Study on U.S. Parents' Divisions of Labor During COVID-19, Waves 1-3

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically
altered family life in the United States. Over the long duration of the
pandemic, parents had to adapt to shifting work conditions, virtual schooling,
the closure of daycare facilities, and the stress of not only managing
households without domestic and care supports but also worrying that family
members may contract the novel coronavirus. Reports early in the pandemic suggest that these
burdens have fallen disproportionately on mothers, creating concerns about the
long-term implications of the pandemic for gender inequality and mothers’
well-being. Nevertheless, less is known about how parents’ engagement in
domestic labor and paid work has changed throughout the pandemic and beyond, what factors
may be driving these changes, and what the long-term consequences of the
pandemic may be for the gendered division of labor and gender inequality more
generally.

<br><br>The Study on U.S. Parents’
Divisions of Labor During COVID-19 (SPDLC) collects longitudinal survey data
from partnered U.S. parents that can be used to assess changes in parents’
divisions of domestic labor, divisions of paid labor, and well-being throughout
and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of SPDLC is to understand both the short-
and long-term impacts of the pandemic for the gendered division of labor,
work-family issues, and broader patterns of gender inequality.

<br><br>Survey data for this study
is collected using Prolifc (www.prolific.co),
an opt-in online platform designed to facilitate scientific research. The
sample is comprised U.S. adults who were residing with a romantic partner and
at least one biological child (at the time of entry into the study). In each
survey, parents answer questions about both themselves and their partners. Wave
1 of the SPDLC was conducted in April 2020, and parents who participated in Wave 1
were asked about their division of labor both prior to (i.e., early March 2020)
and one month after the pandemic began. Wave 2 of the SPDLC was collected in
November 2020. Parents who participated in Wave 1 were invited to participate
again in Wave 2, and a new cohort of parents was also recruited to participate
in the Wave 2 survey. Wave 3 of SPDLC was collected in October 2021. Parents
who participated in either of the first two waves were invited to participate
again in Wave 3, and another new cohort of parents was also recruited to
participate in the Wave 3 survey. Wave 4 of the SPDLC was collected in October 2022. Parents who participated in either of the first three waves were invited to participate again in Wave 4, and another new cohort of parents was also recruited to participate in the Wave 4 survey. This research design (follow-up survey of
panelists and new cross-section of parents at each wave) will continue through
2024, culminating in six waves of data spanning the period from March 2020
through October 2024. An estimated total of approximately 6,500 parents will
be surveyed at least once throughout the duration of the study.

<br><br>SPDLC data will be
released to the public two years after data is collected; Waves 1-3 are currently publicly available. Wave 4 will be publicly available in October 2024, with subsequent waves becoming available yearly. Data will be
available to download in both SPSS (.sav) and Stata (.dta) formats, and the
following data files will be available: (1) a data file for each individual
wave, which contains responses from all participants in that wave of data
collection, (2) a longitudinal panel data file, which contains longitudinal
follow-up data from all available waves, and (3) a repeated cross-section data
file, which contains the repeated cross-section data (from new respondents at
each wave) from all available waves. Codebooks for each survey wave and a
detailed user guide describing the data are also available.

COVID-19大流行极大地改变了美国家庭生活格局。在漫长的疫情周期中，美国父母不得不适配不断变化的工作环境、线上教学模式、日托机构关停现状，既要在缺乏家政与照护支持的条件下操持家庭事务，还要担忧家庭成员感染新型冠状病毒的风险。疫情早期的多项调研显示，这些负担不成比例地落在母亲身上，引发学界对疫情长期影响性别不平等与母亲福祉的广泛担忧。然而，目前学界对疫情期间及之后父母在家庭劳动与有偿工作中的参与模式变化、驱动这些变化的核心因素，以及疫情对性别分工与更广泛层面性别不平等的长期后果仍所知有限。

《COVID-19期间美国父母劳动分工研究》（Study on U.S. Parents’ Divisions of Labor During COVID-19，简称SPDLC）收集了美国有伴侣父母的纵向调查数据，可用于评估疫情期间及之后父母在家庭劳动分工、有偿劳动分工与福祉层面的动态变化。该研究旨在探究疫情对性别分工、工作-家庭议题以及更广泛性别不平等模式的短期与长期影响。

本研究的调查数据通过Prolific（www.prolific.co）平台收集，该平台是一款面向科学研究设计的自愿参与式在线调研平台。研究样本为研究纳入时正与浪漫伴侣及至少一名亲生子女共同居住的美国成年人。每一轮调查中，受访父母需要回答关于自身与伴侣的相关问题。SPDLC第一轮调查于2020年4月开展，受访父母需回忆疫情前（即2020年3月初）与疫情暴发一个月后的劳动分工情况。第二轮调查于2020年11月进行，主办方邀请第一轮的受访父母继续参与，同时招募了新的父母队列参与本次调查。第三轮调查于2021年10月开展，主办方邀请前两轮的受访父母再次参与，并新增招募了一批父母队列。第四轮调查于2022年10月完成，主办方邀请前三次调查的受访父母继续参与，同时再次招募新的父母队列。本研究采用的设计为：每一轮调查均对固定追踪样本进行随访，并同步招募新的横断样本，该设计将持续至2024年，最终将形成覆盖2020年3月至2024年10月的六轮调查数据。本研究预计累计将有约6500名父母至少参与一次调查。

SPDLC的数据将在收集完成两年后向公众开放；目前第一轮至第三轮数据已对外公开。第四轮数据将于2024年10月正式发布，后续各轮数据将按年度陆续开放。数据将提供SPSS（.sav）与Stata（.dta）两种格式供下载，可用数据集包括：（1）各轮次独立数据文件，包含该轮所有参与者的调研结果；（2）纵向追踪数据文件，整合所有可用轮次的追踪随访数据；（3）重复横断数据文件，整合所有轮次新增受访者的横断调研数据。各调查轮次的编码手册与详细的数据使用指南也同步对外提供。