Institute of Art Design + Technology
Dún Laoghaire
On Show 2020
Julie Maher

Recent research has shown that being a working parent is one of the most demanding tasks adults perform. High-level job demands have been shown to negatively impact self-efficacy beliefs among parents by influencing time spent with children. Moreover, there is evidence to suggest that being a parent and employee is more detrimental to the psychological well-being of mothers than fathers. The objective of the present study was to examine the impact of parental gender (male or female) and job demands (low, medium or high) on self-efficacy among working parents. A 2×3 factorial, between groups design was employed to investigate this impact. One hundred and thirty working parents (82 female and 48 male), aged 21 to 61 (M=38.43, SD=7.42), completed quantitative questionnaires via online and offline routes. The study found no significant impact of parental gender and job demands on self-efficacy among working parents. These findings contradicted previous research which suggests that the significant time and energy requirements associated with high-level job demands would negatively influence self-efficacy beliefs in parents, particularly in mothers. However, additional organisational factors that warrant future research were identified (i.e. hours worked and nonstandard hours). This study contributes to the relatively neglected research area of mother-father differences.