Patterns of Maternal Employment and Unemployment and the Risk for Child Maltreatment

This presentation examines the complex, nonlinear, and understudied relationship between maternal employment and unemployment, and patterns of employment and unemployment, and four types of child maltreatment. We describe the employment status and often nonstandard employment patterns of high-risk mothers at three child developmental ages and apply the results in the context of three theories used in extant research to understand the relationship between economic hardship and child maltreatment. We find that both too much and not enough paid employment are associated with increased risk for child maltreatment, and neglect in particular. Our findings indicate that income-support programs tied to employment maybe ineffective mechanisms for many families to balance time and money, key factors in the prevention of child maltreatment. As policy makers seek new approaches to prevent child maltreatment with a renewed focus on the role of poverty, researchers, policymakers, and clinicians must understand and consider the employment patterns of at-risk mothers as they seek to develop and implement new concrete supports for families.