Abstract
This article investigates the long-term impact of early maternal employment on children's cognitive and behavioral outcomes. Non-Hispanic White and African American children aged 3 to 4 in the 1986 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were followed longitudinally to see whether the effects that prior studies found at age 3 to 4 persist into the school-age years (ages 7 to 8) or whether those effects attenuate over time. The empirical results indicate that maternal employment in the 1st year of a child's life has significant negative effects on White children's cognitive outcomes. These effects persist to ages 7 or 8 for some children but not for others. We also found some negative effects of maternal employment in the 1st year on behavioral problems as assessed at age 7 or 8, but again these effects are found only for White children.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 336-354 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Journal of Marriage and Family |
Volume | 63 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 2001 |
Keywords
- Behavioral outcomes
- Child's cognitive outcomes
- Early maternal employment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Anthropology
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)