Paternity Leave and Parental Relationships: Variations by Gender and Mothers' Work Statuses

• Published date: 01 April 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12545
• Author: Chris Knoester,Richard J. Petts
• Date: 01 April 2019

R J. P Ball State University

C K The Ohio State University∗

Paternity Leave and Parental Relationships:

Variations by Gender and Mothers’ Work Statuses

Objective: This study examines the associations

between paternity leave and parents’ reports

of relationship satisfaction and relationshipcon-

ict and whether the associations vary by parent

gender and mothers’ work statuses.

Background: Paternity leave research in the

United States has focused on implications

for father involvement, but paternity leave

may also help to strengthen parental relation-

ships by promoting a more equitable division

of domestic labor. Given gender gaps in child

care, the association between paternity leave

and parental relationship outcomes may also

vary by gender and mothers’ work statuses.

Method: The sample consists of 4,700 couples

(i.e., parent dyads) from the Early Childhood

Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. Multilevel

models are used to assess the associations

between paternity leave and both relationship

satisfaction and conict and whether these

associations vary by gender and mothers’ work

statuses.

Results: Paternity leave-taking is positively

associated with parents’ reports of relation-

ship satisfaction, but length of paternity leave

Department of Sociology, Ball State University, 222 North

Quad, Muncie, IN 47306 (rjpetts@bsu.edu).

∗Department of Sociology, The Ohio State University, 238

TownshendHall, 1885 Neil Avenue Mall, Columbus, OH

43210.

This article was edited by Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan.

Key Words: conict, family policy, family roles, fatherhood,

satisfaction, work-family balance.

is only positively associated with mothers’

reports of relationship satisfaction. Also, among

mothers who worked prior to the child’s birth,

paternity leave-taking and length of leave are

negatively associated with their reports of rela-

tionship conict. In contrast, among ‘mothers

who did not work in paid labor prebirth, pater-

nity leave is positively associated with mothers’

reports of relationship conict.

Conclusion: Paternity leave may have impli-

cations for parental relationships (and espe-

cially mothers’ perceptions of their relationships

with fathers).

Work–family balance has become more chal-

lenging for parents in recent decades as greater

demands have been placed on both employees

and parents, resulting in increased work–family

conict (Aumann, Galinsky, & Matos, 2011;

Gerson, 2010; Jacobs & Gerson, 2004). This

conict has numerous consequences for fam-

ilies, including reduced paternal involvement,

lower parental well-being, and lower parental

relationship quality (Daly, 1996; Fellows, Chiu,

Hill, & Hawkins, 2016; Gerson, 2010). As such,

it is important to examine policies that may help

to reduce work–family conict and consequently

improve family outcomes.

One policy that has received limited atten-

tion in the literature is paternity leave. Pater-

nity leave may enable fathers to balance work

and family life by allowing fathers to main-

tain traditional breadwinning roles while ben-

etting from time off work and the ability to

468 Journal of Marriage and Family 81 (April 2019): 468–486

DOI:10.1111/jomf.12545

Paternity Leave and Parental Relationships 469

pursue new fatherhood ideals that emphasize

being a nurturing, engaged father (Galinsky,

Aumann, & Bond, 2011; Marsiglio & Roy,

2012). In particular, paternity leave may help

fathers become more involvedin parenting tasks,

have more opportunities to learn parenting skills,

and develop strong coparenting relationships

with the mother following a birth (Almqvist &

Duvander, 2014; Bünning, 2015; Huerta et al.,

2014; Rehel, 2014). Not surprisingly, paternity

leave-taking and longer periods of leave are

associated with more frequent father involve-

ment (Haas & Hwang, 2008; Huerta et al., 2014;

Nepomnyaschy & Waldfogel, 2007; Pragg &

Knoester, 2017).

Yet, research has not fully considered how

paternity leave may be associated with other

family outcomes such as parental relationship

satisfaction and relationship conict within the

context of the United States. By potentially

increasing the likelihood that fathers more

equally share parenting tasks and allowing

fathers and mothers time to learn how to copar-

ent together from birth, paternity leave may help

to strengthen parental relationships (Galovan,

Holmes, Schramm, & Lee, 2014; Kotsadam

& Finseraas, 2011; Newkirk, Perry-Jenkins, &

Sayer, 2017; Rehel, 2014). Although there is

evidence that paternity leave-taking is associ-

ated with lower relationship conict in Europe,

and that more extensive leave policies con-

tribute to parental happiness, research has yet

to examine potential links between paternity

leave and parental relationships using U.S. data

(Glass, Simon, & Andersson, 2016; Kotsadam

& Finseraas, 2011). Understanding the U.S.

context is important because the United States

is one of only a handful of countries that does

not have a national paid parental leave policy

(World Bank Group, 2018).

To address this gap, the current study focuses

on whether paternity leave-taking and length

of paternity leave are associated with parental

relationship satisfaction and relationship conict

in the United States We also consider whether

these associations vary by gender and moth-

ers’ work statuses. In doing so, this study will

assess whether ndings on paternity leave and

parental relationships persist within a society

in which access to paid leave is limited (Petts,

Knoester, & Li, 2018). Because perceivedequity

in the division of labor is more likely to inuence

mothers’ perceptions of relationship satisfac-

tion than fathers’ perceptions, it is possible that

paternity leave may be more closely associated

with mothers’ perceptions of relationship sat-

isfaction and conict than fathers’ perceptions

(Galovan et al., 2014; Milkie, Bianchi, Mat-

tingly, & Robinson, 2002; Newkirket al., 2017).

Increased support from fathers may also be

more benecial to working mothers when com-

pared with mothers who do not work. Indeed,

evidence from European studies suggests that

paternity leave may help to reduce mothers’

stress and facilitate a quicker return to the labor

force for working mothers (Gault, Hartmann,

Hegewisch, Milli, & Reichlin, 2014; Johans-

son, 2010; Sejourne, Beaume, Goutaudier, &

Chabrol, 2012). Thus, paternity leave may be

more likely to promote relationship satisfac-

tion and reduce conict in dual-income families

when compared with families in which only the

father works in paid labor. Overall, understand-

ing the potential associations between pater-

nity leave and parental relationships may aid

city, state, and federal policymakers in decisions

regarding paid family leave policies.

C F

The arrival of a new child brings about many

family changes, as infants are heavily dependent

on their parents for physical, social, and emo-

tional care (Waldfogel, 2006). Notably, having a

child may shift at least some attention away from

preexisting family members to take care of the

new baby. Role theory is helpful in understand-

ing how parents may experience the changes

brought about by the arrival of a new child

(Goode, 1960; Hecht, 2001).

Role theory suggests that having a new child

may increase the likelihood of role conicts (i.e.,

stress from multiple roles conicting—such as

parent, worker, and partner) and role overloads

(i.e., stress from too many role responsi-

bilities, which may include role conicts;

Cowan et al., 1985; Yavorsky, Kamp Dush, &

Schoppe-Sullivan, 2015). Role conicts and

role overloads may increase stress, as meeting

the expectations of multiple roles can be chal-

lenging (Goode, 1960). Because the arrival of a

new child creates more work for parents, they

prioritize parenting roles due to the substantial

effort and attention that young children need

(Twenge, Campbell, & Foster, 2003; Waldfogel,

2006). Thus, relationships between romantic

partners may suffer. Perhaps not surprisingly,

experiencing role conict and role overload