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The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.

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Research Description

Overview and Components The Parental Concern About After-School Time (PCAST) Study examines the stress experienced by working parents across the U.S. due to concern about their children’s welfare during the after school hours. PCAST quantifies the degree to which employed parents are concerned about their school-aged children’s after school arrangements in several domains, including safety, travel, productive use of time, and reliability.
Start Date November 2005; completed July 2006
Scope national
Type after school
Location not applicable
Setting not applicable
Participants parents of elementary through high school students
Number of Sites/Grantees 3 Fortune 100 companies
Number Served 1,755 eligible employees completed the survey
Study Details The study aimed to examine the antecedents and correlates of PCAST and to find ways to reduce PCAST.
Funding Level approximately $200,000
Funding Sources Citigroup, Fannie Mae, and Pfizer
Researchers Karen Gareis, Ph.D., and Rosalind Barnett, Ph.D., the Community, Families & Work Program, Women’s Studies Research Center, Brandeis University

Nancy Carter, Ph.D., and Laura Sabattini, Ph.D., Catalyst
Research Profiled After School Worries: Tough on Parents, Bad for Business
Research Planned Follow-up reports will focus specifically on the antecedents and correlates of PCAST in the subsample of full-time employed dual-earner couples, on the correlates of different after school arrangements, and on the relationship between PCAST and career development outcomes.
Report Availability Catalyst. (2006). After school worries: Tough on parents, bad for business. New York, NY: Author. Available at: www.brandeis.edu/centers/cfwp/PCAST-report.pdf.

Barnett, R. C., & Gareis, K. C. (2006). Antecedents and correlates of parental after-school concern: Exploring a newly identified work–family stressor. American Behavioral Scientist, 49, 1382–1399.

Barnett, R. C., & Gareis, K. C. (2006). Parental after-school stress and psychological well-being. Journal of Marriage and Family, 68, 101–108.


Contacts

Research Rosalind Chait Barnett, Ph.D.
Research Director
Community, Families & Work Program
Women’s Studies Research Center
Brandeis University
Mailstop 079
515 South Street
Waltham, MA 02454-9110
Tel.: 781-736-2287
Fax: 781-736-4881
Email: rbarnett@brandeis.edu
Profile Updated June 6, 2007

Research Study: After School Worries: Tough on Parents, Bad for Business


Research Description

Research Purpose To quantify parental anxiety about after school arrangements and investigate workplace and community supports that can prevent and mitigate PCAST.
Research Design Non-Experimental: An online survey was conducted of parents who worked at one of 3 Fortune 100 companies across the U.S. Surveys were targeted either to all of the company’s employees or specifically to those with minor children. For the purpose of the study, respondents were considered eligible if they had at least one school-age child (i.e., in grades K–12) who lived with them at least half the time during the school year. A total of 1,755 eligible employees completed a survey (response rate = 30%).

Respondents were evenly distributed by gender (55% women, 45% men), and the majority were White (77%). The average age was 42, ranging from 23 to 60. Almost 40% had a college degree or above, and more than half had an annual household income of $90,000 or more. A majority of respondents (86%) were “partnered” (married or living with a partner), among whom 83% were from a dual-earner family. Almost half of respondents had the majority of childcare responsibility in their households, and about a third had the majority of responsibility for caring for other dependents, such as elderly parents. Most respondents worked full-time (97%), commuted by car (79%), and spent an average of almost 90 minutes a day commuting. On average, respondents’ job and organizational tenure was over 5 years, and just over half (54%) had staff rather than line positions (i.e., positions that directly affect how well the company can complete its projects).

Respondents’ school-age children were evenly split between boys (47%) and girls (53%). Children were fairly evenly distributed by age, except at the top of the age range (only 9% had children in grade 11 or above). Of respondents’ children, 14% were diagnosed as special needs. Men had significantly higher levels of education and income than did women (p = .000). They also had significantly more children (p = .000) and more decision control on the job (p = .000), worked significantly more hours per week (p = .000), and had significantly shorter commutes home (p = .030).

