The Role of Resources in Influencing Fathers' and Mothers' Parenting Stress

Abstract

Objective

This study examines the effects of fathers' and mothers' own and their partner's work, health, and social resources on parenting stress among married or cohabiting couples when their children are 1–5 years old.

Background

Parenting young children is stressful when resources are scarce. Yet, little research has examined how various forms of resources influence fathers' and mothers' parenting stress using longitudinal data collected across the United States.

Method

Using data from Waves 2–4 of the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 943 couples; 1886 individuals), we conduct mixed-effects regression models that examine random and fixed effects to assess the associations between levels of and changes in various resources and parenting stress.

Results

For both fathers and mothers, being and becoming non-employed are positively linked to parenting stress, whereas a flexible work schedule is associated with less stress for fathers only. One's own health resources, measured as self-rated health and health insurance coverage, are unrelated to parenting stress, except depressive symptoms are positively linked to mothers' stress. Perceptions of social support and better mother–father relationship quality are negatively related to fathers' stress. Significant crossover effects are found only for fathers: mothers' transitions to non-employment, better self-rated health, and health insurance coverage are negatively related to fathers' parenting stress.

Conclusion

These findings underscore that parenting without resources in major domains of life is stressful, with new knowledge of partnered fathers' vulnerability to lack of workplace support, mothers' employment transitions, mothers' poor physical health, and lack of mothers' health insurance.