Night Shift Working Mothers: Mutual Perceptions with Adolescent Children

Abstract

The study investigated the mutual perception of relationships between mothers with day and night shift work and their teenage children. A cross-sectional survey using purposeful sampling was used. Two groups of 35 mothers and their adolescent children completed a Parent-Adolescent Relationship-Questionnaire (Robin, Koepke, Moye & Gerhardstein, 2009). Data was analysed by means of SAS and SPSS programmes. Findings show that adolescent children of day shift working mothers perceive communication and problem solving with their mothers as more efficient than adolescent children of night shift working mothers. Global Distress was lower in day shift mothers and their children. Night shirt work lowers the perceived quality of parenting.

Keywords:

• night shift
• non-standard work
• relationships
• sleep deprivation
• adolescent children