Maternal Employment and Adolescents' Academic Achievement: A Developmental Analysis

Abstract

Among younger children, maternal employment is associated with diminished school achievement, specifically in White, middle-class boys from two-parent families. This study examined whether and under what conditions maternal employment affects school achievement among high school students. It found that among 2,571 White adolescents living in two-parent families who provided information on parental employment patterns, school grades, and family characteristics (1) upper middle-class and middle-class boys reported lower grades when their mothers were working full time; (2) among upper middle-class boys, both mother's contemporaneous employment and employment during the preschool years were associated with lower grades; (3) upper middle-class and middle-class girls reported no effects of their mothers' contemporaneous employment, but did report lower high school grades when their mothers worked full time during the preschool period; and (4) for upper middle-class boys, their grades were lower when their mothers worked full time throughout the boys' lives than when the mothers increased their work hours over time. The article presents important implications for conceptualizing and studying maternal employment.