title: Parents' nonstandard work schedules and child well-being: a critical review of the literature.
abstract: This paper provides a comprehensive review of empirical evidence linking parental nonstandard work schedules to four main child developmental outcomes: internalizing and externalizing problems, cognitive development, and body mass index. We evaluated the studies based on theory and methodological rigor (longitudinal data, representative samples, consideration of selection and information bias, confounders, moderators, and mediators). Of 23 studies published between 1980 and 2012 that met the selection criteria, 21 reported significant associations between nonstandard work schedules and an adverse child developmental outcome. The associations were partially mediated through parental depressive symptoms, low quality parenting, reduced parent-child interaction and closeness, and a less supportive home environment. These associations were more pronounced in disadvantaged families and when parents worked such schedules full time. We discuss the nuance, strengths, and limitations of the existing studies, and propose recommendations for future research.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Population Health Research, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia, Jianghong.Li@curtin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jianghong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Wen-Jui
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: Garth
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kendall
authors.forename: Lyndall
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Strazdins
authors.forename: Alfred
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dockery
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D002654:Child Care; D002657:Child Development; D004651:Employment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling