Employment, parenting, and well-being among mothers of children with disabilities

The influence of employment on parenting stress among mothers of 5-year-old children with developmental disabilities and the influence of parenting de mands (i.e., caregiving difficulty and behavior problems) and family suppor t on their work quality and absenteeism from work was examined. No signific ant associations were found between employment status and parenting demands , family support, or stress for the sample as a whole. Among employed mothe rs, those who rated their jobs as interesting reported significantly less p arenting stress when they experienced low or mean levels of parenting deman ds. Mothers' interest in work did not moderate the negative influence of hi gh levels of parenting demands on stress. Finally, parenting demands increa sed ab, senteeism but had no effect on work quality. Implications of these findings are discussed.