Parental Nonstandard Work Schedules, Parent–Child Communication, and Adolescent Substance Use

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the cumulative impact of parental nonstandard work schedules (NWS) on adolescent alcohol and cigarette use, with a focus on the mediating role of parent-child communication. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and its Child Supplement, our path analyses revealed that (a) parental NWS affected adolescent alcohol and cigarette use via the openness of parent-child communication rather than the frequency of parent-child communication and (b) the pattern and directionality of the mediating effects differed by who worked NWS, when parents worked NWS, and what types of NWS parents worked. Implications and directions for future studies are discussed.

The Relation between Maternal Work Hours and Primary School Students’ Affect in China: The Role of the Frequency of Mother–Child Communication (FMCC) and Maternal Education

“…Second, non-standard work may also compromise the quality of mother–child communication. Non-standard work hours are often associated with stressful working conditions, which may make excessive demands on mothers’ energy; consequently, even if mothers can squeeze in time to spend with their children, they will not necessarily have sufficient energy to engage in high-quality mother–child communication ( Presser, 2003 ; Kim et al, 2016 ). Gassman-Pines (2011) observed that night work or shift work can impair mothers’ physical and mental health and thus their ability to have healthy interactions with their children.…”

“… Davalos et al (2005) determined that good parent–child communication enables parents to provide timely feedback to their children on their behavior, thereby improving that behavior and effectively reducing misbehavior and risky behavior. Kim et al (2016) also suggested that the openness of mother–child communication may negatively predict children’s risky behavior. Furthermore, good parent-child communication was observed to be associated with children’s higher self-esteem and well-being.…”

“…If their mothers work during these times, they miss many opportunities for mother–child communication. However, the non-standard work hours addressed in previous studies are often limited to night or early morning hours ( Joshi and Bogen, 2007 ; Han, 2008 ; Kim et al, 2016 ), with few studies examining the relations between maternal work hours on non-workdays and child development ( Gassman-Pines, 2011 ). Thus, to reveal the full picture of the relations between maternal work hours and child development, it is necessary to supplement empirical evidence on non-workdays.…”

“…Third, some studies have demonstrated that an increase in maternal work hours does not directly affect child development and that the time that mothers spend with their children, particularly the time spent in important parent–child activities, plays an important role ( Hsin and Felfe, 2014 ). Although extensive evidence has indicated that FMCC is closely related to maternal work hours and child development ( Davidson and Cardemil, 2009 ; Kim et al, 2016 ), there is nearly no direct evidence that explains the entire picture of these variables. Therefore, clarifying the mediating mechanism of FMCC can help us better understand the relation between maternal work hours and child development.…”

Maternal employment and children’s socio-emotional outcomes: an Australian longitudinal study

“…An important aspect of child development is socio-emotional and behavioral functioning, i.e., children's ability to monitor, evaluate, and modify their emotional reactions and social behaviors (Thompson and Meyer 2007). Poor socio-emotional functioning during childhood is associated with low educational attainment, poor labor market outcomes, antisocial behavior, substance abuse, and welfare dependency during adolescence and adulthood (Eisenberg et al 2001;Kim et al 2016;Schindler et al 2015). Inculcating emotion and behavior regulation in children is a costly and timeconsuming process, which requires a range of investments in the child.…”