Project Summary
Scholarly and public interest in fatherhood has increased in recent decades, and this interest has coincided
with revised cultural perceptions about what makes a good father. In addition to serving as breadwinners and
protectors, fathers are also expected to be engaged in their children's lives. These competing demands
contribute to work-family conflict, yet scholars have largely ignored one important work-family policy: paternity
leave. Paternity leave can provide fathers with opportunities to learn parenting skills, bond with their child, and
strengthen father identities while also maintaining employment. Thus, paternity leave can enable fathers to
adhere to the expectations of both traditional and new fatherhood by encouraging fathers to contribute
resources that facilitate child development. Paternity leave-taking may also alleviate mother's stress and work-
family conflict by offering families a respite that may lead to increases in co-parents' relationship quality and
mother's well-being. As a result, increased access to paternity leave may help to reduce gender inequality by
allowing mothers to (re)enter the labor force sooner if they so desire, improving mothers' earnings, and
reducing mothers' share of domestic tasks. Unfortunately, little is known about why fathers do (or do not) take
paternity leave and what influence paternity leave-taking may have on families. Using longitudinal data from
three national datasets (the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1997, the Early Childhood Longitudinal
Study-Birth Cohort, and the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study), the proposed study examines the
relationship between paternity leave and family well-being by focusing on who takes paternity leave, and
whether and how paternity leave is associated with indicators of short- and long-term family well-being. We
address three specific aims in this study: (1) specify patterns of paid and unpaid paternity leave and identify
predictors of the likelihood of taking paternity leave and the length of leave taken, for both paid and unpaid
leave, (2) examine whether and how paternity leave-taking is associated with father involvement, co-parents'
relationship quality, and mother's feelings of well-being, and (3) analyze the relationship between paternity
leave-taking and children's well-being, and the extent to which father involvement, co-parents' relationship
quality, and mother's feelings of well-being mediate this relationship. We examine the patterns and
consequences of whether fathers take paternity leave as well as length of paternity leave. Indicators of child
well-being include overall health, problem behavior, and cognitive ability. We employ a variety of statistical
techniques including regression modeling, propensity score matching, and multilevel models. Overall, a focus
on the patterns, predictors, and consequences of paternity leave-taking will provide insights into the potential of
paternity leave policies to reduce work-family conflict and promote family well-being. Such insight will inform
scholars and policymakers about the implications of the current structure of paternity leave in the U.S., and
whether an expansion of these policies may be beneficial to families.