What Are Men Doing While Women Perform Extra Unpaid Labor? Leisure and Specialization at the Transition to Parenthood

Resident Physician Intentions Regarding Unionization

Importance

Resident physicians provide frontline care to approximately 70% of hospitalized patients. After decades of relative stability with a small minority of resident physicians unionized, unionization movements have succeeded in recent years at multiple major academic medical centers.

Objective

To evaluate resident physicians' unionization intention and the factors informing their unionization consideration at their institution.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This nationwide survey study was conducted in May 2023 among a cohort of resident physicians, which was established over the course of 3 academic years (2020-2023). Resident physicians were invited to participate in an end-of-study survey on contemporary topics, which included questions on unionization.

Exposure

Consideration of unionization by resident physicians.

Main Outcomes and Measures

The main outcomes were the presence of a union at the institution for physicians in training, the presence of a movement to unionize, whether the resident physician would vote to unionize, and the factors most important in considering unionization. All measures were self-reported.

Results

A total of 1235 participants (mean [SD] age, 28.8 [3.6] years; 737 of 1224 females [60%]; 791 of 1086 (73%) in their first postgraduate year) responded to survey questions regarding unionization. Twenty percent of participants (n = 249) reported that physicians in training belonged to a union at their institution. Among the 986 nonunionized resident physicians, 63% (625) reported they would vote to unionize, whereas less than 10% (96) would not vote to unionize. Pay and work hours were the most commonly cited factors in considering unionization (88% [1081 of 1235 participants] and 76% [941 of 1235 participants], respectively).

Conclusions and Relevance

In this survey study, most resident physicians (>70%) reported either being in a union or supporting unionization at their institution, citing pay and financial security as critical factors in their consideration of unionization. Future research should investigate other factors and whether unionization achieves its goals of increased pay and benefits, work hours, and well-being.

Lost opportunities: How gendered arrangements harm men

Traditional gendered arrangements-norms, roles, prejudices, and hierarchies-shape every human life. Associated harms are primarily framed as women's issues due to more severe consequences women face. Yet, gendered arrangements also shape men's relationships, career paths, and health. Current work on gender equity overlooks men's perspectives. Despite benefits they gain from out-ranking women, men's position paradoxically entraps them in restrictive roles, compelling them to prioritize dominance. An inclusive framework challenges prevailing narratives by considering personal costs borne by men. Identifying with a man's traditional role is a mixed privilege, as five gendered arrangements show for men who subscribe to them: 1. Masculine norms can restrict men's choices and are associated with adverse health trajectories; 2. Some men's disengagement from communal roles denies them positive outcomes associated with caring for others; 3. Hostile sexism fosters antipathy, fueling tension in some men's interactions with women; 4. Benevolent sexism forces some men into scripted interactions, preventing genuine connections and burdening them with unrealistic breadwinner and protector roles; 5. Societal shifts in gender hierarchies can elicit threat responses in men, depending on intersections with social class and racial identities. Understanding costs to men calls for more empirical research. Gender equity for men, whose circumstances differ from those of women, would enable men to make informed choices and achieve better outcomes for themselves-paralleling the progress women have made in many areas of life. Striving for equity for all genders can ultimately enhance overall human well-being.

Cognitive household labor: gender disparities and consequences for maternal mental health and wellbeing

PURPOSE

Although the division of unpaid household labor has been studied as a driver of global gender inequity, the cognitive dimension of household labor-planning, anticipating, and delegating household tasks-has received less empirical investigation. Cognitive household labor represents a form of invisible and often unacknowledged domestic work that has been challenging to measure.

METHODS

Within 322 mothers of young children, we assessed the division of both cognitive ("planning") and physical ("execution") household labor within 30 common household tasks using a self-report measure.

RESULTS

We found that while mothers did more of the overall domestic labor than their partners, the division of cognitive labor was particularly gendered, such that women's share of cognitive labor was more disproportionate than physical household labor. We found that cognitive labor was associated with women's depression, stress, burnout, overall mental health, and relationship functioning.

CONCLUSIONS

This study is one of the first to investigate cognitive labor quantitatively, and the first to investigate cognitive and physical dimensions within the same household tasks. Understanding how cognitive labor affects mothers' mental wellbeing has important implications for both practice and policy.

Patient and parent knowledge, understanding, and concerns after a new diagnosis of Ehlers Danlos syndrome

INTRODUCTION

After diagnosis of Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), it is unclear what information patients and parents need and understand about EDS. The objective of this study is to characterize patient and parent knowledge and concerns about EDS after a diagnosis of EDS is made to determine patient and parent concerns and identify barriers that cause discomfort with the diagnosis.6 METHODS: A convenience sample of patient and parent dyads were recruited after new diagnosis of EDS. Patients and parents completed questionnaires that assessed knowledge, comfort, and barriers of EDS before and after diagnosis, EDS education materials accessed, and additional clinical needs and concerns.

RESULTS

Seventy-two dyads completed the survey.

CONCLUSION

Many respondents actively seek information on the diagnosis and management of EDS. Parents and patients look for information about EDS differently. Parents have more concerns after diagnosis and both want well-constructed, empirically supported educational materials delivered via multiple modalities, which makes clinical guidelines more essential.

Gender, Work, and Leisure in Old Age in China and India

This paper examines how paid and unpaid work affects leisure differently for older women and men in China and India. We use data from the World Health Organization's Study on Global Aging and Health. We find that urban China, with higher levels of public welfare and gender equality, represents the best scenario for older adults' leisure life in developing countries. Although urban Chinese women are disadvantaged relative to urban Chinese men, they still enjoy longer hours of leisure and relaxing leisure than both men and women in rural China, urban India and rural India. Furthermore, the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition results show gender disparities in unpaid housework to be the primary driver of gender inequalities in leisure in all societies, albeit to varying degrees. These findings highlight the role of public welfare, gender equality, and the gendered consequences of the family support model in shaping older adults' leisure life.