In examining the predictors of PCAST, variables in the model included (a) after school arrangements: time spent in a formal after school program, time spent being watched by the other parent, and time spent unsupervised (alone, with peers, or watching younger siblings); (b) family demographics: presence of a partner, household income, number of children, and respondents degree of responsibility for child care in the household; (c) job characteristics: work hours, length of commute time home, occupational level, and job control; (d) employee demographics: gender, education, and negative affectivity (i.e., a stable tendency to see the world negatively); and (e) child characteristics: gender, grade in school, whether the parent is especially concerned about behavioral/social issues with this child. In examining the correlates of PCAST, analyses controlled for (a) job characteristics: work hours, occupational level, organizational tenure, and job control; (b) employee demographics: gender, education, and negative affectivity; (c) child characteristics: grade in school; (d) family demographics: presence of a partner and household income; and (e) workplace behaviors and attitudes: job crafting and work orientation (as career, calling, or just a job).
Data Collection Methods Surveys/Questionnaires: The survey included questions about the following: parent demographics; children’s after school arrangements; PCAST; workplace supports, norms, behaviors, and attitudes; job characteristics; and employee and organizational outcomes.

Tests/Assessments: The PCAST assessment embedded in the survey included 11 items (e.g., “To what extent are you concerned that your target school-aged child might get into trouble during the after school hours?”) on a scale of 1 (not at all) to 4 (extremely); higher ratings indicate higher concern levels.
Data Collection Timeframe Data were collected March 2006 through June 2006.


Findings:
Formative/Process Findings

Systemic Infrastructure The most common after school arrangements were structured activities (e.g., sports, lessons, or scouting, 46%) and being cared for by the child’s other parent (41%). Just over a quarter of children in the study spent time after school in a formal after school program (27%) or alone (26%). Less frequently, children spent time after school with peers (22%); watched by relatives (15%), nonrelatives (11%), or older siblings (10%), watching younger siblings (7%), in a public place with adult supervision (10%), or at an after school job (4%)

On average, parents reported being fairly satisfied with their after school arrangements.

Forty-two percent of parents reported being very much or extremely concerned about their school-age children’s behavioral and/or social issues.

Of parents surveyed, 7% rated all 11 PCAST items as being “not at all” a concern to them while another 6% rated all 11 items as being “considerably” or “extremely” of concern.

Parents of older children (grades 6–12) reported greater PCAST (1.87) than did parents of younger ones (grades K–5, 1.74; p = .000). Further, younger children were more likely than older ones to spend after school time in formal programs (p = .000) or to be supervised by a parent (p = .000), relative (p = .001), nonrelative (p = .000), or an adult in a public place (p = .010) and less likely to be left alone (p = .000) or with peers (p = .000), left to watch younger siblings (p = .000), or to have an after school job (p = .000).
Parents of older children were less likely to report the availability of formal after school programs (p = .000), and older children were also less willing to participate in such programs than younger ones (p = .000): only 15% of younger children were unwilling to participate in available after school programs for children their age, vs. 42% of older children.

PCAST was lowest when children were in the care of their other parent (p = .000), and highest when they were alone (p = .000), in the care of or caring for siblings (p = .002 and p = .008, respectively), in formal programs (p = .016), or in the care of nonparental adults (p = .001).

Parents had greater PCAST when they had children who spent more time unsupervised, and when they had more child care responsibility, longer work hours, and greater concern about a particular child’s behavioral/social issues. On the other hand, parents experienced less PCAST when they had a greater degree of work scheduling control and when their child spends more time in the care of the other parent.

There was a significant interaction (p = .011) between child gender and time unsupervised in predicting PCAST. Specifically, for children with high unsupervised time, average PCAST ratings were higher for parents of girls (1.91) than boys (1.84). However, for children with low unsupervised time, average PCAST ratings were slightly higher for boys (1.79) than girls (1.70).

