The Cognitive and Behavioral Effects of Maternal Employment on Young Children - Research Proposal Example

? Research Proposal: The Cognitive and Behavioral effects of Maternal Employment on Young Children BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE The Cognitive and Behavioral effects of Maternal Employment on Young Children I. Introduction Women who work outside the home, especially when employed full-time, maintain much less time availability to ensure quality of relationship development with their children. Psychological theory indicates that when mothers spend more time engaging in quality activities with children, ranging from nurturing to facilitating a sense of love in the child, they are likely to be better developed emotionally as they enter adulthood and also achieve superior academic success. Hence, assuming that the domain of psychology is correct regarding the positive correlation between nurturing and encouraging mothers and better cognitive as well as behavioral development, maternal employment may very well have persistent negative consequences on children. Theory indicates that poor attachment during the earlier years of childhood development can lead to increased aggression, overt defensiveness, and also externalizing of non-compliant attitudes (Panda, 2002). Poor attachment to the female parent, additionally, is said to create self-esteem problems as the youth continues through the different stages of cognitive development, lending even more support that maternal employment may have long-term, deleterious consequences on the child. With such a high volume of mothers currently employed in the labor market in the United States, understanding whether cognitive and behavioral problems are a recognized outcome of poor attachment becomes a paramount social issue. This research proposal reviews contemporary literature on the concept of maternal employment and the potential ramifications on children for this activity. It develops a hypothesis regarding maternal employment and child development, and provides an appropriate research methodology to examine potential outcomes on children related to maternal employment. II. Statement of the Problem Growth in maternal employment, between the 1970s and today, has been quite explosive. According to data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2011 there were 71 percent of all mothers in the United States actively employed in the labor force (Dunifon & Gill, 2013). A total of 60.6 percent of mothers supported children under the age of three, whilst 76.1 percent of mothers had children between the age of six and 17 (Dunifon & Gill). This represents a sharp increase in the volume of employed mothers in the United States, as in 1975, only 54.9 percent of then-current mothers were actively employed in the labor force (Morrill, 2010). Hence, running under the assumption that maternal employment leads to lack of available time to nurture relationships with their children, maternal employment could be problematic for ensuring that their children are cognitively and behaviorally well-adjusted. This becomes a potent social issue which could have tremendous ramifications in the event that there is a measurable positive correlation between poorly-adjusted children and employed mothers. Society, therefore, needs to examine the many factors that drive women to work in an effort to explain the potential long-term consequences on child development. At the end of the 1990s, welfare reforms imposed by government representatives ended the ability of low-income, single mothers to negotiate cash assistance in the welfare system and also ended a variety of incentives for women to return to work. During this period, many single mothers were forced into entering the labor force. By 2009, at the peak of the recent recession, the majority of jobs lost belonged to men, which made women the majority of actively employed. In many different households, therefore, women became the dominant breadwinners. Econometric research, furthermore, indicates that poverty in the household maintains significant, negative impacts on child development. Money is a legitimate requirement to improve the lifestyle of children, as it provides superior medical care, the ability to procure material possessions that has positive psychological impact on children, and generically raises the threshold of quality of life that provides emotional fulfillment on youths. Therefore, when assessing whether maternal employment is harmful or beneficial to children both cognitively and behaviorally, it would appear that there are mitigating variables that must be considered such as economic status of the household. There is conflicting research findings on the topic of maternal employment showing both negative and positive effects of maternal employment on child development, with studies showing positive impacts generally involving higher household income provided by employed mothers. Furthermore, women who are forced or choose to work outside of the home environment, due to the circumstances of employment, are unable to spend quality time with their children. However, Bianchi (2000) does recognize that some mothers attempt to sacrifice lifestyle obligations (ranging from house cleaning to even sleep) in order to improve their relationships and better nurture their children. This would, again, suggest that there is a variable of maternal self-sacrifice and perhaps even maternal parental competency that would serve to conflict the allegation that