The effects of parental unemployment on children's wellbeing – results from Switzerland and the United Kingdom

Abstract

Objective

This study uses longitudinal panel data from Switzerland and the United Kingdom to examine how parental unemployment at year T affects children's wellbeing at year T+2 through parental wellbeing at year T+1. We also test the moderating effects of unemployment benefits, wealth, and household composition on parental wellbeing.

Method

We used data from the Swiss Household Panel (1999–2021) and Understanding Society (1991–2022). Wellbeing was measured using life satisfaction and worry in Switzerland, and life satisfaction and psychological distress in the UK. We applied linear mixed-effects models to test moderation between unemployment and parental wellbeing and conducted causal mediation analyses to assess indirect effects of unemployment on child wellbeing through parental wellbeing.

Results

In Switzerland, household composition and home ownership significantly moderated the relationship between maternal unemployment and life satisfaction. In the UK, unemployment benefits moderated the association between maternal unemployment and psychological distress. Causal mediation analyses using Swiss data revealed that the effect of maternal unemployment on child outcomes was partially mediated by maternal life satisfaction and worry. Paternal unemployment had a direct effect on child life satisfaction. In the UK, results indicated partial mediation through life satisfaction and psychological distress in both mother-child and father-child dyads.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that parental employment is associated with child wellbeing, and that this association is partially explained by changes in parental wellbeing. These relationships vary across countries depending on family composition, wealth, and access to unemployment benefits.