Adjusting Parenting Roles and Work Expectations among Women with Children during COVID-19

This study explores mothers' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic with a focus on stressors, parenting roles, and work expectations. Qualitative analysis of open-ended interviews with a diverse group of 44 mothers in the United States generated two main themes: adjusting parenting roles and career concerns for mothers. Findings reveal that mothers have both internalized strong intra-family expectations to shoulder the primary responsibility for domestic labor and childcare in addition to completing their work obligations and experience institutional gender bias in the expectations that employers have for female employees. The interviews highlight lower expectations for fathers' contributions to parenting under pandemic conditions. Implications for research and policy are discussed with a particular focus on critiquing structures that may perpetuate gender disparities.

Physical health caregiver, mental wellness supporter, and overall well-being advocate: Women's roles towards animal welfare during the COVID-19 emergency response

Women's health-specific contributions in emergency response stages pertain primarily to family and community-based rescue and support-focused roles. As disasters affect both human beings and their animal co-inhabitants, comprehensive literature exploring women's contributions towards companion animal welfare in emergency response settings remains sparse. COVID-19-triggered public health mitigation strategies caused diverse challenges relating to veterinary medical service access, thus establishing a platform for a nuanced exploration of gendered roles vis-a-vis animal health and well-being during the initial COVID-19 emergency response period. This project employs a semi-structured interview approach to qualitatively investigate the roles, responsibilities, and experiences of twelve people, eleven of whom self-identify as women, who cared for animal co-inhabitants while seeking veterinary medical services during the COVID-19 emergency response in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This research identifies three primary animal welfare-related roles that woman companion animal guardians (WCAGs) assumed during the COVID-19 emergency response period: 1) Companion animal physical health caregiver, spanning from nuclear to extended families and into the community; 2) Companion animal mental wellness supporter, associated with human-animal interactions in family/household, community, and veterinary clinic settings; 3) Companion animal holistic well-being advocate, utilizing various strategies at family, community, and societal levels. Understanding gender-specific animal welfare contributions in an emergency response setting narrows knowledge gaps and provides WCAGs and animal welfare-related public, private, and not-for-profit sectors with evidence-based strategies for emergency response planning improvements, supporting healthy and sustainable human-animal bonds in the current COVID-19 pandemic and future extreme events.

Gender differences in mental health following the transition into parenthood: Longitudinal evidence from the UK

Previous studies have largely omitted a dynamic analysis of how the transition into parenthood shapes gender differences in mental health trajectories. This study adopts a life course approach to examine how transitioning into parenthood affects men's and women's mental health across multiple domains over time, using large-scale panel data from the 'UK Household Longitudinal Study' (2009-2020). Results from fixed effects models with discrete-time trends show that: (1) women's mental health is more largely affected by parenthood than men's; (2) women's overall mental health shows stable improvements following childbirth, while men's shows mostly insignificant changes; (3) role and social functioning are largely improved among women following childbirth, but only marginally among men; (4) emotional functioning and vitality demonstrate the counteracting effects of parenthood for both genders, with increases in feeling happy but a deterioration in feeling calm and having energy, particularly during care-intensive years; (5) women show larger variations by socioeconomic characteristics than men, with women from higher socioeconomic backgrounds and working full-time experiencing smaller mental health benefits from parenthood compared to less privileged women or having lower paid work constraints. Overall, transitioning to parenthood leads to distinct changes in mental health domains with heterogeneous effects across genders and socioeconomic groups.

"Husbands Are Pregnant, Too": Caring Masculinities in Pregnancy Books for Men

This article studies pregnancy books that are written largely by men for men and that account for men's roles in pregnancy. Drawing on an analysis of the texts themselves, this study shows recurring themes across these books, which include: Expecting, too! which frames men as having a role in pregnancy beyond fertilization; fatherhood as a rite of passage; Unlike our dads, in which men are taught to be different from their fathers recognizing that expectations of fathers have changed; and, expectations of expectant fathers, namely, how men are to be caring partners. This article explores how these books frame masculinity and the roles men play in pregnancy. This article thus shows how these books contribute to a growing body of scholarship interested in "caring masculinities."

Father Involvement and Maternal Stress: The Mediating Role of Coparenting

In recent years mothers have been finding themselves overwhelmed by the need to balance work and maternal duties. Father involvement in childcare has been related to a decrease in mother's burden in childcare. This association is influenced by multiple aspects, such as the way parents share parenting perspectives and views about child rearing, i.e., coparenting. Nevertheless, the mediating role of coparenting on the association between father involvement and maternal stress has been overlooked. This will be addressed by the current study. A total of 254 Portuguese married/cohabiting mothers of preschool children reported on maternal stress, father involvement in caregiving, and coparenting. Data was collected in public and private schools through questionnaires and online through advertisements in social media. Results show that greater father involvement in direct care was associated with greater maternal stress, but this direction changes when mediated by cooperative coparenting. Moreover, results suggest that when mothers perceived less conflict in coparenting, greater father (in)direct care contributed to decreased maternal stress. The current study supports the notion that fathers involvement and parent's cooperation account to mothers' wellbeing, which will improve family dynamics.

