Social-Psychological Factors in Perinatal Labor-Force Participation

Using material from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience of Young Women, this study analyzes eight years of panel data from 895 white married women, with husband present, who had a first birth prior to the 1978 interview. The purpose of this research was to investigate social-psychological factors that may affect exit from the labor force prior to the birth event and reentry following the birth event. Covariance analyses suggest (a) that there is a large and statistically significant effect of attitude toward married women in the work force on labor-force participation throughout the perinatal period (women with more favorable attitudes were more likely to be in the labor force); and (b) that the effect of attitude toward married women in the work force on perinatal labor-force participation is stronger than that of proximity to the birth event, age, age at first marriage, husband's income, or education.