maternal employment maintains deleterious consequences on their children. Researchers, therefore, should be considerate of explanatory variables when assessing whether maternal employment degrades child development in order to successfully determine whether long-term, negative consequences become a product of maternal employment. Whatever the situation, maternal employment reduces the ability to cultivate relationships with children by restricting their time to support, cherish and encourage mother/child connection and rapport, making maternal employment a potential social problem that could impact the majority of modern society. III. Review of the Literature One child development study found that maternal employment maintained long-term, negative consequences when their children were under one year of age. The sample group recruited for the study included women with older children (over the age of one) and mothers who had returned to work when their children were still infants. Those who postponed their return to work until the children had advanced beyond their first year maintained children who, in their later years, scored significantly higher in testing instruments in mathematics. Concurrently, the study identified a significant correlation between children who externalized behavioral problems as compared to the sample who had postponed their return to work until their child had exited the infancy stage of development (Hill, Waldfogel, Brooks-Gunn & Han, 2005). The results of the aforementioned research study indicate that only children under the age of one year maintain the behavioral and cognitive problems when their mothers were actively employed. It would suggest that there are long-term implications for mothers who do not wait for their children to mature in terms of academic achievement and ability to regulate or control their problem behaviors. Again, this would lend support for the idea that early age infant attachment to the mother, when impacted by the ability to nurture effectively, is significantly important for ensuring long-term psychological and cognitive adjustment. Berger, Brooks-Gunn, Paxson & Waldfogel (2008) as well as Berger, Hill & Waldfogel (2005) lend even further support to the study by Hill, et al. (2008) about early-age maternal employment consequences. These studies identify that early maternal employment increases the frequency by which children experience behavioral issues. Additionally, the studies found that verbal ability and high test score achievement are impacted negatively when mothers enter the workforce before their children advance beyond the age of one year. However, the study by Berger, et al. (2008) also takes into consideration the socio-economic status and racial backgrounds of the sample group, when lends further support that there might be mitigating variables that impact the depth of cognitive and behavioral problems that occur once the child has advanced in years beyond infancy. It may very well be that when the mother is employed in a career position that provides superior income to other women in the workforce, children maintain better adjustment even in the face of having their mothers missing during the timeframe by which they are outside of the home engaging in their careers. Ruhm (2008) found that the tangible duration by which the mother is employed served as yet another potential variable determining whether maternal employment creates cognitive dysfunction and behavioral adjustment problems. This study found that when women worked only 20 hours per week (part-time) children performed better in areas of verbal mechanics, mathematics, and reading. When the mothers selected as the sample group were forced to work a full-time schedule of 40 hours or more, children’s cognitive ability was reduced. The study by Ruhm (2008) indicates that there could be yet another set of variables which impact whether children are positively or negatively impacted by maternal employment. In today’s society, especially in single mother households, it would be significantly difficult for the mother to reject a full-time job as this provides a better quality of living and lifestyle. It becomes a broad social problem as not all mothers can sacrifice full-time employment if they are to maintain the well-being of their children. However, Ruhm’s study indicates that superior cognitive ability is enhanced by allowing the mother to spend more quality time with their children, something which is forbidden in the face of 40-hour per week employment status. A further study carried out by Case, Fertig & Paxson (2005) found that maternal employment during childhood leads to long-term behavioral problems that are manifest when the child becomes an adult. Social well-being is also impacted, as supported by the research study, which involves maladjustment in areas of social belonging and establishing a loving adult relationship with others successfully. Why is this important? When adults of mothers who were engaged in the workforce during their childhood can potentially develop behavioral problems, it shows how pervasive the social problem might actually be and how truly deleterious the results of maternal employment are. Up until this point, it has been children that were the focus of research to determine the potential impact of cognitive and behavioral maladjustment as a result of maternal employment, however the study by Case, et al. (2005) indicates that problems in behavior could be long-lasting and difficult to reconcile. What