The study found:
- Taking paternity leave is positively associated with parents’ relationship satisfaction.
- Length of paternity leave is only positively associated with mothers’ relationship satisfaction.
- In families where mothers worked before their child's birth, taking paternity leave — particularly for a long period of time — can lead to reduced relationship conflict.
- In families where mothers did not work for pay before their child’s birth, taking paternity leave leads to a rise in mothers' reports of relationship conflict.
Frustration with a lack of paid paternal leave drove one professor to conduct a study about the subject.
Richard Petts, associate professor of sociology, alongside Chris Knoester at Ohio State University, conducted “Paternity Leave and Parental Relationships: Variations by Gender and Mothers’ Work Statuses,” a survey of 4,700 couples from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Program, a study that examines families.
After completing the year-long study, Petts said he found parental relationships are often improved when fathers take paternity leave during a mother's pregnancy.
The study found parental relationships are often improved when fathers take paternity leave during the mother’s pregnancy.
“By being more involved and helping out at home, not only does that benefit the child, it also strengthens the parental relationship as well,” Petts said.
While 41 countries have enacted federal paid parental leave — varying from Estonia with 87 weeks of paid leave to New Zealand with 18 weeks — the United States gives its employees zero weeks of paid parental leave due to lack of current federal laws, according to a Pew Research Center study from 2016.
In the United States, Petts said the “access and ability to take paternity leave” depends on a person’s occupation. This, along with the fact that Ball State did not have a paid parental leave policy until 2017, according to a previous Daily News report, is what sparked Petts' research of the topic.
Petts has conducted five total studies regarding parental leave and its effects on family life.
“I got frustrated with the lack of formal options,” Petts said.
During the policy’s first year of implementation, which was during the 2017 fiscal year, coordinator of ADA and leave administration programs Shandy Filipowski said 53 cases of paid parental leave were granted.
“It is a wonderful benefit for our employees,” Filipowski said.
While Petts said he does not claim to be responsible for the changes that have taken place at Ball State, he has been a voice for paid parental leave and continues to pursue the topic.
Contact Chase Martin with comments at cgmartin@bsu.edu.
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