The goal of this project was to explore associations between maternal and paternal employment around nine months after the birth of a child and child socioemotional, cognitive, and health outcomes at two and four years of age. Three research aims were addressed. Aim One: To Examine Associations Between Maternal Employment And Child Outcomes Findings indicated that few links exist between maternal full and part time employment (compared to no employment) and child outcomes at two and four years. A series of home and family process variables were also analyzed to determine whether they served as significant mediators or offsetting variables in the association between employment and child outcomes. Although there was some variation by outcome, generally full and part time maternal employment was linked with more maternal knowledge of child development, less maternal depression, more maternal income, better attachment classification, and a higher quality home environment. Each of these process variables were, in turn, linked with positive child outcomes. On the other hand, full and part time maternal employment was also associated with less time spent with the child, which was associated with poorer child outcomes. Full and part time maternal employment was linked with greater participation in nonparental child care, which was associated with both better and worse child outcomes, varying by type of care and the specific outcome. Compared to non-working mothers, full time employment was linked with a shorter duration in breastfeeding, while part time employment was linked with a longer duration in breastfeeding. Duration of breastfeeding was associated with better child outcomes at age two. Lastly, the number of well child visits was not found to be a significant pathway between maternal employment and child outcomes. It appeared that positive and negative pathways existed, and in most cases balanced out to a non significant direct effect of employment on outcomes. Aim Two: To Examine Associations Between Parental Employment And Child Outcomes Findings from the second study indicated that, compared to children with a non working mother and full time working father, children with two full time working parents displayed more illness by age two. At age four, compared to children with a non working mother and full time working father, children with a part time working mother and a father with part time or no work showed less engagement of a parent. Children with a part time working mother and full time working father, children with a part time working mother and part time or non working father, and children with two full time working parents displayed more externalizing behavior. A series of home and family process variables were analyzed to determine their role as mediators or offsetting variables in the association between parental employment and child outcomes. Although there was some variation by outcome, generally the employment groups that included a full time working father and a part or full time working mother fared best on process variables. These groups were associated with more mother and father knowledge of child development, less maternal depression, more use of child care, more income, more maternal sensitivity, and a better home environment. These process variables were, in turn, associated with better child outcomes. On the other hand, those families with a non working mother and a part time or non working father generally fared worst on process variables. This group was associated with less mother and father knowledge of child development, more maternal and paternal depression, a lower quality home environment, less income, less months breastfed, and lower maternal sensitivity. These process variables were generally associated with poorer child outcomes at ages two and/or four. Aim Three: To Examine the Mediating Role Of Child Care Quality In The Association Between First-Year Parental Employment And Child Outcomes At Age Four Results indicated that overall there were associations between employment and child care, but few and inconsistent links between child care type and quality and child outcomes. The child outcomes for which some types of child care served as a significant pathway for parent employment were math ability, reading ability, engagement of the parent, and expressive language. High quality center-based care, high quality relative care, and high quality non-relative care were all positively linked with at least one child outcome measured at age four. However, low quality center based care was also positively linked with both math ability and engagement of the parent. The positive link with math was surprising, particularly in the absence of a positive link between high quality center-based care and math ability, which was expected based on previous findings. Engagement of the parent was the only socioemotional outcome with a positive link with parental employment though child care. The pathway emerged through both high and low quality, center-based settings. Because of the large groups and decreased one-on-one time with an adult, center-based care, at the onset of the study, was expected to have a negative link with socioemotional outcomes. No links with child health were found.

In 2000, 79 percent of married Canadian women between the ages of 25 and 44 were in the labour force and 75 percent were employed.1 Many Canadian families with working parents use costly child-care, and many of these families take advantage of the child-care expense deduction (CCED): in 1998, 71 percent of families with pre-school children used child-care services to work or study at a given point in time,2 and 868,460 taxfilers reported nearly $2.4 billion in child-care expenditures on 1,390,200 children.3 In this thesis, I examine the effects of parental labour supply and child-care use on children, the impacts that child-care costs have on the labour supply of married mothers, and the fairness of the tax system with respect to child-care costs. Chapters I, and V are introductory and concluding chapters, respectively. In chapter II, I consider the question of whether parental labour supply and child-care use affect child cognitive and behavioural outcomes. Parental labour supply reduces the amount of time parents have for their children. On the other hand, parents can replace their own time with child-care services and can also purchase more market goods with additional income earned at work. I examine this question using the first three cycles of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), which provide both a large sample size and a rich source of data, including controls for parenting skills. The possible joint detennination of labour supply and child outcomes is also tested. In chapter III, I estimate the impact of child-care costs on the return to work of married Canadian women with children under three, using data from the 1988 Canadian National Childcare Survey (CNCCS) and Labour Market Activity Survey (LMAS). Data from the 1995 Canadian General Social Survey indicate that Canadian mothers have split views on the issue of whether parental labour supply has deleterious effects on child outcomes. Furthermore, women's views on these issues tend to be consistent with their labour supply, suggesting their views may affect whether they choose to work or not. If women's preferences for work are based on thenviews and are correlated with other explanatory variables such as education and cost of care, the estimated coefficients on these explanatory variables will be biased. In order to allow for these potential differences in responsiveness to childcare costs, I estimate separate models where current or previous occupation and weeks worked in the previous 12 months are used as control variables in the estimation to account for heterogeneity of preferences. In chapter IV of the thesis, I use data from the CNCCS and LMAS to examine the vertical and horizontal equity of the CCED. Vertical equity is evaluated by comparing CCED benefit rates for different family levels of earnings. This is done for dual earner families with childcare costs and similar characteristics. Horizontal equity is examined by investigating whether the existence of the CCED increases or decreases the difference between effective tax rates of families with similar earnings but different labour supplies. I use measures of actual and potential earnings to evaluate both vertical and horizontal equity.

