Leisure time and parenting in Europe: a more difficult equation for mothers?

• Published date: 01 October 2024
• Author: Anna Martinez Mendiola,Clara Cortina
• Date: 01 October 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.13017

RESEARCH

Leisure time and parenting in Europe: a more difficult

equation for mothers?

Anna Martinez Mendiola | Clara Cortina

Department of Polítical and Social Science,

Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain

Correspondence

Anna Martinez Mendiola, C/Ramon Trias

Fargas, 25-27 08005 Barcelona, Spain.

Email: anna.martinezm@upf.edu

Funding information

Spanish State Research Agency-Agencia

Estatal de Investigaci

on Española (AEI),

Grant/Award Numbers: CSO2016-80484-R,

PID2020-117980GB-I00

Abstract

Objective: This paper analyzes gender inequalities in lei-

sure time within coresident opposite-sex couples with and

without children at home in five European countries to

evaluate the gendered parental impact in leisure time.

Background: In European societies, women continue to

bear much of the physical and mental burden involved in

running a household and managing family life resulting in

greater levels of stress and time deprivation. Time spent in

leisure has been associated with better physical and psy-

chological wellness. Understanding how gender influences

the distribution of leisure time among couples living with

and without children at home, and how these effects differ

across European countries, is important to understand

individual and couples’well-being.

Method: Drawing on information from the Multinational

Time Use Study for 15,024 matched couples residing in

Spain, Italy, France, Finland, and the United Kingdom,

we conduct a series of ordinary-least-squares regression

analyses with country fixed effects.

Results: The general trends reveal that women in Europe

allocate less time to leisure and that mothers experience

lower leisure of high quality compared to their partners

when their children are below the age of 5. However, Finn-

ish and British couples exhibit a more egalitarian distribu-

tion of leisure time regardless of their parental status,

particularly when compared to Italian and Spanish ones.

Conclusion: This study unveils a gendered use of leisure

time, as well as a gendered parental impact when children

are young. However, the impact of women’s second shift

in leisure time varies across countries, suggesting a cultural

and institutional effect.

Implications: These findings have implications for

researchers, health professionals, and policymakers con-

cerned with understanding and alleviating situations of

Received: 2 June 2022 Revised: 19 October 2023 Accepted: 27 December 2023

DOI: 10.1111/fare.13017

© 2024 National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2024;73:2823–2845. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 2823

overstress, time poverty, and depression among women,

but especially among mothers of young children.

KEYWORDS

comparative analysis, Europe, gender, leisure time, Multinational Time

Use Study, parenthood

The massive entrance of women into the labor market in recent decades has entailed a slow but

converging trend in the time men and women allocate to paid and unpaid work (Altintas & Sul-

livan, 2016; Bianchi et al., 2012). However, studies conducted among couples today indicate

that women in partnership continue to bear much of the physical and mental burden associated

with managing a household and family life (England, 2010), resulting in a women’s second shift

(Hochschild, & Machung, 2012).

This second shift, or women’s double day, has been linked by feminist scholars to higher

levels of stress, time deprivation (“feeling rushed”), and deficits in leisure time (e.g., Craig &

Brown, 2017; Mattingly & Blanchi, 2003; Mattingly & Sayer, 2006). Yet, some authors report

an equitable distribution of leisure time between men and women when the total daily workload

(the sum of the time dedicated to paid and unpaid work) is considered, thereby challenging the

concept of a woman’s second shift and its impact on available leisure time (Gershuny, 2003;

Mattingly & Blanchi, 2003).

Despite the doubts raised by these findings, several studies stress the need to account for var-

iations in gender differences attributable to couple characteristics, such as being parents

(Stalker, 2011), and to address gender leisure differences in terms of benefits and levels of enjoy-

ment derived from it (e.g., Bittman & Wajcman, 2000). At present, research has exhibited

higher levels of satisfaction among men than women when similar amounts of time in leisure

are compared (Gimenez-Nadal & Sevilla-Sanz, 2011), with mothers the most likely to state

higher perceptions of feeling rushed (Craig & Brown, 2017; Mattingly & Sayer, 2006) and

expressing lower satisfaction with their free time (Gimenez-Nadal & Sevilla-Sanz, 2011).

Indeed, studies have revealed how mothers enjoy less pure leisure time than fathers do, and

how it is more contaminated with multitasking and interspersed with child care (Craig &

Brown, 2017; Craig & Mullan, 2013). These results highlight different experiences of leisure

time according to gender and parental status. Nonetheless, to date, no study has compared cou-

ples with and without children living at home to directly evaluate the gendered parental impact

in leisure time to assess its effect on the gender leisure gap.

Leisure has the potential to enhance personal well-being and life satisfaction by providing

time to release from stress (Trenberth, 2005), foster social relations (Lloyd & Auld, 2002), and

promote personal growth (Iso-Ahola, 1997). In modern societies, where situations of time pov-

erty (Vickery, 1977) and parental burnout (Mikolajczak et al., 2019) are widely extended, which

results in high levels of psychological stress, depression, and self-perceived health issues

(Zuzanek, 2004), examining which aspects of leisure and specific activities more directly affect

women in parenthood compared to men is a way to tackle gender differences in physical and

psychological well-being that should not be disregarded.

Drawing on insights provided by previous studies, this paper contributes to the ongoing

debate in the following ways. First, it compares gender differences in leisure time accounting

for the parental status of couples. Second, the paper adopts a couple’s perspective and uses the

couple as a unit of analysis by exploring relative differences in the time allocated to leisure by

women and men. Third, it disaggregates leisure into different dimensions, thereby accounting

for the type of activity engaged in as well as for the copresence of other family members during

the activity. Finally, the analysis adopts a cross-national comparative perspective in order to

assess the moderating role of the country on the gender leisure gaps and the impact of

2824 FAMILY RELATIONS