Summers, Ashley Final Research Paper

Running head: JOB SATISFACTION FOR MOTHERS 1
Job Satisfaction for Mothers:
The Influences of Maternal Depression and Child Delinquency
Ashley A. Summers
West Virginia University

JOB SATISFACTION FOR MOTHERS 2
Abstract
The goal of this study was to discover how the two independent variables: maternal depression
and child delinquency, can affect the mother’s level of satisfaction while at her job.
Approximately 855 mothers and 855 children who were under the age of 12-14 years of age
participated in the study for the 1986 and 1994 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of
Youth-1979 (NLSY-79, 47.6% female, 52.4% male, 24.1% Hispanic, 36.6% Black). Consistent
with the literature, mothers and children were observed by gender and age. As predicted, young
children of various age categories and their mothers did participate in the study. During the
bivariate analyses, high levels of maternal depression were very weakly positively correlated to
the mother’s satisfaction experienced while at her job. There was also a very weak positive
correlation found to support high levels of child delinquency to a mother’s job satisfaction. In a
multivariate model, only mother’s level of depression was linked to a mother’s job satisfaction,
but the link appeared to be non-significant. Scientists are continuing to study the effects
depression can have on the mother’s satisfaction experienced in the workplace. The discussion
focused on how the mother can manage her depression and help her child who demonstrated
delinquent behaviors. The result of exploring these two variables was to help a mother achieve a
higher level of job satisfaction.

Job Satisfaction for Mothers:
The Influences of Maternal Depression and Child Delinquency
In the year 2015, 70.8% of mothers who had children under the age of 18 were employed
(Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2016). The purpose of this paper was to provide evidence that the
independent variables of maternal depression and child delinquency effect the dependent
variable, mother’s job satisfaction. Researchers have found that mothers were more likely to feel
satisfied at work when they could rely on their motherhood role to deal with work-related
stressors (Miner, et al., 2014). The child strengthened the mother’s satisfaction towards work by
providing a boost to the mother’s energy abundance (Miner, et al., 2014).
The first stressor examined was how the mother’s high level of depression effected her
job satisfaction. Fox & Borelli (2005) found that depression causes mothers to withdraw from
demanding cognitive tasks at work. Depression experienced in the workplace caused the mother
to feel like “giving up” (Coyne & Thompson, 2011, p. 875). Psychologists have discovered
mothers who battle depression also face other mood disorders, which can cause difficulties
socializing with others on the job (Silk, Shaw, Skuban, Oland, & Kovacs, 2006). In order to
improve the mother’s level of satisfaction at work, researchers suggest that the mother undergo
therapy sessions (Fox & Borelli, 2005). Taken together, studies have found that mothers who
make the decision to seek treatment, such as participating in psychotherapy, will allow them to
improve in regulating the levels of depression experienced at work (Swartz, et al., 2016). The
outcome of seeking treatment for depression was the mother felt more satisfied during any tasks
assigned of her while at her job (Swartz, et al., 2016).
In addition, child delinquency was examined as a second factor that can affect the
mother’s job satisfaction. Currently, there is very limited evidence found concerning the linkage

between child delinquency and maternal job satisfaction. However, researchers have developed
studies to identify whether the child exhibited delinquent behaviors. Vander, Cullen, Carrozza, &
Wright (2001) found the more hours the mother was required to spend at work away from her
child, the greater chance her child would express delinquent behaviors.
Taken together, this work suggested that if the mother was willing to seek treatment for
her depression and provide assistance to her child demonstrating delinquent behaviors, the more
satisfaction she would experience at work. Scientists uncovered that through treatment, the
mother will gain a higher level of job satisfaction by using a variety of coping mechanisms. The
mechanisms included breathing techniques, walking away from a situation when it gets too hard
and adjusting to a postive mindset (Coyne & Thompson, 2011). All of these coping mechanisms
will increase the mother’s job satisfaction, therefore, she will feel more at ease in the work
environment.
Literature Review
Maternal depression. The first factor examined was depression will affect the mother’s
satisfaction experienced at the work place. Researchers have found when the mother is feeling
depressed, she will avoid interactions, become less responsive and form passive assumptions
about people and all work assigned (Coyne & Thompson, 2011). Studies also report that mothers
who are showing signs of depression are more likely to model passive regulation, causing them
not to contribute to solving problems (Coyne & Thompson, 2011). Current research also
demonstrated depression as an influence to an individual’s motivation to work, as depression
caused the mother to reject both participation and support during employment (Chen, et al.,
2016).

