Work demands of dual-earner couples: Implications for parents' knowledge about children's daily lives in middle childhood

Repetti's (1989, 1994) argument that daily work stress leads parents to withdraw from family interaction was tested by examining parents' knowledge of their school-aged children's experiences, whereabouts, and activities in a sample of 181 dual-earner families. Cluster analysis of husbands' and wives' work hours, role overload, and work pressure produced three clusters: high mother demands, low demands, and high father demands. Parents were less knowledgeable when fathers' jobs were highly demanding and when they had younger boys or were less happily married. The negative effects of fathers' work stress appear to be exacerbated by poor marital quality and by having a younger son.