Mommy, Are You Going to Work Today? A Quantitative/Qualitative, Multidisciplinary Analysis of Peruvian Mothers’ Employment

Paola Tami Aritomi, Pennsylvania State University

Despite economic models’ usefulness and mathematical elegance, they fail to explain several important processes generally attributed to sociological and psychological factors. Also, previous sociological and psychological studies indicate that different implications are observed using alternative dependent variables. Using two unique information sources, Peruvian poor mothers’ employment decisions are analyzed integrating economic, sociological, and psychological perspectives. This study combines quantitative and qualitative information from the 2002 Young Lives Project – Peru survey and focus groups (sub-sample of YLP-P participants). Results show that depression/anxiety and domestic violence have significant effects on maternal work attachment, and participation, particularly in self-employed occupations. Qualitative outcomes support these findings showing moderating effects associated with crime rates and sexual violence. Mother's and children’s physical health negatively affects participation, mainly in paid activities, but have non-significant effects on work stability. Active (although not passive) interactions with the community increase work participation (mostly self-employed) and stability.