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Maternal employment and adolescents' relations with parents, siblings, and peers

Journal of Youth and Adolescence volume 13, pages 543–557 (1984)Cite this article

Abstract

The association between maternal employment status and the relations that adolescents have with their parents, siblings, and peers was investigated. Three daily reports of conflicts with family members and time spent with parents, peers, and alone were obtained from 64 tenth-grade adolescents using a telephone interviewing technique. Males, but not females, had more arguments, which were of longer duration and greater intensity, with their mothers and siblings when their mothers worked than when they did not. Female conflict behavior was unrelated to the work status of the mother. Adolescents of both sexes spent less time with their parents when their mothers worked, especially when they worked full-time, than when they were nonemployed. Adolescents with employed mothers generally spent less free time with their parents than those with nonemployed mothers. Time spent with parents in the performance of household tasks was not affected by maternal employment status. The need to take a family system perspective in order to understand fully the relationship between maternal employment and adolescent development was emphasized.

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Author information

Affiliations

  1. Associate Professor, Department of Family and Consumer Studies, University of Utah, 84112, Salt Lake City, Utah

    Raymond Montemayor

Authors
  1. Raymond Montemayor
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Additional information

Received Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1974. Major research interests are in parent and peer relations during adolescence.

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Montemayor, R. Maternal employment and adolescents' relations with parents, siblings, and peers. J Youth Adolescence 13, 543–557 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02088598

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02088598

Keywords

  • Family Member
  • Health Psychology
  • Work Status
  • Employment Status
  • School Psychology