The effect of California’s paid family leave policy on parent health: A quasi-experimental study
Paid family leave policies support the health of families with newborn children, with particular improvements in health status and psychological distress in mothers and particular benefits in reduced alcohol use in fathers.
Cite this Article
Lee, Bethany C., et al. “The effect of California’s paid family leave policy on parent health: A quasi-experimental study.” Social Science & Medicine, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112915.
Lee, B.C., Modrek, S., White, J.S., Batra, A., Collin, D.F., & Hamad, R. (2020). The effect of California’s paid family leave policy on parent health: A quasi-experimental study. Social Science & Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112915.
Lee, Bethany C., Sepideh Modrek, Justin S. White, Akansha Batra, Daniel F. Collin, and Rita Hamad. “The effect of California’s paid family leave policy on parent health: A quasi-experimental study.” Social Science & Medicine (2020). doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112915.
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This article was written by , , , , and , and was originally published by Social Science & Medicine in April of 2020In every high income-country other than the United States, national paid family leave (PFL) policies guarantee salary support to parents of newborn children, helping families stay healthy. Previous research shows that parents with paid family leave have better mental health, which can lower risk of alcoholism. This may reflect decreased stress, increased income, and increased time to bond with the newborn. Paid family leave may also provide working parents with enough time for exercise and enough income to maintain a nutritious diet. In turn, these outcomes can benefit children’s health. However, few of these prior studies examined U.S. PFL policies. Their findings may not easily generalize to the U.S. because they were conducted in countries with more robust welfare systems and childcare options.
The state of California introduced the first state-level paid family leave policy in 2004. Since then, the number of claims paid has increased each year, with nearly universal coverage for private sector workers and the option to opt-in for self-employed, state, and local workers. This study offers some of the first estimates of the effects of California’s paid family leave policy on parents’ health, using longitudinal national data and a quasi-experimental study design.
California’s paid family leave policy has improved health outcomes for parents, with particular improvements in health status and psychological distress in mothers and particular benefits in reduced alcohol use in fathers.
- Compared to states without paid family leave policies, California’s policy increased parents’ reports of good or excellent health by 11 percentage points, with a greater effect for mothers than fathers.
- Maternal health status improved by 14 percentage points, whereas paternal health status improved by 8.1 percentage points.
- Compared to states without paid family leave policies, California’s policy decreased parents’ reports of psychological distress by .79 points (on a scale of 0 to 24), with a greater effect for mothers than fathers.
- Maternal psychological distress decreased by 6.23 points on a scale of 0 to 24, whereas there was no statistically significant reduction in paternal psychological distress.
- Compared to states without paid family leave policies, California’s policy decreased parents’ reports of being overweight by 8.2 percentage points, with a similar effect for fathers and mothers.
- Compared to states without paid family leave policies, California’s policy decreased parents’ reports of daily consumption of three or more alcoholic drinks by 5.7 percentage points and reports of any alcohol consumption by 12 percentage points, with a greater effect for fathers than mothers.
- Paternal daily consumption of three or more alcoholic drinks decreased by 15 percentage points, whereas there was no statistically significant reduction in maternal consumption. Paternal consumption of any alcohol decreased by 23 percentage points, whereas there was no statistically significant reduction in maternal consumption.
These findings suggest that paid family leave policies support the health of families with newborn children. This can inform the United States’ ongoing discussion on implementing and expanding paid family leave policies at the federal, state, and local levels.
To assess the impact of California’s paid family leave policy on parent health, this study drew detailed longitudinal sociodemographic data from the 1993-2017 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, with a sample of 6,690 American parents (53% women). Using a quasi-experimental differences-in-differences design, health outcomes for California parents were compared to health outcomes for parents from states that did not implement paid family leave policies before 2017. These health outcomes included self-rated health, psychological distress, overweight, obesity, and alcohol use.
Cite this Article
Lee, Bethany C., et al. “The effect of California’s paid family leave policy on parent health: A quasi-experimental study.” Social Science & Medicine, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112915.
Lee, B.C., Modrek, S., White, J.S., Batra, A., Collin, D.F., & Hamad, R. (2020). The effect of California’s paid family leave policy on parent health: A quasi-experimental study. Social Science & Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112915.
Lee, Bethany C., Sepideh Modrek, Justin S. White, Akansha Batra, Daniel F. Collin, and Rita Hamad. “The effect of California’s paid family leave policy on parent health: A quasi-experimental study.” Social Science & Medicine (2020). doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.112915.
