Non-standard work schedules and child development

描述（由申请人提供）：本项目的目的是研究母亲和儿童的行为、认知测试分数和身体质量指数（BMI；或体重身高）之间的关系。我们关注的是非典型的和不可预测的方面的产妇工作，可能会影响家庭和儿童通过其影响收入，母亲的心理压力，养育行为，家庭惯例，儿童的护理环境和时间使用。我们特别关注的是产妇工作时间的安排（晚上、周末或晚上）和规律性（工作时间不可预测，每天或每周都在变化）。具体而言，我们的研究有以下目标：具体目标1：估计母亲就业的时间和规律性与儿童行为，认知测试分数和BMI之间的关系。具体目标1a：如果存在联系，检查哪种儿童发展结果与这种母亲就业条件最密切相关。具体目标1b：如果发现母亲就业的时间和规律性与儿童发展之间存在联系，请检查它们是否可以用[家庭收入]、母亲心理压力、父母行为、家庭惯例、儿童护理环境和时间使用来解释。具体目标1c：检查这些关联是否因[母亲教育，母亲福利使用]，种族/民族，儿童年龄，性别和家庭结构而变化。具体目标2：在双职工家庭中，研究母亲和父亲的工作安排与儿童发展之间的共同关系。为了回答这些问题，我们将使用来自两个数据集的数据，每个数据集都是纵向的，包含非标准工作条件的关键指标，并包含丰富的儿童发展和家庭过程的指标。母亲的工作经历显然不仅对研究人员和政策制定者，而且对从业人员和其他直接与家庭打交道的人都很感兴趣。我们提出的研究是独一无二的，因为它能够确定常见的、但研究不足的劳动力市场状况对儿童的影响。公共卫生相关性：本研究的结果将确定母亲所面临的普通工作条件对儿童的影响。这项研究对美国国立卫生研究院来说意义重大，因为研究结果将确定哪些儿童可能由于父母的就业挑战而面临发展风险，哪些儿童发展良好。这些调查结果不仅可以帮助决策者和从业人员更好地了解母亲就业对儿童的影响，而且还可以指出需要新政策和支持的领域，以促进儿童的健康发展。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this project is to examine the relationships between nonstandard work among mothers and children's behavior, cognitive test scores, and body mass index (BMI; or weight-for height). We focus on atypical and unpredictable aspects of maternal work that may affect families and children through their impact on income, maternal psychological stress, parenting behavior, family routines, and children's care settings and time use. Our particular focus is on the timing (evenings, weekends or nights) and regularity (work hours that are unpredictable and change from day to day or week to week) of maternal work hours. Specifically, our study has the following goals: Specific Aim 1: Estimate the associations between the timing and regularity of mothers' employment and children's behavior, cognitive test scores, and BMI. Specific Aim 1a: If linkages exist, examine for which of the child development outcomes are such maternal employment conditions the most germane. Specific Aim 1b: If linkages between the timing and regularity of maternal employment and child development are found, examine whether they can be explained by [family income], maternal psychological stress, parenting behavior, family routines, and children's care settings and time use. Specific Aim 1c: Examine whether any of these associations vary by [maternal education, maternal welfare use], race/ethnicity, and children's age, sex, and household structure. Specific Aim 2: In dual-earner households, examine joint associations between mothers' and fathers' work schedules and child development. To answer these questions, we will use data from two data sets, each of which is longitudinal, contains key measures of non-standard work conditions, and is rich with measures of child development and family processes. The work experiences of mothers are clearly of interest, not only to researchers and policy makers, but also to practitioners and others who work directly with families. Our proposed research is unique in its ability to identify the consequences for children of commonly-occurring, but understudied labor market conditions. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The results of this study will identify the consequences for children of common work conditions faced by mothers. This research promises to be significant and relevant for the NIH because the results will identify children who may be at developmental risk due to their parents' employment challenges, as well as children who are faring well. Such findings can not only assist policymakers and practitioners in better understanding the consequences for children of maternal employment, but also point to areas in which new policies and supports are needed in order to promote children's healthy development.