The relationship of child care and employer support to maternal well-being
Abstract
This study examined the potentially supportive role of a mother's employer and child care arrangement. In an effort to maximize variability for both workplace and child care variables, 230 mothers of preschool children who used child care were recruited from the workplace and from child care. Subjects completed questionnaires designed to measure their perceptions of the support they receive from their employers and their child care providers, their life satisfaction, and their role strain. Those measures were subjected to factor analyses that yielded a total of 14 components of support and a single score for total support from those contexts. Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that after controlling for site differences, family income, and number of children, both life satisfaction and role strain were predicted by environmental support. Maternal life satisfaction was significantly predicted by job responsibilities and emotional support from child care. Role strain was predicted by job responsibilities, workload, and child care satisfaction. There were no significant interactions in any of the analyses for age of child, gross family income, respondent occupational prestige, or support from family.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Kontos, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Families & family life|Personal relationships|Sociology|Labor relations|Womens studies
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