Work-parenting linkages among dual-earner couples at the transition to parenthood.

This study evaluates the impact of work experiences on parenting quality during the transition to parenthood. Dual-earner parents (n = 83) completed measures of work experiences (autonomy and interpersonal atmosphere). Parenting was observed twice, 3 months apart. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that mothers who reported a more negative interpersonal atmosphere at work showed decreases in positive parenting and increases in negative parenting over time, after controlling for their occupational status and general well-being. Mothers' work experiences also predicted changes in fathers' observed parenting. In contrast, fathers' work experiences were largely unrelated to fathers' or mothers' parenting. With one exception, parents' occupational status did not moderate work-parenting relationships, and feelings of role overload did not mediate these relationships.