The Mediating Role of Family and Food-Related Life Satisfaction in the Relationships between Family Support, Parent Work-Life Balance and Adolescent Life Satisfaction in Dual-Earner Families.

Mahia Saracostti,Clementina Hueche,Edgardo Miranda-Zapata,María Lapo,Marianela Denegri,Berta Schnettler,Germán Lobos

doi:10.3390/ijerph15112549

Abstract

This study explored the associations between family support and satisfaction with life, food-related life and family life. It also assessed the associations between both parents’ work-life balance and satisfaction with life, food-related life and family life among adolescent children from dual-earner families. Questionnaires were administered to 303 dual-earner families with one child between 10 and 17 years in Temuco, Chile. Adolescents answered the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life scale (SWFoL), Satisfaction with Family Life scale (SWFaL) and the Family subscale of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Both parents answered the Work-life Balance (WLB) scale. Using structural equation modelling and having controlled for adolescents’ gender, age and socioeconomic status, we confirmed that adolescent life satisfaction is associated with satisfaction with family life and food-related life. Food-related life satisfaction and family life satisfaction had complete mediating roles between perceived family support and adolescents’ life satisfaction. Satisfaction with food-related life also had a complete mediating role between both parents’ WLB and adolescents’ life satisfaction. Satisfaction with family life had a complete mediating role between mothers’ WLB and adolescents’ life satisfaction. In addition, mothers’ WLB was positively associated with perceived family support among adolescents. These findings suggest the need to improve family support and work-life balance among mothers in order to enhance adolescents’ satisfaction with different domains of life in dual-earner families.

Highlights

Female participation in the Chilean labor market is below average for Latin America (55%) and developed countries (61%), it increased from 31% in 1990 to 48% in 2017 [1], thereby changing traditional roles within the family
This study provides new insights regarding the associations between life satisfaction, food-related life satisfaction and family life satisfaction, including the associations between adolescents’
These results suggest that adolescents with high levels of perceived family support are likely to experience higher levels of satisfaction with family and food-related life, which results in high levels of life satisfaction

Summary

Introduction

Female participation in the Chilean labor market is below average for Latin America (55%) and developed countries (61%), it increased from 31% in 1990 to 48% in 2017 [1], thereby changing traditional roles within the family. Though this situation provides important economic and other benefits to women and their families, it has caused changes in Chilean families, such as the sustained increase in the number of families in which both parents work [2]. Subjective well-being is an assessment people make of their own lives

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