Work-to-family enrichment and atmosphere of family meals influence satisfaction with food-related life: An actor-partner interdependence approach in dual-earner parents with adolescent children

Abstract

The effects of work-to-family enrichment (WtoFE) have been examined on outcomes such as family and job satisfaction, with scarce research on the potential effects of WtoFE on the food domain. To fill in this gap, the present study explored actor and partner effects between WtoFE, the perception of the atmosphere of family meals (AFM), and satisfaction with food-related life (SWFoL) in different-sex dual-earner parents with adolescent children using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model; the mediating role of AFM between WtoFE and SWFoL was also tested. Questionnaires were administered to 473 different-sex dual-earner parents and one of their adolescent children (average age 12.5 years, 51.4% male) in Temuco, Chile. The three family members answered the Project-EAT Atmosphere of family meals scale and the Satisfaction with Food-related Life Scale. Parents answered a measure of WtoFE based on the Work-Home Interaction Survey. Analyses were conducted using structural equation modelling. Results showed a positive association from WtoFE to SWFoL, directly and through the perception of the atmosphere of family meals in both parents (actor effects). Both parents’ WtoFE was associated with their adolescent children’ SWFoL via the adolescent’s perception of the atmosphere of family meals, while the mother’s perception of the atmosphere of family meals was directly associated with the adolescent’s SWFoL (partner effects). Findings suggest that resources that mothers and fathers acquire from work and invest via WtoFE have positive effects on their own and their adolescent children’s perception of the atmosphere of family meals and SWFoL. As higher WtoFE has also been related to other positive outcomes in the job and health domains in workers, policymakers and organizations must aim to promote WtoFE in working parents.