Working Mothers and Juvenile Delinquency in the Fragile Families Dataset

• In Event: The Influence of Family Structure and Support on Delinquency

Abstract

Many studies have examined the relationship between maternal employment and child development. However, these studies paid less attention to the role of maternal employment on child delinquency. In criminology, research demonstrates that parental supervision and attachment with children are key factors that protect children from delinquency. Consequently, maternal employment can be a risk factor for juvenile delinquency because it hinders mothers from investing their time in their children. On the other hand, working mothers bring economic security to their households, especially low-income households and single-parent families. Considering these discussions, it is worthy to look at the effect of mother’s employment status on children’s delinquency. This paper uses data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to examine the relationship between maternal employment and children’s delinquency. In addition, this paper also analyzes different relationships between maternal employment and children’s delinquency across family structure, demographics, and socioeconomic status.

Author

• Jihye Yoo Lee, University of Southern California