Child delinquency. The hypothesis for the second variable was when a child exhibits
higher levels of delinquency, then the mother will experience lower levels of satisfaction at her
job. For instance, if the parent receives a phone call from the school informing them that their
child just threw a desk across the room, the parent will be less satisfied in the work setting. The
research provided found that child delinquency leads to long-term consequences for the overall
well-being of the mother (Nes, et al., 2014). In addition, the child’s delinquent acts will cause the
mother to make time-consuming visits to outside services, such as the hospital, thus, taking away
from the time she can devote to her job (Coley, et al., 2011). Taken together, studies have found
the child’s high levels of delinquency exhibited will most likely cause the mother to either
struggle, or resign from her place of employment (Nes, et al., 2014). Researchers suggest that the
mother acknowledge child delinquency by remaining flexible and helping her child find a cure,
which, in turn, will lead to her experiencing greater job satisfaction (Nes, et al., 2014).
The Current Study
The main purpose for the investigation was to identify how maternal depression and the
child’s delinquent behaviors can effect the mother’s job satisfaction. To better understand how to
help the struggling mother and her child, two concise hypotheses were developed. The first
hypothesis states that if the mother is experiencing depression, the less likely she is to remain
satisfied at work. The second hypothesis states that when a child is making unlawful choices, the
mother will spend less time feeling satisfied while at work. In effort to make the hypotheses
measureable for the research, participants were assessed using the National Longitudinal Survey
of Youth, (NLSY-79), along with the Children and Young Adults National Longitudinal Survey,
(CNLSY-79), testing strategies (Zagorsky & White, 1999).
Method

Participants & Procedures
Data for this study has been taken from the NLSY-79 and CNLSY-79 datasets (Zagorsky
& White, 1999). The NLSY-79 sample relied on the probability sampling method to collect data
from 12, 686 participants (Zagorsky & White, 1999). In order to qualify as a participant for the
NLSY-79 study, the citizen had to be 14-21 years of age and fall into the racial category of
Black, Hispanic, non-Hispanic or White (Raffaelli & Crockett, 2003). When recruiting
participants, the researchers implemented surveys on an annual basis, later adding females and a
cohort of 4-5 year olds to the study in the year 1986 (Raffaelli & Crockett, 2003). For the
CNLSY-79 portion of the study, a sample size of 855 children and approximately 855 mothers
were used to gather the data (Raffaelli & Crockett, 2003). When concerned with child gender,
448 of the participants were males, (or 52.4%), and 407 of the participants were females, (or
47.6%). Data was collected from 206 Hispanic participants (24.1%), 313 of the participants were
Black (36.6%) and 336 were Non-Hispanic, or Non-Black (39.3%). In 1994, maternal age was
29-37 years, with the standard deviation of 2.07. In the same year, children were 12-14 years old
and the standard deviation ranked at 6.99. The CNLSY-79 also assessed family structure in 1994
and found that 297 (36.8%) children live in two-parent homes and 31 (3.8%) of children reside in
other living situations (Rafaelli & Crockett, 2003).
For the first survey wave, adolescents were encouraged to be completely candid as they
rank themselves on nine separate items. Once scored, the first survey wave measured the level of
child delinquency. The second survey wave measured how depressed the mother had felt
recently by asking her to report on emotions experienced in the past few days. During the third
survey wave, mothers were asked to rank their feelings about their current or most recently taken
job. Each of the survey waves included in this study were performed in 1994.

