Abstract
The fact that the majority of mothers will enter or return to the work force shortly after the birth of their child is not a new phenomenon. Today, nearly half of the mothers of infants are employed and are expected to remain employed throughout their child’s life (Hayghe, 1986). The increase in maternal employment has been evident for the past two decades and has been coupled with an increasing concern over how maternal employment affects the lives and development of children. Although researchers to date conclude that the effects of maternal employment on children need to be studied longitudinally, the existence of long-term studies is rare. The New York Longitudinal Study (NYLS) is a 30-year-old study of the development of 133 white, middle- to upper-middle-class children. Although the focus of the NYLS was not on maternal employment per se, extensive information exists on the mother’s employment history and child development outcomes. Thus we are able to look at the influences of the mother’s employment on selected aspects of her child’s development from infancy through young adulthood.
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Lerner, J.V., Galambos, N.L. (1988). The Influences of Maternal Employment across Life. In: Gottfried, A.E., Gottfried, A.W. (eds) Maternal Employment and Children’s Development. Springer Studies in Work and Industry. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0830-8_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0830-8_3
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