was particularly unique in the study carried out by Case, et al. (2005) is that the health status of the employed mothers in the sample was considered a variable that predicted ongoing behavioral problems with the adults recruited for participation in the study. For instance, mothers who smoked cigarettes and were actively employed during their children’s developmental years served as a predictor for the social status of their children after they had entered adulthood. This lends even further support that there may be explanatory variables occurring within the dynamic of the household that serves as determinants as to whether children maintain long-term or short-term consequences as a result of maternal employment in their developmental years. This review of literature took an unbiased examination of previous research studies involving the potential outcomes on cognitive and behavioral development in the face of maternal employment. Through this examination, a workable hypothesis can be developed. IV. Hypothesis There is enough research literature to suggest that there may very well be harmful and long-lasting consequences on childhood cognitive and behavioral development when their mothers are actively employed. However, the research findings identified, in several studies, that variables in the household dynamic had significant influence on whether cognition and behavior maladjustment can be predicted. One study found economics a factor, another found parental health status during their times of employment to be a variable, and another discovered a correlation between the duration (part-time versus full-time) to impact cognitive and behavioral problems in children. As such, this study formulates the following hypothesis: H1: The most significant and long-lasting cognitive and behavioral problems, in the face of maternal employment, occurs if the mother is employed before the child has advanced past the age of one year. Full time employment increases these dysfunctions as well as the economic status of the household during the time of maternal employment. As only one identified research study indicated health status of the parent influencing long-term cognitive and behavioral dysfunction, it was not potent enough to develop a hypothesis. However, full-time employment would limit the parent to the volume of time available nurturing relationships, which lends support to volumes of psychological literature on the importance of building early age attachments between mother and child as a predictor of better psychological and emotional adjustment. Hence, the study finding duration of employment lends support for the hypothesis. Economic status is also supported in econometric and psychological literature impacting child well-being, suggesting that this variable can also be measured and tested to determine whether household financial dynamics contribute to reducing or increasing cognitive and behavioral dysfunctions in children of employed mothers. V. Research Design This proposed study will be qualitative in design. Many existing studies have attempted to correlate the potential impacts of cognitive and behavioral maladjustment using statistical analysis, which does not provide the richness of diversity required to measure complex emotional and psychological states of children. Behavioral problems in children, as just one example, consists of many facets and is blurred by many mitigating emotional states, including familial belonging in a household dynamic, maternal effectiveness in child-rearing, and beliefs. As identified by Henerson, Morris & Fitzgibbon (1987) volatile and multi-faceted emotional states cannot be accurately measured using qualitative methodology. Therefore, in order to determine potential behavioral issues arising from maternal employment, it is necessary to examine these factors qualitatively. Qualitative research design helps society in understanding human behavior, the whys and hows of behavior rather than simply addressing the what and where of human understanding. This study will conduct a series of interviews that will address such questions as maternal perceptions of child academic achievement, mothers’ beliefs regarding their child’s behavioral and emotional adjustment, and also address basic demographic information regarding income status and employment status (full or part time). Sample questions that will be utilized in the proposed interview instrument include: Has your child ever been alleged to be a behavioral problem in the classroom? What was the scenario involved? Do you often have problems controlling your child’s behavior in the home? How do you believe your child performs academically in school? What grades do they return to you and in what subjects? Collecting basic demographic information such as the ages of the children when the sample entered the workforce, the level of income of respondents, and employment status, it will help to identify any potential correlations between cognitive and behavioral maladjustment. Sampling will consist of random sampling methodology, recruiting a variety of employed women maintaining one or more children between the ages of two years and 17. This will give a broader perspective of whether cognitive or behavioral problems, potentially, occur at a particular age group over that of other children. The study will be recruiting a sample population between 10 and 15 women, with children of varying ages, to better address and analyses the potential for maladjustment cognitively and behaviorally