A Longitudinal Dyadic Study of Six Leisure Activities in Swedish Couples During the Transition to Parenthood

Parents are not only caregivers to their children; they also have leisure routines that can impact their own well-being. However, little is known about how leisure activities change within the context of a couple during the transition to parenthood. This study uses latent growth curve models and data from the Swedish Pregnancy Panel to examine how often 918 first-time, heterosexual couples participated in six leisure activities from around pregnancy week 19 to one year postpartum. Compared to fathers, mothers less frequently exercised and listened to news, and more frequently read newspapers, spent time for themselves, and spent time with friends. Over time, mothers increased their frequency of praying to God and decreased spending time for themselves and with friends. Fathers decreased frequency of exercise. Within couples, there was a positive correlation between mothers' and fathers' frequency of engaging in leisure activities, although most changes over time were not associated. Our finding that two individuals within a couple may change their leisure activities independently of each other during the transition to parenthood can help healthcare professionals and researchers prepare expectant couples for upcoming changes (or lack thereof) and promote parent well-being. Our findings also highlight the possibility that in contexts with more state support for families, parenthood may not exacerbate gender gaps in leisure.

Gendered Impact of Caregiving Responsibilities on Tenure Track Faculty Parents’ Professional Lives

Navigating a career while raising a family can be challenging, especially for women in academia. In this study, we examine the ways in which professional life interruptions due to child caregiving (e.g., opportunities not offered, professional travel curtailed) affect pre- and post-tenure faculty members’ career satisfaction and retention. We also examine whether sharing caregiving responsibilities with a partner affected faculty members’ (particularly women’s) career outcomes. In a sample of 753 tenure track faculty parents employed at a large research-intensive university, results showed that as the number of professional life interruptions due to caregiving increased, faculty members experienced less career satisfaction and greater desire to leave their job. Pre-tenure women’s, but not pre-tenure men’s, career satisfaction and intention to stay were negatively affected when they experienced at least one professional life interference. Pre-tenure men’s desire to stay in their job and career satisfaction remained high, regardless of the number of professional life interferences they experienced. Sharing parenting responsibilities with a partner did not buffer the demands of caregiving on pre-tenure women’s career outcomes. Our work highlights the need to consider the varied ways in which caregiving affects faculty members’ careers, beyond markers such as publications, and how institutions can support early career stage women with family-friendly practices.

Day-level associations of physical activity and sedentary time in mother-child dyads across three years: a multi-wave longitudinal study using accelerometers

Understanding associations between mothers' and children's physical activity and sedentary behavior on more fine-grained timescales can provide insights into real-time intervention opportunities. This study examined the extent to which mothers' and their children's device-measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time (SDT) were associated at the day level during non-school time. Mother-child dyads (N = 193; baseline Mean ages = 40.69 ± 6.11 [mother] and 9.57 ± 0.89 [child] years) provided 3,135 paired days of accelerometry data from six bi-annual waves across three years. Controlling for covariates, multilevel models revealed that mothers' and their children's MVPA and SDT were positively associated at the day level during non-school time, both on weekdays and weekends. During weekdays, the day-level association for SDT was stronger for older than younger children, and the day-level association for MVPA was stronger for boys than girls. Designing family-based interventions targeting school-age children and their mothers during non-school time across the week may be useful for promoting active lifestyles.

Where Sex Meets Gender: How Sex and Gender Come Together to Cause Sex Differences in Mental Illness

Sex differences are prevalent in multiple mental disorders. Internalizing disorders are more commonly diagnosed in women, whereas externalizing and neurodevelopmental disorders are more often diagnosed in men. Significant sex/gender differences are reported in prevalence, symptom profile, age of onset, comorbidities, functional impairment, prognosis, as well as in responses to various treatments. In this conceptual article, we discuss theories and empirical studies of sex- and gender-related influences in mental health, by focusing on three examples: autism spectrum disorder (ASD), acknowledged as a disorder whose roots are mainly biological; eating disorders, whose origins are considered to be mainly psychosocial, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), an environmentally caused disorder with both psychosocial and biological underpinnings. We examine the ways in which sex differences emerge, from conception through adulthood. We also examine how gender dichotomies in exposures, expectations, role assumptions, and cultural traditions impact the expression of our three selected mental illnesses. We are especially interested in how sex-based influences and gender-based influences interact with one another to affect mental illness. We suggest that sex and gender are multi-faceted and complex phenomena that result in variations, not only between men and women, but also within each sex and gender through alterations in genes, hormone levels, self-perceptions, trauma experiences, and interpersonal relationships. Finally, we propose a conceptual diatheses-stress model, depicting how sex and gender come together to result in multiple sex/gender differences across mental disorders. In our model, we categorize diatheses into several categories: biological, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and environmental. These diatheses interact with exposure to stressors, ranging from relatively minor to traumatic, which allows for the sometimes bidirectional influences of acute and long-term stress responses. Sex and gender are discussed at every level of the model, thereby providing a framework for understanding and predicting sex/gender differences in expression, prevalence and treatment response of mental disorders. We encourage more research into this important field of study.

"Thank U, Next"? Repartnering and the Household Division of Labor

Objective

Drawing on life course and gender theories, this study tests competing hypotheses about the effect of repartnering on women's and men's levels and shares of housework.

Background

Amidst increasing cohabitation rates and union instability, women and men are likely to form and dissolve multiple marital and non-marital unions with different partners over the life course. However, most of our knowledge about the role of past relationships are based on cross-sectional studies comparing first- and higher-order union. This study investigates whether people change their housework arrangements upon repartnering and whether women and men experience similar patterns of change in heterosexual relationships.

Method

The analysis draws on 40 years of longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and a sample of 1,897 women and men who were observed in two sequential heterosexual unions. The author used fixed-effects models to estimate change in housework behavior upon repartnering.

Results

Overall, the results show stability in housework behavior upon repartnering once controlling for other life course changes that concur with repartnering. Women continued doing the majority of housework upon repartnering.