This study utilizes Wave One of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) to investigate a possible relationship between parenting style and parental occupation. This study asks the question: How do parenting styles differ as a function of parental occupational status? This issue was examined by utilizing chi square and analysis of variance tests. Parental attitudes and behaviors toward raising their children were investigated and then compared with the parental occupation. Statistical analysis indicates that the three parenting styles examined (authoritative, permissive, and authoritarian) did correlate with the occupational environment, white collar, pink collar, or blue collar, in which the adults work on a day-to-day basis. The hypothesis that employment ideologies overlap into household matters determining how parents behave towards their children, in terms of rewards and discipline, is supported by the findings presented here. The statistical results once again substantiate the existing literature in revealing that parenting styles do vary as a function of parental occupational status. / Department of Sociology

In 2000, 79 percent of married Canadian women between the ages of 25 and 44 were in the labour force and 75 percent were employed.1 Many Canadian families with working parents use costly child-care, and many of these families take advantage of the child-care expense deduction (CCED): in 1998, 71 percent of families with pre-school children used child-care services to work or study at a given point in time,2 and 868,460 taxfilers reported nearly $2.4 billion in child-care expenditures on 1,390,200 children.3 In this thesis, I examine the effects of parental labour supply and child-care use on children, the impacts that child-care costs have on the labour supply of married mothers, and the fairness of the tax system with respect to child-care costs. Chapters I, and V are introductory and concluding chapters, respectively. In chapter II, I consider the question of whether parental labour supply and child-care use affect child cognitive and behavioural outcomes. Parental labour supply reduces the amount of time parents have for their children. On the other hand, parents can replace their own time with child-care services and can also purchase more market goods with additional income earned at work. I examine this question using the first three cycles of the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY), which provide both a large sample size and a rich source of data, including controls for parenting skills. The possible joint detennination of labour supply and child outcomes is also tested. In chapter III, I estimate the impact of child-care costs on the return to work of married Canadian women with children under three, using data from the 1988 Canadian National Childcare Survey (CNCCS) and Labour Market Activity Survey (LMAS). Data from the 1995 Canadian General Social Survey indicate that Canadian mothers have split views on the issue of whether parental labour supply has deleterious effects on child outcomes. Furthermore, women's views on these issues tend to be consistent with their labour supply, suggesting their views may affect whether they choose to work or not. If women's preferences for work are based on thenviews and are correlated with other explanatory variables such as education and cost of care, the estimated coefficients on these explanatory variables will be biased. In order to allow for these potential differences in responsiveness to childcare costs, I estimate separate models where current or previous occupation and weeks worked in the previous 12 months are used as control variables in the estimation to account for heterogeneity of preferences. In chapter IV of the thesis, I use data from the CNCCS and LMAS to examine the vertical and horizontal equity of the CCED. Vertical equity is evaluated by comparing CCED benefit rates for different family levels of earnings. This is done for dual earner families with childcare costs and similar characteristics. Horizontal equity is examined by investigating whether the existence of the CCED increases or decreases the difference between effective tax rates of families with similar earnings but different labour supplies. I use measures of actual and potential earnings to evaluate both vertical and horizontal equity. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

As many Americans move away from the traditional homemaker-breadwinner family model, research on gender and work/family conflict has become increasingly important and the question of gender difference in experiences of work/family conflict continues to be relevant. While there is research that shows women tend to experience significantly greater work/family conflict than men, there are also studies that have shown little or no gender difference, and some that offer evidence that men are reporting more work/family conflict. This study contributes to the debate by examining gender and occupational prestige in regard to working parents' perceptions of work-to-family and family-to-work spillover, with a quantitative analysis of national probability sampled survey data from the General Social Survey's Quality of Working Life Module from the years 2006 and 2010. The findings indicate that fathers are reporting significantly more work/family conflict than mothers, and that higher prestige work is associated with greater work/family conflict, but occupational prestige has a gendered effect with work-to-family spillover and is found to be especially salient for fathers. Overall, this study demonstrates the need for policy-makers and employers to acknowledge men's parenthood. The findings are evidence that there is a need for incentivized paternity leave initiatives in the United States, as well as more universal employee work/life programs that address the barriers to fathers utilizing family-accommodating benefits.