Parental Work Participation and Children's Psychosocial Development in the Philippines

Paulita L. Duazo, University of San Carlos
Sonny S. Agustin, University of San Carlos

The first few years of children’s lives are a critical period when overall development can be influenced by early environmental factors. This study focuses on how parental work participation during the early years affects the psychological development of children, through the use of data on more than 5,000 children aged 4-9 years from the longitudinal evaluation study of the Philippine Early Childhood Development Project in the Philippines. Psychosocial development is measured through a composite index representing 7 developmental domains. The analysis is stratified by age and controls for selected socioeconomic and health characteristics of the children, their parents, and households. Preliminary results show the influence of some parental employment characteristics on the psychosocial development of children. Ongoing analysis focuses on evaluating the relationship between parental work participation and relevant socioeconomic and health correlates of children’s psychosocial development.