Conclusion

The results suggest that forming a new heterosexual union evokes gender scripts which overall maintains the gendered housework behavior. Although housework is dynamic over the life course, the gender dynamics that shape housework is stable amid union instability.

Mothering in a Pandemic: Navigating Care Work, Intensive Motherhood, and COVID-19

Even before COVID-19, women around the world performed more unpaid domestic labor, specifically unpaid care labor, than men. COVID-19 has only exacerbated the gender gap in this domestic labor. For Western women, especially mothers in the United States of America, the normative discourse of intensive motherhood and the gendered pressure inherent in the unrealistic standards set by the discourse have only increased the amount of unpaid domestic and care labor required of mothers. Using qualitative, in-depth interviews with 18 mothers during May-June 2020, this study examines privileged mothers' perceptions of what they did well in parenting both before and during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mothers' pragmatic adaptations during the pandemic posed challenges to the norms of intensive motherhood, as did emergent ideas about integrative mothering articulated before the pandemic's onset. We find that while COVID-19 has increased expectations on mothers, it has also provided a turning point wherein expectations can be changed, as the participants suggested. Implications for intensive motherhood scholars, mothers, and communication researchers are discussed, along with future research.

Gender differences in the relationships between housework and metabolic markers: a longitudinal cohort study in China

Background

Metabolic syndrome has become a major health threat throughout the world, but there are few studies that focus on the effects of housework on human metabolism. This study explores the association between housework and metabolic markers and examines whether there are gender differences in the relationship of housework intensity on these markers.

Methods

We obtained data for 2,624 participants from the China Health and Nutrition Survey and used binary logistic regression to analyze the association between housework and metabolic markers (triglycerides, high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, hemoglobin, blood glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure).

Results

We observed no association between housework and metabolic markers for men. However, we find that women who engaged in housework had a higher risk of triglycerides than those who did not (OR=1.16, 95% CI: 1.16, 4.25). Compared with low-intensity, we also find that women who performed moderate- and high-housework intensity had a higher risk of triglycerides (moderate-intensity: OR=1.78, 95% CI: 1.14, 2.78; high-intensity: OR=1.91, 95% CI: 1.22, 2.98), MetS (OR=1.54, 95% CI: 0.98, 2.43; OR=1.68, 95% CI: 1.07, 2.66), pre-hypertension (OR=1.68, 95% CI: 1.08, 2.62; OR=1.63, 95% CI: 1.04, 2.55), and obesity (OR=1.65, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.70; OR=1.66, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.72).

Conclusion

In women, we find that housework is positively associated with the metabolic markers, triglycerides, MetS, and pre-hypertension. However, we did not find evidence that this relationship exists in men, f or any biomarkers we considered. One possible explanation is that people who engage in high-intensity housework are more stressed and sleep less, which could be a mechanism by which housework becomes associated with metabolic disease.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-022-12566-6.

Longitudinal Associations between Depressive Symptoms and Postpartum Sexual Concerns Among First-time Parent Couples

Most first-time parents experience novel concerns about their sexuality such as worries about the effects of labor and delivery on their sex lives. The link between postpartum depressive symptoms and problems with sexual function is bidirectional; however, associations with postpartum sexual concerns (i.e., worries about one's sexuality that are not necessarily related to sexual function) have not been examined. First-time parent couples (N = 99) completed measures assessing their postpartum sexual concerns and depressive symptoms at 3, 6, and 12 months postpartum. Dyadic latent growth curve modeling revealed that mothers' and partners' initial frequencies of postpartum sexual concerns were positively associated, with significant declines in the frequency of these concerns over time for both partners. Mothers' and partners' initial depressive symptoms were also positively associated; however, mothers' depressive symptoms did not change over time whereas partner's depressive symptoms worsened. Mothers' and partners' higher initial depressive symptoms were associated with partners' higher frequency of postpartum sexual concerns. Mothers' depressive symptoms at 3 months postpartum and the degree to which these symptoms changed over time were associated with a steeper decline in partners' postpartum sexual concerns over time. Results provide preliminary support for depressive symptoms as a risk factor for partners' postpartum sexual concerns.

Dependents as Signals of Mate Value: Long-term Mating Strategy Predicts Displays on Online Dating Profiles for Men

Sexual strategies theory indicates women prefer mates who show the ability and willingness to invest in a long-term mate due to asymmetries in obligate parental care of children. Consequently, women's potential mates must show they can provide investment - especially when women are seeking a long-term mate. Investment may be exhibited through financial and social status, and the ability to care for a mate and any resulting offspring. Men who care for children and pets (hereafter "dependents") are perceived as high-quality mates, given that dependents signal an ability to invest; however, no studies have examined how dependents are associated with short-term and long-term mating strategies. Here, online dating profiles were used to test the predictions that an interactive effect between sex and mating strategy will predict displays of dependents, with long-term mating strategy predicting for men but not women. Moreover, this pattern should hold for all dependent types and, due to relative asymmetries in required investment, differences will be strongest regarding displays of children and least in non-canine pets. As expected, men seeking long-term mates displayed dependents more than men seeking short-term mates, but both men and women seeking long-term mates displayed dependents similarly. This pattern was driven mostly by canines. These findings indicate that men adopting a long-term mating strategy display their investment capabilities more compared to those seeking short-term mates, which may be used to signal their mate value.

