This article reviews policy issues involved in maternity leave or parental leave. Findings from the Wisconsin Maternity Leave and Health Project, a longitudinal interview study of 570 women and 550 of their husbands/ partners, are discussed, focusing especially on the issues of maternity leave and women's mental health, and fathers’ patterns of taking parental leave. I stress the importance of empirical research if feminist psychologists are to have an impact on public policy.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdlerN. E.DavidH. P.MajorB. P.RothS. H.RussoN. F.WyattG. E. (1990). Psychological responses after abortion. Science, 248, 41–44.
2.
AdlerN. E.DavidH. P.MajorB. P.RothS. H.RussoN. F.WyattG. E. (1992). Psychological factors in abortion: A review. American Psychologist, 47, 1194–1204.
3.
BaruchG. K.BienerL.BarnettR. C. (1987). Women and gender in research on work and family stress. American Psychologist, 42, 130–136.
4.
BellC. S. (1982). Small employers, work, and community. In KamermanS.HayesC. (Eds.), Families that work: Children in a changing world (pp. 209–228). Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
5.
BookmanA. (1991). Parenting without poverty: The case for funded parental leave. In HydeJ. S.EssexM. J. (Eds.), Parental leave and child care: Setting a research and policy agenda (pp. 66–90). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
6.
ConstantinopleA. (1973). Masculinity-femininity: An exception to a famous dictum?. Psychological Bulletin, 80, 389–407.
7.
EcclesJ. S. (1987). Gender roles and women's achievement-related decisions. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 11, 135–172.
8.
HaasL. (1991). Equal parenthood and social policy: Lessons from a study of parental leave in Sweden. In HydeJ. S.EssexM. J. (Eds.), Parental leave and child care: Setting a research and policy agenda (pp. 375–405). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
9.
Hare-MustinR. T.MarecekJ. (1988). The meaning of difference: Gender theory, postmodernism, and psychology. American Psychologist, 43, 455–464.
10.
HydeJ. S.EssexM. J.HortonF. (1993). Fathers and parental leave: Attitudes and experiences. Journal of Family Issues, 14, 616–641.
11.
HydeJ. S.FennemaE.LamonS. J. (1990). Gender differences in mathematics performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 139–155.
12.
HydeJ. S.KleinM. H.EssexM. J.ClarkR. (1995). Maternity leave and women's mental health. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19, 257–285.
13.
KlermanG. L.WeissmanM. H. (1992). The course, morbidity, and costs of depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 49, 831–834.
14.
LandrineH.KlonoffE. Z.Brown-CollinsA. (1992). Cultural diversity and methodology in feminist psychology: Critique, proposal, empirical example. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 16, 145–163.
15.
LiM. (1991). Parental leave and child care in China. In HydeJ. S.EssexM. J. (Eds.), Parental leave and child care: Setting a research and policy agenda (pp. 424–434). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
16.
MednickM. T. (1989). On the politics of psychological constructs: Stop the bandwagon, I want to get off. American Psychologist, 44, 1118–1123.
17.
NadelsonC. C.NotmanM. T. (1984). Reproductive advancements: Theory, research applications, and psychological issues. In WalkerL. E. (Ed.), Women and mental health policy (pp. 117–134). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
18.
ParleeM. B. (1973). The premenstrual syndrome. Psychological Bulletin, 80, 454–465.
19.
PleckJ. H. (1981). The myth of masculinity. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
20.
PleckJ. H. (1993). Are “family-supportive” employer policies relevant to men? In HoodJ. C. (Ed.), Men, work, & family. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
21.
RepettiR. L.MatthewsK. A.WaldronI. (1989). Employment and women's health: Effects of paid employment on women's mental and physical health. American Psychologist, 44, 1394–1401.
22.
RosenfieldS. (1989). The effects of women's employment: Personal control and sex differences in mental health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 29, 127–138.
23.
RossS. D. (1991). Legal aspects of parental leave: At the crossroads. In HydeJ. S.EssexM. J. (Eds.), Parental leave and child care: Setting a research and policy agenda (pp. 93–124). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
24.
Spalter-RothR.HartmannH. (1991). Science and politics and the “dual vision” of feminist policy research: The example of family and medical leave. In HydeJ. S.EssexM. J. (Eds.), Parental leave and child care: Setting a research and policy agenda (pp. 41–65). Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
25.
U.S. Bureau of the Census (1993). Statistical abstract of the United States 1993. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
26.
WethingtonE.KesslerR. C. (1989). Employment, parental responsibility, and psychological distress: A longitudinal study of married women. Journal of Family Issues, 10, 527–546.
27.
ZiglerE.FrankM. (Eds.). (1988). The parental leave crisis. New Haven: Yale University Press.
28.
ZiglerE.MuenchowS. (1983). Infant day care and infant-care leaves. American Psychologist, 38, 91–94.