Measures
Delinquency. In the first measure, children are asked to answer a total of nine items and
will only be scored if seven questions are attempted (Crockett, Moilanen, Raffaelli & Randall,
2006). To determine their answer, participants responded on a four-point scale, which included
Never, Once, Twice, or More Than Twice (Crockett, Moilanen, Raffaelli & Randall, 2006). One
of the questions on the report asked participants, “In the last year, how many times have you hurt
someone badly enough to need bandages or a doctor?” (Crockett, Moilanen, Raffaelli & Randall,
2006). The 1994 scale demonstrated a Cronbach’s of 0.74.
Depression. Mothers completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression
Scale, CES-D, in 1994 (Radloff, 1977). The depression scale consisted of seven items and asked
the respondent to rank themselves on how often they felt this way during the past week (sample
item: “During the past week, I had trouble keeping my mind on what I was doing”). Mothers
responded to each of the seven questions using the four-point scale, ranging from 0 (rarely, or
none of the time) to 3 (Most, all of the time, 5-7 days). Once the response items were averaged, 5
or more of the higher scores indicated high levels of depression. The Epidemiological Studies
Depression Scale, CES-D, had a Cronbach’s of 0.82 (Radloff, 1977).
Job satisfaction. To measure job satisfaction, researchers developed a one-item scale,
which asked mothers “How do you feel about the job you have now/your most recent job?”
(Zagorky & White, 1994). The response scale for this maternal report ranked from 1 (Like it very
much) to 4 (Dislike it very much). Results were calculated by the single item the mother
responded to “as is” (Zagorky & White, 1994). There was no Cronbach’s  for this study
because there was only one item measured.
Results

Preliminary Analyses
There were two variables tested in the study, which included maternal depression and
child delinquency. Descriptive statistics for each of the variables are presented in Table 1.
Hypothesis One: Link Between Maternal Depression and Mothers’ Job Satisfaction
The first hypothesis was that the mother’s high levels of depression would affect how
satisfied mothers felt while at her job. The hypothesis was tested by examining the bivariate
correlation between the two independent variables involved. Maternal depression was very
weakly positively correlated with lower maternal job satisfaction and this correlation was non-
significant, r(524) = 0.05, p = .291.
Hypothesis Two: Link Between Child Delinquency and Mother’s Job Satisfaction
The second hypothesis was that when the child is making unlawful choices, the mother
will feel less satisfied while at her job. The hypothesis was tested by examining the bivariate
correlation between the independent variable of child delinquency and maternal job satisfaction,
r(409) = 0.004, p = .933. This analysis found that there was a very weakly positive correlation
between these two variables, however, it was non-significant.
Discussion
The goal of the current study was to explore the associations between maternal
depression, child delinquency and a mother’s job satisfaction. The first hypothesis predicted that
the mother’s high levels of depression experienced would lead her to feeling less satisfied at her
work site. Surprisingly, studies did not support the hypothesis, as there was a very weak positive
correlation between maternal depression and a mother’s job satisfaction. The second hypothesis
predicted that the child’s delinquent behaviors would cause the mother to feel less satisfied while
at her job. The findings for the second hypothesis were not supported, as there was a very weak

positive correlation between child delinquency and a mother’s job satisfaction. The associations
between the variables involved in the study were not consistent with predictions. Hypotheses
were partially supported in statistical analyses of data that was taken from the NLSY-79. When
all study constructs were considered simultaneously through testing process of bivariate
correlations, maternal depression and child delinquency were found to be associated with
mother’s job satisfaction. However, when relating each of the variables to a mother’s job
satisfaction, both independent variables were found to be non-significant. The findings for each
hypothesis are stated in full below.
Overview of Findings
Maternal depression. That there would be a positive correlation between maternal
depression and a mother’s satisfaction experienced while at her job. During the bivariate
correlation analysis, this prediction resulted in a positive correlation, but it was found to be very
weak. The first hypothesis explored in this study included mothers who either scored above or
below the clinical cut off for depression, or who had a history of mental breakdowns while at
work (Coyne & Thompson, 2011). The bivariate correlation suggested that there was no found
relationship between a mother’s depression and job satisfaction. There was however a possibility
found that a mother can experience depression while at her job, but there was no significance
related to her feelings of satisfaction while at work. Coyne & Thompson (2011) further explored
if avoidance and internalizing problems that are commonly associated with maternal depression
had any type of effect on the mother’s job satisfaction. The results from their research still
revealed no significant correlation between the two variables being tested. Perhaps maternal
depression can be prevented if the mother is able to rely on her motherhood role when stresses
come up in the workplace (Marks, 1977). Overall, the mother is more likely to report lower rates

