Full-time work by parents of under-fives linked to risks of lower attainment for children

A study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation which followed the fortunes of young people born in the 1970s finds that those whose mothers worked full-time for longer periods during their early years were less likely than other children to achieve A-level qualifications.

Longer periods of full-time working by mothers when children were aged one to five were also linked to an increased risk of unemployment as a young adult and of experiencing psychological stress. However, the chances of teenage pregnancy were substantially reduced.

Part-time working by mothers when their children were pre-schoolers appeared to have few negative long-term effects by comparison. There was a tendency for reduced educational attainment - but this was much smaller than the effect associated with full time work.

The findings lead researchers at the Institute for Social and Economic Research to conclude that welfare to work policies might better be focused on promoting part-time employment for new parents rather than an early return to full-time work.

Prof. John Ermisch, co-author of the study, said: “If the positive impact of long-term increases in family income that may be associated with an early return to full-time work were enough to offset the adverse impacts of full-time employment when the child is a pre-schooler, then a policy of encouraging mothers back to full-time employment could still produce gains for children.

“But unless it can be shown to produce substantial longer-term gains, it might be better for policy makers to encourage part-time employment by one parent during a child’s pre-school years. The large proportion of employed mothers with young children who are in part-time jobs is evidence that many mothers already prefer this option.”

The research used data on 1,263 young people from the British Household Panel Study, to compare differences in parents’ employment patterns during their childhood and later outcomes. Uniquely, the data set allowed comparisons between siblings, making it possible to control for usually unobservable, but potentially important family background factors that might also have exerted an influence.

Mothers’ employment
The sibling comparison analysis found that longer periods of full-time employment by mothers when children were aged 1 to 5:

• reduced the probability that children would go on to obtain A-level or equivalent qualifications (Those whose mothers worked full-time when they were aged 1 to 5 for the average amount of time - around 18 months - had a 64 per cent probability of achieving an A-level. This fell 12 percentage points to 52 percent for those whose mothers had worked full-time for an additional year.)
• increased the probability of becoming economically inactive as a young adult by 2 percentage points (from an average probability of 7 per cent)
• increased the probability of psychological stress as a young adult by 5 percentage points (from an average probability of 23 per cent)
• reduced the probability of daughters giving birth before their 21st birthday by 2 percentage points (a large effect given the average probability of 3 per cent)

Longer periods of mothers' part-time employment when children were pre- schoolers:

• reduced the probability that children would obtain A-levels (by 6 percentage points)
• made no significant difference to the probability of economic inactivity
• reduced the probability of mental distress (by 2 percentage points)
• made no significant difference to the probability of daughters giving birth at an early age

Fathers’ employment
The study also examined the effects of fathers’ employment on children’s long-term development - although the fact that most fathers were in full-time work for most of the time made it more difficult to identify a significant impact. The sibling comparisons suggested that longer periods of full-time work when children were under 5 were associated with a later 6 percentage point reduction in the probability of reaching A-level standard. This was similar to the effect identified for part-time work by mothers, but much smaller than for mothers’ full-time work.

There was also evidence that longer periods of employment by fathers when children were aged 1 to 5 reduced the risks of later economic inactivity and of psychological stress.

Prof. Ermisch said: “The young people in our study were pre-schoolers more than 20 years ago when working parents may have had fewer options in terms of alternative child care. Even so, the implication of our findings is that if parents have less time to spend with young children before they start school, there may be long-term consequences. This is evidence in support of employment policies such as parental leave and longer maternity leave. Entitling parents to more time with young children can be justified as a potential investment in the labour force of tomorrow.”