Associations between parental precarious work schedules and child behavior problems among low-income families

Objective: This study examined associations between parental precarious work schedules and child behavior problems among a sample of families with low incomes receiving child-care subsidies and tested three hypothesized mediators of these associations: work-family conflict, economic insecurity, and child-care instability.Background: As "just-in-time," or on-call, scheduling practices become more prevalent among low-paid workers, working parents must balance family demands with precarious work schedules characterized by instability, unpredictability, and lack of control. Precarious work schedules may threaten child well-being by increasing parents' work-family conflict and stress, economic insecurity, and child-care instability. Yet, few studies have been able to empirically test these relationships.Method: This study uses data from a survey of child-care subsidy recipients to test the associations between five dimensions of parental precarious work schedules-variable work hours and shifts, limited advance notice, unexpected schedule changes, and lack of schedule control-and child externalizing behavior problems via work-care conflict, economic insecurity, and child-care instability. Analyses use Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression and decomposition methods and control for a host of child, parental, and household characteristics.Results: Variable shifts were indirectly associated with more parent-reported child behavior problems via work-care conflict, whereas unexpected schedule changes were indirectly associated with more behavior problems via both work-care conflict and material hardship.Conclusion: These findings add to a growing evidence-base on the incongruence between precarious employer-driven scheduling practices and the needs of families with young children.