Time Deficits with Children: The Link to Parents’ Mental and Physical Health

Abstract

Time spent with children has become a central concern in North American parenting culture. Using the 2011 Canadian Work, Stress, and Health Study (n = 2,007), the authors examine employed parents’ perceptions about having too little time with children and whether these relate to parents’ mental and physical health. The “pernicious stressor” hypothesis posits that the demands of paid work combined with intensive mothering or involved fathering create unique time tensions that act as chronic stressors and that these are associated with poorer health and well-being. Alternatively, the “public face” hypothesis suggests that parents often present themselves as good mothers or fathers through an expressed lack of time with children, but statements are superficial and thus are not related to health. The authors find that about half of employed parents report time shortfalls with children; work hours, schedule control, location of work, and family context are related to perceived time deficits with children. Supporting the pernicious stressor hypothesis, expressed time deficits are associated with distress, anger, and sleep problems, even when adjusting for work and family factors.