Job quality and inequality: Parents' jobs and Children's Emotional and behavioural difficulties

Abstract

This article investigates whether poor quality jobs - such as those without security, flexibility or paid family leave - could pose a health risk to workers' children. The article uses data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, for 4 to 5 year old children and their employed parents - 2373 mothers and 3026 fathers. The findings show that when parents held poor quality jobs their children showed more emotional and behavioural difficulties, independent of income, family structure, work hours, and parent gender. These associations tended to be stronger for children in low-income households and lone-mother families.