All Work and No Play: Indigenous Women "Pulling the Weight" in Home Life

The invisible labor of household management, including child care, housework, and financial responsibilities, is a contemporary form of historical oppression adding strain and contributing to mothers' role overload, depression, distress, and health impairments. The purpose of this article is to use the Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, and Transcendence to understand the experiences of gender dynamics in home life responsibilities among two Southeastern tribes. Reconstructive analysis from a critical ethnography with 436 participants revealed the following themes: (1) moms "mostly pulling the weight"; (2) women and child care: "We do it all," and men-"If they're there, they're there"; (3) financial imbalances; and (4) women's resilience and resistance. Despite experiencing the resilience of gender egalitarianism prior to colonization, women persistently experience the effects of the historical oppression of patriarchal colonialism through being overburdened and undervalued in home life. Decolonization is needed to re-establish gender egalitarianism to redress this patriarchal oppression.

Is strain due to household and family work associated with a subjective need for rehabilitation among employees? A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The gender-specific unequal distribution of paid employment and unpaid household and family work may entail specific implications for women's and men's health and work ability. Medical rehabilitation is provided to maintain or restore work ability and to prevent disability pensioning. However, more than half of the employees who receive disability pension have not utilized any pre-retirement rehabilitation services. The study was conducted to examine associations between strain due to unpaid work and the subjective need for rehabilitation among employees with an increased risk of early retirement due to adverse health conditions.

METHODS

Cross-sectional data from the "Third German Sociomedical Panel of Employees" (GSPE-III) were analysed. The sample comprises 1,908 German employees aged between 42 and 56 years. Logistic regression analyses were conducted separately for women and men to explore the association between the strain level and the subjective need for rehabilitation.

RESULTS

Overall, women reported a higher strain level compared to men. Strain due to housework was not associated with the subjective need for rehabilitation in men and women. However, after adjustment for socio-demographic, work- and health-related characteristics the odds for a subjective need for rehabilitation were three times higher for women (OR=2.9, p <0.001) and two times higher for men (OR=2.0, p=0.027) with a high level of strain due to family work compared to persons with a low strain level.

DISCUSSION

This study analysed the strain of unpaid work in the context of the utilization of medical rehabilitation services. Although women report a gender-specific higher strain due to unpaid work, a high strain level due to family work seems to be an additional and independent factor influencing the subjective need for rehabilitation for both genders equally.

CONCLUSION

To prevent disability pensioning, more consideration should be given to the strain factors associated with unpaid family work when designing and organising interventions to promote access to medical rehabilitation services.

The COMET study: Examining the effects of COVID-19-related perceived stress on Los Angeles Mothers' dysregulated eating behaviors, child feeding practices, and body mass index

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions and mandates have had pronounced implications on the well-being of individuals. This study conducted exploratory analyses of the relationship between COVID-19-related life changes and COVID-19-related perceived stress and associations between COVID-19-related perceived stress and dysregulated maternal eating behaviors, child feeding practices, and body mass index (BMI) in Los Angeles mothers. Mothers (M_age = 37.6 ± 6.9) of children aged 5-11 (N = 197, response rate 92.5%) completed an online questionnaire assessing COVID-19-related life changes, COVID-19-related perceived stress, mechanisms used to cope with COVID-19, child feeding practices, their own eating behavior, demographics, and height and weight. The highest proportion of participants reported changes to work, disruptions due to childcare challenges, and increased home responsibilities. Higher COVID-19-related perceived stress was experienced by those who reported loss of work hours (29%), loss of job (15.2%), reduced ability to afford childcare (18.8%), and reduced ability to afford rent/mortgage (19.8%) (ps < 0.05) than those who did not. The most common strategy that mothers indicated using to cope with COVID-19 related stress was eating comfort foods (e.g., candy and chips) (58.7%). COVID-19-related perceived stress was positively associated with mother's BMI and emotional eating (ps < 0.05). Rewarding their child's eating and behavior with food were both positively associated with the number of COVID-19 related life changes (ps < 0.05). This study yields new knowledge of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mothers' dysregulated eating behaviors and child feeding practices. The results highlight the importance of conducting further research to confirm these findings and understand the nature of associations between COVID-19-related perceived stress and health. This is crucial in order to explore ways in which lasting impacts of the pandemic on mental and physical health can be prevented.

Time and Emotion During Lockdown and the Covid-19 Epidemic: Determinants of Our Experience of Time?

To fight against the spread of the coronavirus disease, more than 3 billion people in the world have been confined indoors. Although lockdown is an efficient solution, it has had various psychological consequences that have not yet been fully measured. During the lockdown period in France (April 2020), we conducted two surveys on two large panels of participants to examine how the lockdown disrupted their relationship with time and what this change in their experiences of time means. Numerous questions were asked about the experience of time but also the nature of life during the lockdown: the emotions felt, boredom, the activities performed, sleep quality, and the daily rhythm. The participants also completed a series of self-reported scales used to assess depression, anxiety, and impulsivity. The results showed that time seemed to pass more slowly during the lockdown compared to before. This feeling of a slowing down of time has little to do with living conditions during the lockdown and individual psychological characteristics. The main predictor of this time experience was boredom and partly mediated by the lack of activity. The feeling of being less happy and the presence of sleep disturbance also explained this specific experience of time albeit to a lesser extent.

Profiles of Depressive Symptoms and Anger in Men: Associations With Postpartum Family Functioning

Background: Evidence suggests that men commonly experience depression as feelings of anger; yet, research has not investigated what this means for the manifestation of depressive symptoms in the early years of fatherhood and for key indicators of family functioning. Methods: Using data from a longitudinal cohort study of men at the normative age for entering fatherhood (28-32 years), we conducted latent class analyses to identify patterns of depressive symptoms and 3 sub-types of state anger (feeling; verbal; physical). We then assessed whether class membership was associated with paternity status (n = 535). In a subsample of fathers of infants aged up to 18 months (n = 162), we prospectively assessed associations with paternal-infant bonding, co-parenting, perceived social support, paternal involvement in childcare and alcohol use up to 2 years later. Results: Five classes emerged that differentiated men by anger and depressive symptom severity and by the degree to which men endorsed the feeling of wanting to express anger physically. Compared to the reference class with minimal symptoms, fathers had a higher probability of being in either the mild or most severe symptom classes. Men in symptomatic classes were at higher risk of lower levels of social support, co-parenting problems, and paternal-infant bonds. Class membership was not associated with alcohol use or paternal involvement in childcare. Conclusions: Our results reveal patterns of co-existing symptoms of depression and anger in fathers of infants that will be relevant to men's own need for support, their family safety, partner mental health and child developmental outcomes.

