Abstract
Background: Although substantial evidence suggests that maternal work hours may have a negative effect on children’s cognitive development, the link between maternal work hours and children’s affect remains unclear. Some studies have observed that non-daytime maternal work hours are associated with more emotional problems among children. However, few studies have focused on the effects of maternal work hours on workdays and non-workdays. Therefore, this study separately investigated the relation between maternal work hours on workdays and on non-workdays and explored the mediating role of the frequency of mother-child communication (FMCC) and the moderating role of maternal education.Method: Using cluster sampling, this study selected 879 students in grades 4–6 at two primary schools in the Hebei and Shandong provinces in China and their mothers as the study subjects. A multi-group structural equation model (SEM) was used to test the relations between maternal work hours, FMCC and children’s affect and the moderating effect of maternal education.Results: (1) Non-college-educated mothers’ work hours on workdays negatively predicted FMCC, but there was no such effect for college-educated mothers; (2) non-workday work hours of all employed mothers negatively predicted FMCC; (3) the FMCC of all employed mothers positively predicted children’s positive affect; (4) the FMCC of college-educated mothers negatively predicted children’s negative affect although there was no such relation for non-college-educated mothers; (5) there was a significant mediating effect of FMCC on the relation between maternal work hours and children’s affect only for non-college-educated mothers; and (6) the workday work hours of non-college-educated mothers positively predicted children’s negative affect, but this correlation was negative for college-educated mothers.Conclusion: Maternal work hours have a marginally significant negative effect on children’s affect through FMCC only for non-college-educated mothers. Compared with non-college-educated mothers, college-educated mothers more easily compensate for the loss of communication opportunities caused by increased work hours on workdays, and children with college-educated mothers benefit more from this communication. However, compensating for the loss of communication opportunities caused by increased work hours on non-workdays is difficult for all employed mothers.
Highlights
Since the 1960s, the female employment rate has been increasing worldwide, and increasing numbers of women have left family life for work outside the home (Fox et al, 2013)
This study explored the relations between maternal work hours, mother–child communication, and children’s positive/negative affect as well as the moderating role of maternal education in the context of Chinese culture
The results of multi-group structural equation model (SEM) analyses indicated that the moderating effect of maternal education was mainly demonstrated in three areas: (1) the relation between maternal work hours on workdays and frequency of mother-child communication (FMCC); (2) the relation between FMCC and children’s negative affect; and (3) the relation between maternal work hours on workdays and children’s negative affect
Summary
Since the 1960s, the female employment rate has been increasing worldwide, and increasing numbers of women have left family life for work outside the home (Fox et al, 2013). This phenomenon has raised concerns among many researchers and social commentators, who fear that an increase in maternal work hours will have a negative effect on children’s development (Hays, 1996). With the increase in maternal work hours outside the family, women are bound to spend less time and energy accompanying and caring for their children, which can have a negative effect on their children’s development. This study separately investigated the relation between maternal work hours on workdays and on non-workdays and explored the mediating role of the frequency of mother-child communication (FMCC) and the moderating role of maternal education
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