This paper tests the central tenet of social psychology and the life-course perspective that broader contexts of opportunity and constraint moderate the ability of individuals to act on their plans and ambitions. We use the 1972 National Longitudinal Study to assess the impact of mastery on achieving one's occupational expectations and to…

This article examines the employment and child care responses of families participating in 10 experimental welfare reform programs conducted in the United States between 1989 and 2002. For the programs analyzed, child care use increases by about the same amount as the increase in employment. Most of the increased child care comprises informal care…

Race matters in the classroom when you are a minority female faculty member. This chapter discusses the emergence of the adaptive female academic of color who, while teaching in several countries, balances a happy work and family life. (Contains 3 notes.)

Using data from a sample of 455 African American children (ages 10 to 12 years) and their parents, this study tests a hypothesized model linking (a) maternal work demands to family routines through work-family conflict and depressive symptoms and (b) maternal work demands to children's externalizing and internalizing problems through family…

This report consists of papers, commissioned by the Family Work Institute, by expert policy makers in the area of parental leave. The report consists of eight papers: (1) "The Impact of Childbearing on Employment" (James T. Bond); (2) "Fathers and Parental Leave: A Perspective" (Joseph H. Pleck); (3) Parental Leave and…

This document notes that widespread economic and demographic changes in the United States have radically reshaped both the workplace and the family and have created the need to sharply refocus attention on the relationship between the two. It acknowledges that there are no simple, easy, or cheap ways to meet the needs of working families who have…

Although the Family and Medical Leave Act enabled some parents to take unpaid parental leave in order to fulfill family responsibilities, it did not cover all workers and did not provide workers the financial support to do so. This policy report calls for Congress to: require states to allow new parents who have been working to collect…

Employers are feeling the strain of needing to offer alternative work arrangements to retain and recruit employees. Due to a change in demographics, dual-career couples and increased technology; people are demanding a transformation in the workplace environment. Two alternatives, which are being offered by employers, are flextime and…

This booklet provides suggestions to help parents balance their work and family lives. Suggestions relate to the following areas: (1) sharing work with children; (2) coping with guilt; (3) dealing with children calling parents at work; (4) leaving work stress at work; (5) avoiding overscheduling for children; (6) dealing with after-work…

Examined adolescent earnings and multiple dimensions of relationships with parents by drawing on four waves of data from the Iowa Youth and Families Project. Found that between seventh and tenth grades, rural adolescent earnings and non-leisure spending were related to time spent with the family, to less parental monitoring, and to more sharing of…

Examines time child is in child care, who gives it, the congruence of actual care and preferred care, and other factors that affect the marital satisfaction and emotional well-being of parents of infants. Found that father child care, when preferred, has positive effect on mother emotional well-being. (MT)

Child care centers representing four auspices (non profit, local for profit, national chain for profit, and church sponsored) were examined for associations between quality and social outcomes. Non profits had higher social outcomes, teacher child interaction produced no difference, and higher work-family interference was associated with lower…

A 4-year longitudinal study of 53 children (ages 7-12 at start) and their employed parents explored self-care arrangements and the children's reactions to them. Variations included range of activities and settings, extent of children's after school responsibilities, social support and children's interpretations. (MT)

Reviews family-friendly policies such as flextime, child care referral, job sharing and parental leave; examines how such policies work in postsecondary institutions, corporations, and small businesses; describes curricular approaches to balancing work and family; and lists work and family resource organizations. (SK)

Discusses methods to determine why employees leave or stay, based on experiences at Pennsylvania State University libraries. Considers retention tools that work best to retain diverse employees, including mentoring, networking, career and learning opportunities, balance between work and home life, a welcoming climate, and support for research.…