Full Citation
Title: Time in the 'Great Recession': The Impact of the Great Recession on Time Spent in Healthy Behaviors and with Family Members
Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis
Publication Year: 2012
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Abstract: The “Great Recession” gripped the American economy starting in 2008 and though it officially ended in 2009, many experienced its lingering consequences as late as 2010. With the recession came high levels of unemployment and experiences of economic insecurity across both the United States and the broader global economy. My dissertation investigated the effect of the Great Recession and being unemployed on time spent engaging in healthy behaviors, sleeping, and with family members, including how such patterns differed by gender, life stage, spouse’s employment status, and education. I drew on the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) collected by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to examine the time use patterns of a sample of respondents in the United States between the ages of 23 and 55. Through this research I found that unemployment was critical for how individuals spent their time. Though the unemployed had worse outcomes for sleep, they also spent more time in healthy behaviors and more time with family members. In addition to employment status, state economic conditions and the recessionary time period were also related to how people spent their time. Poor state economic conditions were related to positive indicators of sleep and more time spent in healthy behaviors while also predicting being more likely to spend time with family members. Respondents interviewed during the Great Recession reported worse sleep outcomes but more likely to engage in active travel and eat breakfast. During the recession respondents also spent more time with children and spouses/partners while also spending less time with extended family members. Many questions remain regarding the implications of this increased time available for alternative activities besides work in part because it is unclear if greater time spent in healthy behaviors or with family members . . .
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Authors: Hill, Rachelle
Institution: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Department: Department of Sociology
Advisor: Deborah Levison
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
Publisher Location: Minneapolis, MN
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Data Collections: IPUMS Time Use - ATUS
Topics: Family and Marriage, Labor Force and Occupational Structure
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