Vitamin D and Calcium Milk Fortification in Pregnant Women with Periodontitis: A Feasibility Trial

This study aims to assess the acceptability, adherence, and retention of a feasibility trial on milk fortification with calcium and vitamin D (Ca+VitD) and periodontal therapy (PT) among low income Brazilian pregnant women with periodontitis (IMPROVE trial). This 2 × 2 factorial feasibility trial used a mixed-methods evaluation. In total, 69 pregnant women were randomly allocated to four groups: 1. fortified sachet with Ca+VitD and milk plus early PT (throughout gestation); 2. placebo and milk plus early PT; 3. fortified sachet with Ca+VitD and milk plus late PT after childbirth; 4. placebo and milk plus late PT. Data were collected via questionnaires, field notes, participant flow logs, treatment diary, and focal group discussions. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using appropriate descriptive statistics and content analysis, respectively. Eligibility rate (12%) was below the target of 15%, but participation (76.1%) and recruitment rate (2 women/week) exceeded the targets. Retention rate (78.6%) was slightly below the target (80%). Adherence to the PT was significantly higher in the early treatment groups (98.8%) compared to the late treatment groups (29%). All women accepted the random allocation, and baseline groups were balanced. There was no report of adverse events. This multi-component intervention is acceptable, well-tolerated, and feasible among low-risk pregnant women in Brazil.

Maternal and paternal confidence in vaccine safety: Whose attitudes are predictive of children's vaccination?

Relatively little is known about the differential impact of maternal and paternal perceptions of vaccine safety on children's vaccination status in New Zealand. Using a sample of 68 couples from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (NZAVS), the present study investigated the distinct influence of mothers' and fathers' confidence in the safety of childhood vaccinations following the national immunisation schedule on their reports of children's vaccination status. Actor-Partner Interdependence Modelling revealed that mothers', but not fathers', vaccine confidence predicted children's vaccination status, regardless of who reported their children's vaccination status. Higher maternal vaccine confidence increased the likelihood of child full vaccination status, but paternal vaccine confidence showed no unique significant effects. As women tend to express lower vaccine confidence than men, it is imperative to further investigate the key drivers of their low confidence and develop target interventions accordingly. Encouraging fathers' involvement in the vaccination decision-making process may also be beneficial in increasing the likelihood of childhood vaccination uptake.

A Comparison of the Sexual Well-Being of New Parents With Community Couples

BACKGROUND

Changes in sexual well-being are common for new mothers and their partners after the birth of a baby. However, most research has sampled mothers not couples, assessed only one aspect of sexual well-being, and has not included a control sample of couples.

AIM

This study aimed to compare the sexual well-being (ie, sexual frequency, sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, sexual distress) of first-time mothers and their partners in the transition to parenthood (first 12-month postpartum) to community couples who are not actively in this transition. We also compared the sexual well-being within couples (eg, mothers to their partners).

METHODS

Couples in the transition to parenthood (n = 99) completed measures of sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, sexual distress, and sexual frequency at 3, 6, and 12 months postpartum, and community couples (n = 104) completed the measures at a single time point.

OUTCOMES

Measures included the following: (i) Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction Scale; (ii) Female Sexual Function Index and International Index of Erectile Function sexual desire subscale; (iii) Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised; and (iv) checklist of sexual behaviors.

RESULTS

Compared with community controls, new parents reported lower sexual satisfaction, lower sexual desire, and higher sexual distress at all time-points; however, these group differences became less pronounced by 12 months postpartum. By 6 months postpartum, there was no difference in sexual frequency between postpartum couples and the control group. Mothers experienced persistently lower sexual desire relative to their partners throughout the 12 months postpartum. Between 39% and 59% of mothers reported clinically low sexual desire, and 47-57% reported significant sexual distress at all time points. There were no significant differences reported in sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, or sexual distress between women and their partners in the community sample.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Clinicians should be aware that sexual well-being may be compromised in new parents, and some of these challenges are still present for new parents at 12 months postpartum. Findings can be used to educate new parents regarding their expectations about postpartum sexual well-being.

STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS

The strengths of the present study are the dyadic approach, assessing multiple aspects of sexual well-being in new parents over time, and the comparison with a community sample. An important limitation is that the control sample was not followed up over time.

CONCLUSION

Education regarding postpartum sexual well-being should be incorporated in routine perinatal and postnatal healthcare practices to support new parents in developing realistic expectations about changes during the transition to parenthood, potentially preventing undue distress. Schwenck GC, Dawson SJ, Muise A, et al. A Comparison of the Sexual Well-Being of New Parents With Community Couples. J Sex Med 2020;17:2156-2167.