within unique family demographics. Recruitment will occur by attending job fairs in which the researcher will set-up a small booth describing the nature of the study, the purpose of the research, and the broader social advantages of findings in order to promote potential participant involvement as a respondent. Once the study has identified 10-15 willing participants, their contact information will be collected and future contact made via telephone to schedule the interview sessions. Interviews will be conducted with a duration between 45 and 60 minutes in order to provide the depth of discussion required to uncover whether correlations exist between variables such as income level and employment status to prevalence of cognitive dysfunction and behavioral maladjustment. The data analysis will consist of consultation with various psychological and sociological journals highlighting issues of maternal/child attachment during early ages, adolescent cognitive development, and social belonging in order to enhance the research findings. The study considers the ethical ramifications of gaining access to a recruited sampling of children. Through recruitment of children between the ages of three and 17 would require gaining parental consent to access, it might involve having representatives from the university or child protection agencies oversee the research which could pose cost problems and raise liability for the university. Instead, employed mothers were selected as a method to determine youth attitudes and behaviors which only require a confidentiality agreement to be signed by consenting research participants. This methodology will also improve validity which refers to an instrument’s ability to accurately measure the phenomenon being explored. The interview process will not only measure statistical data regarding demographics that can be charted and correlated appropriately, it will allow for in-depth discussion at the cognitive and behavioral levels. The interview, using closed-ended questions, will also improve reliability as it should produce consistent results in the event that the same instrument template were to be replicated in broader sample populations in an effort to measure the same criterion. The researcher will endeavor to avoid any instances of interviewer bias, a common phenomenon in the qualitative research process. The interview process must be conducted utilizing absolute objectivity and not allow responses to be influenced with personal opinion or sentiment. Such outward expressions of personal feelings and beliefs could lead respondents which would invalidate research findings. This is why the closed-ended interview structure was developed to ensure the researcher maintains total impartiality and neutrality to allow respondents to provide answers that have not been prejudiced through interviewer bias. It will also ensure that each respondent is approached with the exact same set of questions to further enhance reliability associated with potential research study replication by other researchers or using a secondary sample group. Using an analysis methodology that focuses on correlating responses to tangible demographic data will assist in determining whether the variables identified in the aforementioned hypothesis play a factor in what drives potential cognitive and behavioral dysfunction in children. It will assist the broader research community in sociology and psychology to determine whether potential impacts on children are short-term or long-term and might carry onto adulthood. This could, as an outcome of the study, assist social workers, educators, and even parents to develop more effective models of parenting and enhance the workplace environment to be better supportive of children’s developmental and cognitive-based needs. The study, overall, maintains the potential to enhance society’s knowledge of maternal employment and its role in child development to improve best practice in education and enhance maternal parenting competencies. References Berger, L., Brooks-Gunn, J., Paxson, C. & Waldfogel, J. (2008). First Year Maternal Employment and Child Outcomes: Differences across racial and ethnic groups, Children and Youth Services Review, 30, pp.365-387. Berger, L., Hill, J. & Waldfogel, J. (2005). Maternity Leave, Early Maternal Employment, and Child Health and Development in the US, The Economic Journal, 115, pp. F29-F47. Case, A., Fertig, A. & Paxson, C. (2005). The Lasting Impact of Childhood Health and Circumstance, Journal of Health Economics, 24(2), pp.365-389. Dunifon, R. & Gill, L. (2013). Maternal Employment and Child Well-Being, Cornell University. Retrieved November 12, 2013 from http://www.human.cornell.edu/pam/outreach/parenting/research/upload/FINAL- Research-Brief-Maternal-Employment.pdf Henerson, M. E., Morris, L. L., & Fitz-Gibbon, C. T. (1987). How to Measure Attitudes. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Hill, J.L., Waldfogel, J., Brooks-Gunn, J. & Han, W.J. (2005). Maternal Employment and Child Development: A Fresh Look using Newer Methods, Developmental Psychology, 41(6), pp.833-850. Morill, M.S. (2010). The Effects of Maternal Employment on the Health of School-Aged Children, North Carolina State University. Retrieved November 14, 2013 from http://www4.ncsu.edu/~msmorril/Morrill_ChildHealth.pdf Panda, K.C. (2002). Elements of child development. New Delhi: Kalyani Publishers. Ruhm, C.J. (2008). Maternal Employment and Adolescent Development, Labor Economics, 15(5), pp.958-983. Read More