Time Deficits with Children: The Relationship to Mothers' and Fathers' Mental and Physical Health

• In Event: 230 - Section on Sociology of Mental Health Paper Session. Social Relationships and Mental Health

Abstract

Despite the fact that parents’ time with children has increased in recent years, many parents think they are not spending enough time with their offspring. We examine employed mothers’ and fathers’ views that they have “too little time” with children using the 2011 nationally representative Canadian Work, Stress, and Health study (N=1,347). Two competing perspectives -- the public face versus the pernicious stressor -- are examined. The public face hypothesis suggests that employed parents may present themselves as “good” mothers or fathers through an expressed desire for more time with children, but these expressions should not matter for health outcomes. Alternatively, the pernicious stressor hypothesis posits that demands of intensive mothering or involved fathering create time tensions that act as important strains, affecting health. About half of mothers and fathers feel time shortfalls with their children, and this is linked to work hours, schedule control and location of work, and to family context. Supporting the pernicious stressor perspective, we find strong relationships between “too little” time with children and parents’ distress, anger, and sleep problems, even when adjusting for key work and family factors.

Author

• Melissa A. Milkie, University of Toronto