This Dissertation Improvement research project examines the relationship between employment conditions and family functioning. Although dual-earner families are quickly replacing the traditional breadwinner-housewife family model, widespread changes in the conditions of employment have not accompanied families' increasing wage-earning responsibilities. However, some employers have adopted family-responsive workplace policies, such as flexible scheduling, reduced work hours, and family-supportive environments, which are designed to alleviate the work/family incompatibility that employed parents face. Although some evidence exists to support the assertion that these policies do serve to mitigate parental distress deriving from work/family incompatibility, little is known about how these policies affect family processes - in particular, parenting behaviors and children's outcomes. In this study, various concepts associated with role theory are used to relate family-responsive policies to parental outcomes, parenting behaviors, and children's outcomes. A random sample of approximately 80 Midwestern dual-earner couples with children will provide the data. Interviews utilizing established measures as well as new measures and open-ended questions will be conducted. Multiple regression will be the primary analysis technique; the open-ended questions will allow for qualitative data analysis as well. In addition to the scientific gains to be achieved by the research, this award will materially assist a highly promising student in completing research for the Ph.D. dissertation. Thus it contributes to the thorough training of the next generation of social scientists.
