Project Details
Projekt
Who, why, how, and at what price? A mixed-methods study of caring for a sick child among working fathers and mothers
Subject Area
Empirical Social Research
Term
since 2025
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 568651980
The topic of working parents caring for a sick child (CSC) is a significant area of study in the field of family and gender as it diverges from conventional childcare responsibilities in significant ways, thereby offering new perspectives on persistent gender inequalities. Parents often encounter this critical situation, which requires an immediate response and disrupts their established division of labor. They must decide who will take charge, when, and how to manage the care, taking into account macro-level structures (such as legal provisions and societal gender norms), meso-level conditions related to work and career (including work-related and career-specific consequences), and micro-level interactions where individual preferences and couples' solidarity are negotiated. This complex dynamic resembles a prism, revealing how gender inequalities in family and work can be confirmed or transformed. Despite its significant relevance, CSC has not yet received sufficient attention, both theoretically and empirically. A major obstacle is a lack of appropriate survey data. This project examines how couples (re)negotiate their roles to find solutions for ad-hoc caregiving at home, as well as how they organize and experience CSC. We focus on the extent of absenteeism, attitudes towards, and the use of children's sick days compared to alternative strategies like utilizing flexible work arrangements. Our emphasis in explaining these practices is on the actual or anticipated consequences of these caregiving situations on their work and family lives, along with the actual or perceived public attitudes towards CSC, particularly regarding its gendered nature and the potential repercussions for working parents (e.g., career disadvantages for caring fathers). To achieve these objectives, we will fill the existing data gap by collecting information on CSC for the first time, using samples drawn from the working population, including respondents with and without children aged ten or younger. We will employ a mixed methods research design (MMR) that integrates both quantitative and qualitative approaches (QUAL+QUAN)->(QUAL+QUAN). This design encompasses online surveys that incorporate conjoint and vignette experiments (n: 1,600 + 1,600), coupled with qualitative semi-structured narrative interviews that also include elements from the experiments (n: 10 + 10) and qualitative analysis of photo vignettes. The interplay of quantitative and qualitative strategies across all research phases will provide deep insights into the dynamics of CSC in single cases and at aggregate levels, leading to the formulation of typifications and empirical generalizations. Our MMR approach also enhances data quality, particularly by creating adequate vignette tools. While this project aims to deepen our understanding of CSC and the associated dynamics of gender inequality, it also aspires to test, challenge, and refine mixed methods approaches within this vital area of research.
DFG Programme
Research Grants
Co-Investigators
Dr. Ayhan Adams; Dr. Joanna Fröhlich
