| Summary: | <p>A nationally representative panel study of parents and children, the Impact of Childhood Behavior Problems on Child Care and Employment Decision-Making Study was designed to determine the type of employment problems that parents directly attribute to difficulties in securing child care by using a household approach and to identify whether having a child with behavior problems or chronic illness is independently associated with child care-related employment problems in the United States.</p> <p>The study included parents of children aged 0 to 13 years and employed household level sampling from a nationally representative random-digit dial Gallup panel. Post-stratification weighting was accomplished by applying weights based on census region, income, and education using Stata's post-stratification commands. Nine measures of child care-related employment problems were included in the telephone survey instrument and include:</p> <ul> <li><p>Child Care-Related Employment Problems - Child care was defined broadly, including standard child care arrangements, before and after school activities or programs, babysitters, etc. Regular child care arrangements were defined as a regularly attended program, activity, or arrangement that occurs at least once a week. There were nine measures of child care related employment problems. Respondents were asked, "As a result of problems with child care during this school year, has a parent in your household":</p> <p>(a) quit a job</p> <p>(b) been absent from work</p> <p>(c) decreased job performance</p> <p>(d) changed a work schedule</p> <p>(e) looked for a different job</p> <p>(f) modified current job substantially</p> <p>(g) turned down a job</p> <p>(h) stopped looking for work</p> <p>(i) made decisions that will negatively impact future employability</p></li> <li><p>Behavior Problems and Current Serious Health Condition - The presence of behavior problems was determined by combining questions dealing with (1) defiant, aggressive behavior or conduct and (2) behavior problems. Similarly, parents were asked if their child had a serious chronic health condition that warranted medical treatment in the last 12 months.</p></li> <li><p>Household Composition - Parents were asked whether they are part of a two-parent/single-parent household or a stay-at-home parent household.</p></li> <li><p>Demographic Variables - Respondent's gender and race were collected, as well as information about the highest level of education and annual income.</p></li> </ul> <p>Overall, almost half (46 percent) of households reported at least one child care-related employment change. The two most common changes cited were being absent from work (21 percent) and changing the work schedule (27 percent). Two-parent households were significantly less likely to report child care-related employment changes compared to single parent households. In addition, households with a stay-at-home parent were less likely to report child care-related absenteeism, but were more likely to report recently quitting a job than households without a stay-at-home parent. Also, having a child with behavior problems or a serious chronic health condition was associated with up to triple odds of many child care-related employment problems. These findings support the notion that child care-related employment problems are common among families with a child with chronic illness or behavior problems, and support the need for policy makers to strive for implementation of more parent-friendly working conditions.</p>
|
|---|
