AUTHOR=Wang Xiaoli , Zhang Lijin , Wu Xiujuan , Zhao Min 

TITLE=Work-Family Conflict, Enrichment, and Adolescent Academic Adjustment in Dual-Earner Family

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.712954

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2021.712954

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=There is ample evidence that work-family conflict (WFC) and work-family enrichment (WFE) respectively have detrimental and beneficial impacts on the functioning of couples, families, and children. Herein, cross-sectional data from 2,136 dual-earner families in China, including parents and their children (51.2% female, ages: 9 – 15 years), were used together with Actor-Partner Interdependence Model - Structural Equation Modelling (APIM-SEM) to test the hypothesis that work-family spillover can impact academic adjustment in adolescents through parental educational expectations and perceived educational expectations. The results of this analysis suggested that academic adjustment among adolescents is primarily influenced by maternal work-family experiences, such that maternal but not paternal WFC can impact academic adjustment in adolescents through parental educational expectations and perceived educational expectations. Maternal WFE was found to be indirectly associated with academic adjustment in adolescents as a result of actual and perceived educational expectations. We additionally observed a significant effect of maternal WFC on the educational expectations of fathers within couple-relationship dyads. These results underscore the importance of the work-family interface as a factor that shapes overall family health and associated outcomes, underscoring the importance of maternal work-family experiences in this context. Interventions which aim to promote more positive maternal work environments are thus likely to yield greater benefits for their children and families. Overall, these data indicate that work-family spillover is a core determinant of adolescent development which warrants further study.