Conducting eating disorders research in the time of COVID-19: A survey of researchers in the field

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted research around the globe and required shuttering of research programs and the implementation of procedural adjustments to ensure safety. This study sought to document COVID-19's impact on eating disorders (ED) research, which may be particularly susceptible to such disruptions, given its focus on individuals who are physically and emotionally vulnerable. We invited ED researchers from editorial boards and scientific organizations to complete a quantitative/qualitative survey about: COVID-19's current and future impact on ED research; areas of concern about research disruptions; and effective strategies for conducting and supporting research during and after COVID-19. Among 187 participants, many had moved studies online and/or shutdown part of their research. Across position types (permanent, 52.7%; temporary, 47.3%), participants reported high concern about data collection, recruitment, and securing future funding. Those holding temporary positions reported significantly greater concern about COVID-19's impact on their career and greater stress than participants in permanent positions. Strategies for dealing with research disruptions included: employing technology; reprioritizing goals/tasks; and encouraging collaboration. Results underscore the high levels of stress and disruption caused by COVID-19. We echo calls by our respondents for support for early career scholars and advocacy for additional resources for research and scientists.

Onward and Upward? An Empirical Investigation of Gender and Promotions in Information Technology Services

Is there a gender bias in promotions at information technology (IT) companies? Do women get an equal lift in their promotion prospects from performance improvements, work experience, and training as men? These are pertinent and important questions affecting today’s IT human capital. We analyze data from a leading IT services firm using robust econometric techniques to suggest that, contrary to expectations, women are more likely to be promoted. Although we do not find any evidence of overt discrimination, our findings, however, are far more nuanced and imply that there may be covert discrimination against women in IT when it comes to promotions: compared with men, women realize less benefit from performance gains than men, less benefit from tenure within the focal firm, but more benefit from training. Although our analysis is limited to the lower rungs of the organizational hierarchy, we propose several actionable managerial and policy insights that can potentially make IT firms more inclusive and attractive to women: more parity in the effect of performance improvements and work experience on promotions and using training as a signaling mechanism that can identify and encourage stellar women as they navigate the promotional ladder in IT firms.

Mother-child dyadic influences of affect on everyday movement behaviors: evidence from an ecological momentary assessment study

BACKGROUND

Research has shown that affect is associated with everyday movement behaviors in children and adults. However, limited work to date has investigated dyadic influences of momentary affect on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and sedentary time among children and their mothers using ecological momentary assessment (EMA).

METHODS

Mothers and their children (eight to 12-years-old at baseline) from the Los Angeles metropolitan area participated in a longitudinal study with six semi-annual measurement waves across three years. During each measurement wave, mothers and children reported momentary negative and positive affect via a custom smartphone-based EMA application across seven days (randomly sampled up to eight times per day). Each dyad member's momentary affective states were used to predict their own and the other dyad member's accelerometer-measured MVPA and sedentary time in the prompt-matched 45-min time window. Multilevel modeling within the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) framework was applied to accommodate the nested dyadic nature of the data.

RESULTS

At the within-subject level, when children had higher-than-usual positive affect, they engaged in greater MVPA and less sedentary time in the prompt-matched 45-min window (actor effects; ps < .001). When mothers experienced higher-than-usual positive affect, they engaged in more sedentary time in the same 45-min window (actor effect; p < .001). Children's higher-than-usual positive affect also predicted more MVPA time of their mothers (partner effect; p < .05). At the between-subjects level, for mothers who reported higher average negative affect than other mothers, their children overall had less MVPA and more sedentary time (partner effects ps < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

This study extends the literature by demonstrating that mothers' and children's everyday physical activity and sedentary time are not only associated with their own affective states, but also may be influenced by the affective states of each other. Our findings suggest that affective states have the potential to influence movement behaviors in mother-child dyads' everyday lives. Affective underpinnings of physical activity and sedentary behaviors should be further studied in order to develop family-based intervention strategies to influence these behaviors.

Association of Psychosocial Factors With Risk of Chronic Diseases: A Nationwide Longitudinal Study

INTRODUCTION

This study examines the prospective association between a range of psychosocial factors and common noncommunicable diseases.

METHODS

In October 2018, nationally representative data were analyzed from 11,637 adults followed annually between 2003 and 2013. Participants reported on psychosocial factors they experienced in the 12 months preceding each wave. The onset of noncommunicable diseases was defined based on self-reported physician's diagnosis. Generalized estimating equations estimated the ORs and 95% CIs of psychosocial factors on noncommunicable diseases, controlling for other confounders.

RESULTS

Social support index was inversely associated with the onset of anxiety or depression in men (OR=0.95, 95% CI=0.93, 0.98) and women (OR=0.96, 95% CI=0.95, 0.98) and with emphysema in women (OR=0.96, 95% CI=0.93, 0.99). Psychological distress was positively associated with the onset of heart diseases (OR=2.38, 95% CI=1.16, 4.89 for men; OR=2.30, 95% CI=1.10, 4.78 for women), emphysema (OR=1.11, 95% CI=1.03, 1.20 for men; OR=1.08, 95% CI=1.04, 1.12 for women), and circulatory diseases (OR=1.04, 95% CI=1.02, 1.08 for women). Financial stress increased the onset of anxiety or depression (OR=1.36, 95% CI=1.26, 1.63 for men; OR=1.30, 95% CI=1.10, 1.52 for women) and type 2 diabetes in women (OR=1.60, 95% CI=1.18, 2.18). Significant associations of parenting stress and the likelihood of the onset of anxiety or depression were only evident in women.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that several adverse psychosocial risk factors are independently associated with the onset of noncommunicable diseases.

A bi-directional association between weight change and health-related quality of life: evidence from the 11-year follow-up of 9916 community-dwelling adults

PURPOSE

To examine the prospective associations between body mass index (BMI) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

METHODS

Data were extracted from a longitudinal, nationally representative sample of 9916 men and women aged 18 years and over who were followed annually between 2006 and 2016 in the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. HRQoL was assessed using the self-administered SF-36 questionnaire annually between 2006 (baseline) and 2016. BMI was calculated from self-reported height and weight and was classified into the following four categories of baseline BMI: underweight (< 18.5 kg/m²), normal weight (18.5-24.9 kg/m²), overweight (25-29.9 kg/m²) and obese (≥ 30 kg/m²). We used linear mixed-effects regression models to investigate the associations between change in BMI (kg/m²) and concurrent changes in HRQoL scores over 11 years.