of depression if she feels highly satisfied and accepted within her workplace (Marks, 1977). The
possible link between maternal depression and the mother’s job satisfaction is still being tested
by many researchers today.
Child delinquency. That there would be a positive correlation between child delinquency
and a mother’s satisfaction experienced while at her job. During the bivariate correlation
analysis, this prediction resulted in a non-significant, weak correlation between the two
variables. The second hypothesis in this study included mothers who claimed they had
considered leaving their place of employment after their child demonstrated severe, delinquent
behaviors (Nes, et al., 2013). The bivariate association between the variables reported that a
majority of mothers did not make the decision to leave their place of employment for their child
demonstrating delinquent behaviors, as only 5% of mothers at risk felt more satisfied when
leaving their job to be with their child in distress (Nes, et al., 2013). While there is a possibility
that a mother will feel less satisfied at her job when her child misbehaves, the findings do not
reveal a correlational relation between the two variables. Researchers are still in the process of
finding what factors are highly likely to contribute to a mother feeling a higher level of
satisfaction while at her job.
Study Contributions
At the conclusion of this study, several inferences can be drawn when concerned with the
development of a mother’s job satisfaction. First, how the mother copes with her emotions
brought on from her depression can affect her level of satisfaction experienced while at her job
(Fox & Borelli, 2015). Second, this study calls into question whether the child’s delinquent
behaviors would cause the mother to feel less satisfied while at her job and therefore, decide to
leave employment altogether (Nes, et al., 2013). Finally, the study revealed new information as

researchers found that a mother’s level of satisfaction can be increased at her job when she seeks
treatment for emotional imbalance and remains committed to producing the best work she can
(Miner, et al., 2014). Ultimately, the present study has found that a mother’s depression and a
child who demonstrates delinquent behaviors can have minor impact on a mother’s satisfaction
experienced while at her job, but this might not always be the case. While it has been confirmed
that maternal depression and child delinquency have no connections to how satisfied a mother
feels at her job, the mother should still be supported as she works through her unique situation
(Miner, et al., 2014). The NLSY-79 found that mothers who were of middle-age, including ages
29-37 years, and family living conditions left an impression on how satisfied she was within her
job. Confidence in these findings was reinforced by a diversity of U.S. mothers and their children
who participated in the NLSY-79 study. The measures were well-validated and provided support
and reliance for the study data collected.
Study Limitations & Future Directions
The NLSY-79 study advanced the understanding of maternal depression and child
delinquency, but it also brought some notable constraints. The present findings available appear
to be conclusive, in that findings are consistent and focus on how each independent variable can
affect the mother’s job satisfaction. This study was limited in the area of child delinquency, as
researchers used the GHQ12 to measure the respondent’s level of psychological distress
experienced recently, such as levels of depression or anxiety (Hamilton, et al., 2012). While the
test was a reliable strategy to help citizens receive their diagnosis and gain emotional assistance,
it was a less detailed measure for distinguishing how child delinquency can effect a mother’s job
satisfaction. In order to further support these findings, psychologists are urged to test how a
child’s internalizing and externalizing behavior problems might lead to a mother leaving her

place of paid employment (Nes, et al., 2014). Scientists should continue using the Parental Locus
of Control Scale self-report model, as it gathered accurate data on the mother’s high level of
depression experienced (Radloff, 1977).
Although the use of U.S. National data set increased the generalizability of the findings to
mothers, children and researchers alike, the NLSY-79 sample is still limited in some areas. The
NLSY-79 subsample consisted of close percentages of White, Black and Hispanic participants,
which leaves it reasonable for scientists to assume that the findings generalize to a wide diversity
of mothers. Due to the limitations of mothers who decided not to participate, it is not possible to
report on the generalizability of these findings to mothers of other ethnic backgrounds, such as
Asian American or Native American ethnicities. Mothers who self-identified themselves as
Black or Hispanic and were living in poverty conditions were highly likely to experience
depression, which caused them to feel less satisfied at their job location (Coyne & Thompson,
2011). Thus, a future approach for researchers to take might be to encourage Asian American
and Native American mothers and their families living in these conditions to participate.
Perhaps, researchers could recruit this group of individuals through surveys, online emails, or
placing advertisements closer to their residential location. By developing a further understanding
of how to decrease the factors that negatively affect the mother’s feelings of satisfaction, the
greater her chance will be for reaching her full potential during work hours.

References
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Table 1
Study Variable Descriptive Statistics
Variable N M (SD) % Median Mode Range
Maternal Depression 524 47 (.291) .73 .00 3
Child Delinquency 409 217 (.933) .46 .00 3.00
Maternal Job Dissatisfaction 552 1.73 (0) 2.00 2 3.00

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