Parental commuting and child well-being in Germany

Christine Borowsky,Michael Feldhaus,Sonja Drobnič

doi:10.20377/jfr-370

Abstract

The number of people commuting to work is increasing, including those who spend at least two hours travelling to and from work per day. In Germany, the group of these long-distance commuters comprises about 1.6 million people. To date, there has been little research on the possible consequences of long commuting times for family life and commuters’ children. On the basis of a pooled data set from the German Family Panel pairfam, we examine the relationship between parental commuting, the parent-child relationship and child well-being, both from the parent’s as well as the child’s perspective while also distinguishing between mothers and fathers. Some results indicate that long-distance commuting is associated with a poorer parent-child relationship and ultimately with lower child well-being. However, the association is rather sporadic and substantively weak.

Highlights

Commuting times are on the rise (Die Bundesregierung 2016; Wingerter 2014)
On the basis of a pooled data set from the German Family Panel pairfam, we examine the relationship between parental commuting, the parent-child relationship and child well-being, both from the parent’s as well as the child’s perspective while distinguishing between mothers and fathers
We examine whether the long-distance commuting of a parent poses a risk to the well-being of the child, indicated by conduct problems and emotional difficulties

Summary

Introduction

Commuting times are on the rise (Die Bundesregierung 2016; Wingerter 2014). Expectations of flexibility and mobility at work, greater uncertainties in the labor market with widespread fixed-term contracts making relocation a risky endeavour, and high housing prices forcing commuters to relocate further away from city centers have contributed to increasing mobility and long-distance commuting (Schneider & Meil 2008; Urry 2012). Previous findings show that lengthy commuting is associated with lower well-being (Stutzer & Frey 2008), lower satisfaction with one’s social contacts (Delmelle, Haslauer, & Prinz 2013), lower life satisfaction (Brömmelhaus, Feldhaus, & Schlegel 2019; Drobnič, Beham, & Präg 2010; Ingenfeld, Wolbring, & Bless 2019; Nie & Sousa-Poza 2018; Pfaff 2014), and poorer health (Hoehner et al 2012; Künn-Nelen 2016; Rüger & Schulze 2016) It has been associated with reduced sleeping time and less physical activity (Christian 2012; Pfeifer 2018) as well as with a higher perceived stress level (Gottholmseder et al 2009; Rüger &Schulze 2016). Previous research has shown that longdistance commuting can affect partnership stability (Kley 2012, 2015; Kley & Feldhaus 2018; Sandow 2014) and the perceived quality of a relationship (Feldhaus & Schlegel 2013)

Results

Discussion

Conclusion