Abstract
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The
diversification of modern family labour patterns exemplifies a socio-cultural
shift away from strongly gendered work and family role attitudes. This
research explores the gender division of labour and gender attitudes amongst
parents in a recent UK cohort study, and the associations between parental
gender attitudes and behaviours with family well-being and child cognitive
development. Paid labour, gender attitudes and household socio-economic
characteristics were explored as predictors of the division of domestic
labour to understand trends in how labour was divided by two parent families
in the Millennium Cohort Study. Associations between the division of paid and
domestic labour and gender attitudes were then examined as predictors of
parental psychological distress and relationship satisfaction using logistic
and linear regression respectively. Next, using the gender attitudes and
behaviour variables of interest, children's Strengths and Difficulties
Questionnaire across childhood and cognitive development at age 7 were
investigated using multilevel mixed effects and linear regressions.
Associations were found between parents' paid labour, gender attitudes and
domestic labour. More egalitarian divisions of labour and gender attitudes
were associated with better mental health and relationship satisfaction for
parents. Negative attitudes towards maternal employment were associated with
increased behavioural difficulties. Although, gender attitudes and the
division of labour were associated with children's cognitive outcomes, they
were largely explained by differences in parental education and income.
However, some significant interactions remained, including finding that gender
differences in word reading at age 7 were concentrated in households with
non-egalitarian maternal gender role attitudes. This research explores the
impact of gender on family relations in contemporary UK households. It
provides considerable evidence for associations between gender attitudes and
behaviours and family well-being and child cognitive development. In
particular, the gendered home environment and gendered beliefs can be useful
predictors for understanding inequalities in well-being and social-emotional
and cognitive development.
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