WITHDRAWN: Perception of Personal Time and Caregiver and Family Functioning

Background: Free or leisure time, refers to the amount of time in a day one engages in non-market behaviors such as socializing, relaxing, hobbies, or consuming media. National time use data indicate leisure time has increased dramatically for the average American over the last half century. However, this change has not been universal, as more women have entered the workforce, many have become even more strapped for time. This may be especially true among mothers living in poverty, who are unable to afford child and home care. Interestingly, the number of hours one has available may not be as impactful on wellbeing as much as the perception of having adequate time. Thus, the current study contributes to extant literature by examining whether the perception of having adequate free time is associated with both psychological and family functioning among a sample of low-income African American families living in a high poverty urban area. We hypothesized that higher levels of perceived personal time would be associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms and higher levels of optimism among caregivers, as well as lower use of psychological control in parenting and higher levels of household routine.

Sample: 115 African American female caregivers with mean age 44.34 (SD=9.44) matched with their adolescent (male=39, female=76) with mean age 15.96 (SD=1.61). Sixteen percent of respondents were either married or cohabitating (n=18), while the rest were single. Twenty-eight percent of the sample was currently in either full-time or part-time capacity (n=33) and the rest were unemployed. Sixty-three percent of the sample had a high school diploma or less (n=72), and 65% of the sample reported a yearly income of $20,000 or less (n=75).

Measures: perceptions of free time were measured using the Family Resources Scale (Dunst & Lee, 1987). Psychological control was assessed using the Parental Behavior Inventory (CRPBI-30; Schuldermann & Schludermann, 1988). Frequency of routine was assessed using the Family Routine Inventory (Jensen et al., 1983). Optimism was measured sing the Life Orientation Scale (LOT; Scheier & Carver, 1985). Depressive symptoms were assessed using the CES-D (Radloff, 1977).

Results: OLS regressions were conducted for each measure of caregiver/family functioning controlling for demographic variables as well as perceptions of financial resources. These regressions revealed no significant association between perceptions of leisure time and family functioning (psychological control and household routine). On the other hand, higher levels of personal time were associated with higher levels of optimism (b=.16, SE=.06, p<.05), and lower levels of depressive symptoms (b=-.22, SE=.07, p<.01).