ERIC Number: EJ1010039
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: N/A
Does Maternal Employment Following Childbirth Support or Inhibit Low-Income Children's Long-Term Development?
Coley, Rebekah Levine; Lombardi, Caitlin McPherran
Child Development, v84 n1 p178-197 Jan-Feb 2013
This study assessed whether previous findings linking early maternal employment to lower cognitive and behavioral skills among middle-class and White children generalized to other groups. Using a representative sample of urban, low-income, predominantly African American and Hispanic families ("n" = 444), ordinary least squares regression and propensity score matching models assessed links between maternal employment in the 2 years after childbearing and children's functioning at age 7. Children whose mothers were employed early, particularly in their first 8 months, showed enhanced socioemotional functioning compared to peers whose mothers remained nonemployed. Protective associations emerged for both part-time and full-time employment, and were driven by African American children, with neutral effects for Hispanics. Informal home-based child care also heightened positive links. (Contains 5 tables.)
Descriptors: Mothers, Employed Parents, Child Development, Low Income Groups, Correlation, Cognitive Development, Child Behavior, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Infants, Young Children, Racial Differences, Child Care, Employment Level, Academic Achievement, Mental Health, Psychological Patterns
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Illinois; Massachusetts; Texas
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Child Behavior Checklist; Woodcock Johnson Psycho Educational Battery
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A