has on the psychological functioning of the adult worker (Repetti, 1987). Kohn (1979) outlined a causal model that proposes how occupational conditions, such as the complexity of the job, may be of particular importance to the psychological functioning of the parent in both the job environment and the home environment. According to Kohn (1977), complex work provides an employee with increased opportunities for self-direction and autonomy. Specifically, complex work requires the individual's use of initiative, thought, and independent judgment. Moreover, complex work, which includes work with data or people, involves less supervision and less routinization and is high in substantive complexity. …