@article {3007, title = {Home Ownership, Affordability, and Mothers{\textquoteright} Changing Work and Family Roles}, journal = {SSQU Social Science Quarterly}, volume = {82}, year = {2001}, month = {2001}, pages = {369 - 383}, abstract = {

Objective. Elaborating on conventional explanations for rapid employment growth of married mothers of preschoolers, I propose that pursuit of home ownership contributed to this trend differently in different decades since 1950. Methods. Measuring husbands{\textquoteright} income in terms of mortgage qualification and using logistic regression analysis of pooled Current Population Survey data to estimate trends standardized for compositional change, I compare hypothetical with observed trends since 1970. Results. Declining ability of husbands{\textquoteright} income to qualify for mortgages and rising educational attainment of mothers explains the post-1970 accelerated employment growth for preschoolers{\textquoteright} mothers. By the 1980s, other influences have greater relative effects on young mothers{\textquoteright} employment. Conclusion. Home ownership contributed to slower growth in preschoolers{\textquoteright} mothers{\textquoteright} employment through the 1950s and 1960s, raising standard-of-living expectations. Declining affordability in the 1970s inspired even more rapid growth. Pursuit of prescribed standards of living has increasingly motivated families to embrace dual-earner work and family arrangements.

}, isbn = {0038-4941}, author = {Mark Edwards} }