PCAST was directly and indirectly linked to parents’ job performance and to their well-being. Specifically, high levels of PCAST predicted higher levels of job disruptions, lower satisfaction with promotion opportunities in the organization, less belief that one can compete successfully to advance in the organization, and lower job satisfaction, which in turn predicted lower organizational commitment and poorer personal well-being.

There was a significant interaction (p = .034) between gender and PCAST in predicting satisfaction with advancement opportunities. Specifically, under conditions of high PCAST, both men and women reported lower satisfaction with advancement opportunities, but the decline in satisfaction from low PCAST to high PCAST was steeper for men (a 1.0 drop on a scale of 1 to 4, where 1 = not at all satisfied, and 4 = extremely satisfied) than for women (a 0.16 point drop).

Although no race/ethnicity differences emerged in PCAST scores, there were differences by race/ethnicity in tendencies to use different after school arrangements, even after controlling for basic demographic variables: White parents were significantly more likely to use care by a parent than were African American (p = .002), Asian (p = .013), or Hispanic (p = .015) parents. African American (p = .034), Asian (p = .002), and Hispanic (p = .036) parents were significantly more likely to use care by relatives than were White parents. African American parents were significantly more likely to use formal after school programs than were White parents (p = .000). White parents were significantly more likely to have children who were with peers (p = .003) or watching younger siblings (p = .033) after school than were African American parents.

The majority of parents reported the following workplace supports as considerably or extremely effective in reducing caregiving stress: having an understanding supervisor (81%), flexible work hours on an as-needed basis (79%), can take/make personal calls (73%), flex-time (67%), can work from home if needed (66%), can leave work at a regular time (65%), short-term paid time off (57%), and telecommuting options (54%).

The majority of parents reported using the following workplace supports: taking/making personal phone calls (81%), flexible work hours as needed (67%), short-term paid time off (66%), working with a supervisor who is understanding (66%), and leaving work at a regular time each day (57%).

The majority of parents reported that the following workplace supports were available: ability to make/take personal phone calls (86%), short-term paid time off (86%), understanding supervisor (78%), flexible work hours as needed (77%), ability to leave work at a regular time each day (74%), an extended leave of absence policy (68%), flex-time (63%), and ability to work from home if necessary (53%). However, at least 30% of parents reported not knowing if the following supports were available: bankable hours, volunteer leave, option to work part-time without losing benefits, short-term unpaid time off to handle non-health related family matters, employer subsidy for after school care, back-up care reimbursement, after school care resources and referrals, access to educational programs on family-related issues, and access to a work-sponsored formal networking/support group.

In term of uptake (the number of respondents who reported using the support divided by the number of respondents who reported the support was available), the following workplace supports were most often taken advantage of: making/taking personal phone calls (94%), flexible work hours as needed (87%), working with a supervisor who is understanding (84%), short-term paid time off (78%), working from home if necessary (77%), leaving work at a regular time each day (77%), bankable hours (73%), flex-time (66%), bringing child to work if necessary (58%), and volunteer leave (53%).

In comparing the workplace supports that were especially appreciated by high- and low-PCAST parents, as with the sample as a whole, high-PCAST parents rated organizational culture supports (e.g., an understanding supervisor) and flexibility supports (e.g., flexible work hours as needed) as the most effective of their workplace supports. In addition, a larger percentage of high-PCAST parents rated childcare-related programs (e.g., back-up after school care) as considerably or extremely effective in reducing caregiver stress than did low-PCAST parents.

There were several supports for which high-PCAST parents reported greater uptake than low-PCAST parents: bankable hours, telecommuting, family-related education programs, backup after school care, after school care resources/referrals, networking/support groups, unpaid time off, part-time schedule, and leave of absence. However, some of the most highly desired supports (e.g., those in the organizational culture and flexibility categories) were often unavailable (or perceived to be unavailable) by high-PCAST parents.

© 2016 Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College
Published by Harvard Family Research Project