Department of Psychology, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105-1899, USA.
Psychol Bull. 2010 Nov;136(6):915-42. doi: 10.1037/a0020875.
This meta-analysis of 69 studies (1,483 effect sizes) used random effects models to examine maternal employment during infancy/early childhood in relation to 2 major domains of child functioning: achievement and behavior problems. Analyses of studies that spanned 5 decades indicated that, with a few exceptions, early employment was not significantly associated with later achievement or internalizing/externalizing behaviors. The exceptions were for teacher ratings of achievement and internalizing behaviors: Employment was associated with higher achievement and fewer internalizing behaviors. Substantial heterogeneity among the effect sizes prompted examination of moderators. Sample-level moderator analyses pointed to the importance of socioeconomic and contextual variables, with early employment most beneficial when families were challenged by single parenthood or welfare status. Maternal employment during Years 2 and 3 was associated with higher achievement. Some moderator analyses indicated negative effects of employment for middle-class and 2-parent families and for very early employment (child's first year). Associations also differed depending on whether effect sizes were adjusted for contextual variables. Only 1 study-level moderator (sex of first author) was significant after adjusting for other moderators. The small effect size and primarily nonsignificant results for main effects of early maternal employment should allay concerns about mothers working when children are young. However, negative findings associated with employment during the child's first year are compatible with calls for more generous maternal leave policies. Results highlight the importance of social context for identifying under which conditions and for which subgroups early maternal employment is associated with positive or negative child outcomes.
这篇荟萃分析研究了 69 项研究（1483 个效应量），采用随机效应模型，考察了婴儿期/幼儿期母亲的就业情况与儿童两大功能领域的关系：成就和行为问题。对跨越 5 个十年的研究进行分析表明，除了少数例外，早期就业与后期的成就或内外化行为并无显著关联。例外情况出现在教师对成就和内化行为的评价上：就业与更高的成就和更少的内化行为有关。效应量之间存在很大的异质性，促使我们对调节因素进行了检验。样本水平的调节因素分析表明，家庭面临单亲或福利状况等挑战时，社会经济和环境变量非常重要，早期就业最有益。在第 2 年和第 3 年就业与更高的成就有关。一些调节因素分析表明，就业对中产阶级和双亲家庭以及非常早期的就业（孩子的第一年）有负面影响。关联也因效应量是否针对环境变量进行调整而有所不同。仅在调整了其他调节因素后，有 1 个研究水平的调节因素（第一作者的性别）具有统计学意义。早期母亲就业的主要效应的小效应量和主要结果的非显著性结果应减轻人们对母亲在孩子年幼时工作的担忧。然而，与孩子第一年就业相关的负面发现与呼吁更慷慨的母亲产假政策是一致的。研究结果强调了社会背景对于确定在哪些条件下和对于哪些亚组，早期母亲就业与积极或消极的儿童结果相关的重要性。
