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Author: Rindfuss, Ronald R.
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Harris, Kathleen Mullan
Raley, R. Kelly
Rindfuss, Ronald R.
Family Configurations and Child-Care Patterns: Families with Two or More Preschool-Age Children
Social Science Quarterly 83, 2 (June 2002): 455-471.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1540-6237.00094/abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Blackwell Publishing, Inc. => Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Births, Repeat / Spacing; Child Care; Children, Preschool; Family Characteristics; Family Size; Family Structure; Fertility; Household Composition; Household Structure; Life Course; Maternal Employment; Preschool Children; Social Roles; Women's Roles; Work Hours/Schedule

Objectives. This article examines the extent to which mothers must find child-care arrangements for more than one preschool child, and when they do, the strategies they adopt to juggle their work and family roles. Methods. We use national data from numerous studies with information on fertility and child care among employed mothers with children. Results. We find that it is a common life-course experience for mother to need child care for two or more preschool-age children. Employed mothers' preferred strategy for child care for their multiple preschool-age children is to place all preschoolers in the same type of arrangement, choosing parental care more often and center care less often than employed mothers with one preschooler. Conclusions. Previous child-care research has ignored the complexities parents face when they must make child-care decisions about all their preschool-age children simultaneously. Child-Care decisions need to be studied within the family and household context.
Bibliography Citation
Harris, Kathleen Mullan, R. Kelly Raley and Ronald R. Rindfuss. "Family Configurations and Child-Care Patterns: Families with Two or More Preschool-Age Children." Social Science Quarterly 83, 2 (June 2002): 455-471.
2. Raley, R. Kelly
Harris, Kathleen Mullan
Rindfuss, Ronald R.
The Quality and Comparability of Child Care Data in U.S. Surveys
Social Science Research 29,3 (September 2000): 356-381.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X00906732
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Academic Press, Inc.
Keyword(s): Child Care; Data Quality/Consistency; National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH); Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)

This paper examines the quality and comparability of child care data obtained from eight waves of data from four nationally representative data sources: the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1986 and 1988), the Survey of Income and Program Participation (1986, 1987, 1988, and 1990), the National Child Care Survey, and the National Survey of Families and Households. We examine whether different study designs and survey techniques for asking questions about child care produce similar results on both the levels and determinants of child care. We identified four main sources of difference in the data sets that could impact the quality and comparability of child care research: when the interview is conducted; screening questions used to determine who is asked about child care; the population of parents and children represented in the survey; and the way child care questions are asked. Our findings indicate that summer interviews and screening on mother's work status produce the largest differences in the levels and effects of child care across these studies. Even after removing the effects of summer interviews and screening questions, however, substantial differences exist across the studies.
Bibliography Citation
Raley, R. Kelly, Kathleen Mullan Harris and Ronald R. Rindfuss. "The Quality and Comparability of Child Care Data in U.S. Surveys." Social Science Research 29,3 (September 2000): 356-381.