abstract: 'Given increasing maternal labour-market participation in many European

  countries, there is an ongoing scientific and public debate on the

  potential consequences for children''s development. Previous research has

  used both cross-sectional measures of maternal employment at a

  particular age of the child and measures capturing maternal employment

  history. Whereas the former approach cannot capture the cumulative

  impact of maternal employment on developmental outcomes, studies

  following the second approach have so far not accounted for the

  possibility that mothers may repeatedly change their labour-force

  participation in response to their children''s development or other

  dynamic context factors that are themselves affecting developmental

  outcomes.

  The present study combines statistical techniques that can account for

  time-varying confounders with cumulative measurement of maternal

  employment to investigate its link with children''s behavioural problems

  around age eight. In addition, our study explores whether the effect of

  maternal employment history differs by mothers'' education. Using data

  from the Growing Up in Scotland study, we find that children''s

  behavioural problems around age eight are the less pronounced the more

  years their mothers have worked full-time or part-time. However, these

  associations reduced in size once we adjusted for potential confounders

  and they do not significantly differ between mothers with and without a

  tertiary degree. These results suggest that the association between

  maternal employment history and behavioural problems around age eight is

  mostly driven by confounding factors such as maternal education, child

  health and socio-economic status.'
affiliation: 'Jacob, M (Corresponding Author), Univ Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

  Jacob, Marita; Kuehhirt, Michael, Univ Cologne, Cologne, Germany.

  Kuehhirt, Michael, Goethe Univ Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.'
author: Jacob, Marita and Kuehhirt, Michael
author-email: 'marita.jacob@uni-koeln.de

  michael.kuehhirt@uni-koeln.de'
author_list:
- family: Jacob
  given: Marita
- family: Kuehhirt
  given: Michael
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1332/175795920X16057278409033
files: []
issn: 1757-9597
journal: LONGITUDINAL AND LIFE COURSE STUDIES
keywords: 'maternal employment; socio-emotional development; child behaviour;

  Scotland'
keywords-plus: 'MATERNAL EMPLOYMENT; CONCENTRATED DISADVANTAGE; EXPOSURE; IMPACT;
  WORK;

  RISK'
language: English
month: OCT
number: '4'
number-of-cited-references: '38'
orcid-numbers: 'Kühhirt, Michael/0000-0001-9503-0488

  Jacob, Marita/0000-0002-2674-568X'
pages: 551-571
papis_id: a7c4fda9139ea627ca3029af2f64ca1a
ref: Jacob2021mothersemployment
researcherid-numbers: 'Kühhirt, Michael/J-3467-2015

  Jacob, Marita/AAY-8735-2021'
times-cited: '1'
title: 'Mothers'' employment and child behaviour: new evidence for Scotland'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000721724800005
usage-count-last-180-days: '1'
usage-count-since-2013: '1'
volume: '12'
web-of-science-categories: 'Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health; Social Sciences,

  Interdisciplinary'
year: '2021'