RESULTS

BMI gain was associated with deterioration of Physical Component Summary (PCS) (P < 0.001), but not with change in Mental component summary (MCS) over the 11-year period. BMI gain was inversely associated (P < 0.001) with five of the eight HRQoL domains (physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, general health and vitality) with a significant graded association according to baseline BMI category. Over the 11-year study period, every unit increase in PCS was associated with a decrease of 0.02 (P < 0.001), 0.03 (P < 0.001) and 0.04 (P < 0.001) BMI units per year among participants who were normal, overweight and obese at baseline, respectively. Five of the eight domains of HRQoL (physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, general health and vitality) were inversely associated with BMI (P < 0.001) with a significant graded association according to baseline BMI category.

CONCLUSIONS

Weight gain was not only associated with deterioration of HRQoL, and vice versa. The bi-directional association was stronger for physical than mental domains of HRQoL.

Advancing Research and Measurement on Fathering and Child Development

Fathers are more than social accidents. Research has demonstrated that fathers matter to children's development. Despite noted progress, challenges remain on how best to conceptualize and assess fathering and father-child relationships. The current monograph is the result of an SRCD-sponsored meeting of fatherhood scholars brought together to discuss these challenges and make recommendations for best practices for incorporating fathers in studies on parenting and children's development. The first aim of this monograph was to provide a brief update on the current state of research on fathering and to lay out a developmental ecological systems perspective as a conceptual framework for understanding the different spaces fathers inhabit in their children's lives. Because there is wide variability in fathers' roles, the ecological systems perspective situates fathers, mothers, children, and other caregivers within an evolving network of interrelated social relationships in which children and their parents change over time and space (e.g., residence). The second aim was to present examples of empirical studies conducted by members of the international working group that highlighted different methods, data collection, and statistical analyses used to capture the variability in father-child relationships. The monograph ends with a commentary that elaborates on the ecological systems framework with a discussion of the broader macrosystem and social-contextual influences that impinge on fathers and their children. The collection of articles contributes to research on father-child relationships by advancing theory and presenting varied methods and analysis strategies that assist in understanding the father-child relationship and its impact on child development.

Sex-Differentiated Changes in Sexual Desire Predict Marital Dissatisfaction

Sex is critical to marriage. Yet, there are several reasons to expect spouses to experience declines in the desire for sex over time, and the rates of any declines in sexual desire may differ for men and women. We used two multi-wave, longitudinal studies to test whether male and female members of newlywed couples experienced different rates of change in sexual desire, whether any such changes were accentuated by childbirth, and whether any such changes had implications for marital satisfaction. In both studies, spouses provided multiple reports of sexual desire, marital satisfaction, and childbirth. Results demonstrated that women's sexual desire declined more steeply over time than did men's sexual desire, which did not decline on average. Further, childbirth accentuated this sex difference by partially, though not completely, accounting for declines in women's sexual desire but not men's. Finally, declines in women's but not men's sexual desire predicted declines in both partners' marital satisfaction. These effects held controlling depressive symptoms and stress, including stress from parenthood. The current findings offer novel longitudinal evidence for sex-differentiated changes in sexual desire and therefore suggest an important source of marital discord.

Paternity Leave and Parental Relationships: Variations by Gender and Mothers' Work Statuses

OBJECTIVE

This study examines the associations between paternity leave and parents' reports of relationship satisfaction and relationship conflict, and whether the associations vary by parent gender and mothers' work statuses.

BACKGROUND

Paternity leave research in the U.S. has focused on implications for father involvement, but paternity leave may also help to strengthen parental relationships by promoting a more equitable division of domestic labor. Given gender gaps in childcare, the association between paternity leave and parental relationship outcomes may also vary by gender and mothers' work statuses.

METHOD

The sample consists of 4,700 couples (i.e., parent dyads) from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. Multilevel models are used to assess the associations between paternity leave and both relationship satisfaction and conflict, and whether these associations vary by gender and mothers' work statuses.

RESULTS

Paternity leave-taking is positively associated with parents' reports of relationship satisfaction, but length of paternity leave is only positively associated with mothers' reports of relationship satisfaction. Also, among mothers who worked prior to the child's birth, paternity leave-taking and length of leave are negatively associated with their reports of relationship conflict. In contrast, among mothers who did not work in paid labor pre-birth, paternity leave is positively associated with mothers' reports of relationship conflict.

CONCLUSION

Paternity leave may have implications for parental relationships (and especially mothers' perceptions of their relationships with fathers).

Chapter II: New Fathers' and Mothers' Daily Stressors and Resources Influence Parent Adjustment and Family Relationships

To understand new fathers' experiences and well-being, we examine links between fathers and their partners' replenishing and stressful daily experiences-exercise, sleep, work, chores, general stress, and parenting stress-and their own and their partners' well-being and family relations. Fathers and mothers of ten-month old infants (N=143/140 mothers/fathers) in the U.S. reported on daily experiences for eight consecutive days. Results of multilevel models indicated that more replenishing and fewer stressful daily experiences were generally linked to more parent happiness, better couple relations, and greater closeness with the infant. Several gender differences also emerged that may reflect different stress and coping processes or different social roles for mothers and fathers; most striking was that on days that fathers spent more time on chores, mothers reported greater couple closeness but fathers reported more arguments. This exploration of new parents' daily experiences demonstrates the value of the method to generate intervention-relevant insights, as well as the importance of examining fathers' (and mothers') experiences in the context of couple-level dynamics.