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Re-Conceptualizing Gaps by Socioeconomic Status in Parental Time with Children

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Abstract

Differences in the total time that parents spend with their children by socioeconomic status (SES) are well documented. However, the qualitative aspects of such gaps are potentially important, yet relatively understudied. The current study analyzes time-use data for a nationally representative sample of married households with at least two children, one of whom is under 13 (N = 21,016), from the American Time Use Survey to provide a more nuanced analysis of previously documented differences in the time parents spend with children by SES. Specifically, two understudied aspects of family time are considered, both of which are distinct from other types of parent–child time and are potentially particularly developmentally beneficial: shared time when both parents are present with a child and individual child time when no siblings are present. We find that shared time when both parents are simultaneously present with a child often comprises a substantial portion of the total gap in parental time spent with children between college-educated parents and parents who did not complete high school. Similarly, college-educated parents spend more time with children in the absence of the child’s siblings than do less-educated parents. Gaps in this time classification are often found within enriching time, which is likely especially developmentally beneficial, potentially amplifying the effects of these gaps on child development. Generally, these results suggest that gaps in parental time with children by SES are more nuanced than previous research has recognized.

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Notes

  1. Online Resource 9 provides unweighted results for our primary analysis; qualitative patterns are the same as the weighted results discussed below.

  2. Note that we consider only “primary” childcare time whereas others, such as Stewart (2010), considered “all enriching time with children”.

  3. In Online Resource 4 we also report the main results without controlling for income or parental employment in order to allow for these factors to serve as mechanisms linking education and time with children. Although the estimates are smaller in magnitude, they are qualitatively similar to the main results. This indicates that something besides income and labor supply is contributing to the relationship between education and time with children.

  4. We have also completed post estimation tests and confirmed that the differences in time use between high school graduates and college graduates are statistically significant for all time categories and classifications except one—shared routine time.

  5. In the analytic sample, 15,211 of the respondents are women (mothers) and 13,992 are men (fathers). Also note that as in the primary analysis, we also estimate versions of this model that do not adjust for covariates (i.e., that restrict β to equal zero), to verify the robustness of the main results. These are available in Online Resource 5.

  6. The reader is reminded that the sample includes families with two or more children; thus the omitted category is families with exactly two children.

  7. However, note that because we include single mothers in the analysis, we must exclude variables measuring spousal employment and education.

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Vinopal, K., Gershenson, S. Re-Conceptualizing Gaps by Socioeconomic Status in Parental Time with Children. Soc Indic Res 133, 623–643 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1370-x

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