Nonstandard Work Arrangements among Dual-Earner Couples and Children's Outcomes

Ashish Bajracharya, Cornell University

This study seeks to better understand the effect of work-family strategies of dual-earner parents on the wellbeing of their children when one or both of them work nonstandard schedules (overtime, night shifts etc). Using data from 2002 wave of the National Survey of America’s Families (NSAF), this study intends to ask the following questions: 1) How do dual-earner couples working nonstandard schedules organize their working schedules? 2) Are there associations between various arrangements of parents’ nonstandard schedules and behavioral and developmental outcomes in children? What kinds of factors mediate these associations, if any? 3) If associations exist, are there significant differences in these relationships when parents voluntarily arrange their work schedules and work nonstandard hours in order to facilitate childcare versus when they work these schedules involuntarily? This study will add to the sparse literature that examines nonstandard work among dual-earner couples and how resulting circumstances might affect the wellbeing of children.