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These claims are not buttressed by systematic data establishing the direction of causal
influence. For example, it is well accepted ( but still debated) that children s adaptation is
poorer in the period after their parents divorce.33 Nevertheless, some studies suggest that
it is the unresolved conflict between parents prior to and after the divorce, rather than the
divorce itself, that accounts for most of the debilitating effects on the children.34
Third, we find the attack on family egalitarianism puzzling when the fact is that,
despite the increase in egalitarian ideology, modern couples move toward more traditional
family role arrangements as they become parents despite their intention to do other-
wise. Our key point here is that traditional family and work roles in families of the last
three decades tend to be associated with more individual and marital distress for parents.
Furthermore, we find that when fathers have little involvement in household and child
care tasks, both parents are less responsive and less able to provide the structure neces-
sary for their children to accomplish new and challenging tasks in our project playroom.
Finally, when we ask teachers how all of the children in their classrooms are faring at
school, it is the children of these parents who are less academically competent and more
socially isolated. There is, then, a body of evidence suggesting that a return to strictly
traditional family arrangements may not have the positive consequences that the propo-
nents of family values claim they will.
Family and Workplace Policy
Current discussions about policies for reducing the tensions experienced by parents of
young children tend to be polarized around two alternatives: (1) Encourage more moth-
ers to stay home and thereby reduce their stress in juggling family and work; (2) Make
the workplace more flexible and family friendly for both parents through parental
leave policies, flextime, and child care provided or subsidized by the workplace. There is
no body of systematic empirical research that supports the conclusion that when moth-
ers work outside the home, their children or husbands suffer negative consequences.35
In fact, our own data and others suggest that (1) children, especially girls, benefit from
the model their working mothers provide as productive workers, and (2) mothers of
young children who return to work are less depressed than mothers who stay home full
time. Thus it is not at all clear that a policy designed to persuade contemporary mothers
of young children to stay at home would have the desired effects, particularly given the
potential for depression and the loss of one parent s wages in single paycheck families. Un-
less governments are prepared, as they are in Sweden and Germany, for example, to hold
parents jobs and provide paid leave to replace lost wages, a stay-at-home policy seems too
costly for the family on both economic and psychological grounds.
We believe that the issue should not be framed in terms of policies to support
single-worker or dual-worker families, but rather in terms of support for the well-being
of all family members. This goal could entail financial support for families with very
young children so that parents could choose to do full-time or substantial part-time child
care themselves or to have support to return to work.
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270 Part III " Parents and Children
What about the alternative of increasing workplace flexibility? Studies of families
making the transition to parenthood suggest that this alternative may be especially attrac-
tive and helpful when children are young, if it is accompanied by substantial increases in
the availability of high-quality child care to reduce the stress of locating adequate care or
making do with less than ideal caretakers. Adults and children tend to adapt well when
both parents work if both parents support that alternative. Therefore, policies that support
paid family leave along with flexible work arrangements could enable families to choose
arrangements that make most sense for their particular situation.
Preventive Services to Address Family Risk Points
According to our analysis of the risks associated with the formation of new families, many
two-parent families are having difficulty coping on their own with the normal challenges
of becoming a family. If a priority in our society is to strengthen new families, it seems
reasonable to consider offering preventive programs to reduce risks and distress and en-
hance the potential for healthy and satisfying family relationships, which we know lead to
more optimal levels of adjustment in children. What we are advocating is analogous to the
concept of Lamaze and other forms of childbirth preparation, which are now commonly
sought by many expectant parents. A logical context for these programs would be exist-
ing public and private health and mental health delivery systems in which services could
be provided for families who wish assistance or are already in difficulty. We recognize
that there is skepticism in a substantial segment of the population about psychological
services in general, and about services provided for families by government in particular.
Nonetheless, the fact is that many modern families are finding parenthood unexpectedly
stressful and they typically have no access to assistance. Evidence from intervention trials
suggests that when preventive programs help parents move their family relationships in
more positive directions, their children have fewer academic, behavioral, and emotional
problems in their first years of schooling.36
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