Poster #145 - Mothers’ Work-Family Conflict and Child Outcomes: Mediating Role of Parenting

• In Event: 3-159 - Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

Work-family conflict (WFC) is an inter-role conflict when work and family duties interfere with each other (Voydanoff, 1988). WFC impacts parent-child interactions via lower amounts of supportive, caregiving and responsive parenting (Amstad et al., 2011; Dinh et all, 2017). Only few studies have emphasized the links between WFC, parenting and child outcomes (McLoyd, Toyokawa & Kaplan, 2008; Strazdins, Obrien, Lucas & Rodgers, 2013; Vieira, Matias, Ferreira, Lopez & Matos, 2016). Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between mothers’ work-to-family conflict (WIF) and children’s bahavioral self-regualtions through the mediating role of parenting.
Total 109 children between 34 to 59 months age, and their mothers participated to the study. Mothers filled in Demographic Information Form, Work-Family Conflict Scale (Netemeyer, Boles & McMurrian, 1996), Child Rearing Questionnaire (Paterson & Sanson, 1999), and The Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (Thorell & Nyberg, 2008). Lastly, child behavioral self-regulation skills were directly taken from children in preschools via Peg-Tapping Task (Diamond & Taylor, 1996).
Two separate multiple mediation analysis were conducted through PROCESS MACRO (Hayes, 2013). The total effect of WIF on direct measure of behavioral self-regulation skills was found to be statistically significant (B =-.34, SE =.12, p <.05). The lower the mothers’ WIF level, they were more likely to use inductive reasoning with their children (B = .21, SE =.06, p <.001), which, in turn, led to behavioral self-regulation skills of children (B =.76, SE =.21, p < .001). However, WIF have lost its significance on child behavioral self-regulation skills after controlling for the mediators B =-.22, SE =.12, p =.07, 95% CI [-.4572, .0160]. The indirect effect of WIF on child behavioral self-regulation skills through inductive reasoning was significant B =-.16, Boot SE =.06, 95% Boot CI [-.2811, -.0621] (Figure 1). The relationship between WIF and child behavioral self-regulation skills was found to be fully mediated by mothers’ inductive reasoning parenting. Lastly, overall model was statistically significant, and explained 37% of the variance in dependent variable, F (4, 104) =15.28, p <.001.
Total effect of WIF on mother-reported child behavioral self-regulation problems was statistically significant B =.22, SE =.06, p <.001, 95% CI [.0144, .2073]. Like previous analysis, child behavioral self-regulation problems were significantly predicted only by parents’ use of inductive reasoning with their children B =-.39, SE =.12, p <.05. After controlling mediators, WIF was still a significant predictor of child behavioral self-regulation problems, but with a decreased coefficient B =.15, SE =.07, 95% CI [.0145, .2787]. The indirect effect of WIF on child behavioral self-regulation problems was found to be partially mediated by inductive reasoning B =.08, Boot SE =.03, 95% Boot CI [.0279, .1524]. The overall model explained 21% of the variance in child behavioral self-regulation problems F (4, 104) = 6.88, p <.001.
To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the link between work-family conflict and child behavioral self-regulation outcomes and includes both mother-reported and direct measure of child outcomes. All the findings will be discussed with theoretical standpoints.

Authors

• Gozde Babaoglu, Middle East Technical University
  Presenting Author

• Sibel Kazak Berument, Middle East Technical University
  Non-Presenting Author