Father’s Employment: A Neglected Influence on Children 1

A focus on fathers' employment experiences rather than their employment status makes it possible to investigate the effects of fathers' employment on children. Several issues concerning fathers' employment and their children's behavior will be considered in the chapter. While fathers' job satisfaction is associated with less time devoted to children, both job satisfaction and general employment experiences positively influence the quality of father-child interactions. In turn, father-child interactions mediated the link between fathers' employment experiences and children's behavior. Research should now focus on the combined effects of mothers' and fathers' employment experiences on their children. Whether the intergenerational transmission of occupation, fathers' employment or unemployment experiences are considered, the father-child relationship serves a critical and consistent mediating function. In addition, the relationship between fathers' employment experiences and children's behavior could be spurious, with variables such as negative affect influencing both.