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Life Situations of Young Fathers in Greater Jakarta

Iwu Dwisetyani Utomo, Anna Reimondos, Ariane J. Utomo

Peter McDonald, Terence H. Hull,

Abstract

Very little is known about the fatherhood experiences of young men in Indonesia. This paper

uses the 2010 Greater Jakarta Transition to Adulthood Survey to describe the lives of young

fathers in Jakarta, Bekasi and Tangerang. It demonstrates how education determines

parenthood status among men and women, and compares and contrasts the labour market

experience of young fathers and mothers. This provides the background for a review of

young parents’ health and wellbeing, their attitudes towards gender roles and children. Young

adults in the Indonesian capital are delaying marriage and childbirth, but those who do

become parents at an early age are likely to follow a male breadwinner model, with fathers

holding less egalitarian attitudes towards gender roles than either their partners or males who

are not fathers.

Key words: fatherhood; young adults; work, gender roles, Indonesia.

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Background

While interest in researching fatherhood began in the 1970s and 80s (Elster, 1986; Marsiglio,

Amato, Day & Lamb, 2000) it still lags far behind that on motherhood (Eggebeen and

Koester, 2001; Goldsheider and Hogan, 1999; Smyth and Weston, 2003). This may seem

reasonable considering the contrast between the biological implications of childbirth and

infant care for women, but in light of the important roles men are expected to play in modern

childcare, domestic management and pursuit of livelihood, research on fatherhood over time

become of greater interest to social researchers (Marsiglio, Amato, & Lamb, 2000). Earlier

studies on fatherhood have highlighted that fatherhood is a social construction, in that the

roles and expectations of father can change overtime and are culturally specific (LaRossa,

1997; Pleck and Pleck, 1997). Nevertheless in the twentieth century, studies on fatherhood

mostly focused on white middle-class (LaRossa, Gordon, Wilson, Bairan & Jaret, 1991) and

there were limited understanding of the complexity of fatherhood by ethnicity, race, cultural

and economic background (Burton & Snyder, 1998; Marsiglio, Amato & Lamb, 2000: 1175).

Internationally the male breadwinner model, with its strong definition of a

father/husband/household-head role for the male, has declined over the course of the

Twentieth Century. As Perry-Jenkins and Turner (2004:155) noted for the United States: "In

1920, 75% of working households were composed of single-earner, married couples, and

dual-earner, married households made up only approximately 9% of working families…The

latest data from the Bureau of Labour Statistics (2001) indicated that 63.2% of all married

couples with children under 18 are dual-earner, and 57.9% of all married couples with

children under 6 are dual-earners". In urban Indonesia at the turn of the twenty-first century

over half of all couples followed a single male breadwinner pattern (I. Utomo, 2005).

However education has a major impact on employment of women. If both husband and wife

were tertiary educated, 53 percent were both employed outside the home, while if neither had

tertiary degrees less than a third were dual earners (A. Utomo 2008: 63,65).

Despite the increase in dual earner households around the world, many studies both in the US

and other developed countries reveal that men maintain low levels of involvement in

domestic duties and child care (Apparala, Reifman & Munsch, 2003; Guant, 2006; Baxter et

al., 2008; Craig and Bittman, 2008; Portman and Van Der Lippe, 2009). According to these

sources the increasing involvement of women and mothers in the public sphere is not

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balanced by males and fathers contributing more of their time to domestic work and

childcare.

The lack of attention to fatherhood roles is notable in developing countries, where such

research is very limited. For example, a very comprehensive book on “Growing up global:

the changing transitions to adulthood in developing countries” (Lloyd, 2005) dedicated one

section on the transition to parenthood, but the analysis was very general and focused largely

on motherhood. Part of the problem is the lack of data on fatherhood (Lloyd, 2005:506-76).

Fatherhood can be defined as a fertility status and as the behaviour and identity of men who

have children (Pleck, 2007:196). Fatherhood research is expected to include fathers’

engagement, accessibility and responsibility; paternal warmth, support and control; and the

economic support provided by men (Pleck & Stueve, 2001).

In Indonesia, the traditional roles of fathers and mothers are strongly divided between public

and domestic roles. Women and especially mothers are trained to be responsible for domestic

duties, household management and the caring and nurturing of children (I. Utomo, 2005),

while men and fathers to be good providers for the family. These traditional roles are

promoted through the national schooling curriculum and exemplified in textbooks used in

primary and secondary schools (I. Utomo et al., 2009). Though the breadwinner model

persists throughout Indonesian social groups, women’s increasing education levels mean that

mothers increasingly participate in the labour market and contribute to the household

economy. McDonald (2000a and 2000b) stated that gender equality is spreading through the

public sphere but this is not always matched with greater gender equality in the domestic

sphere.

In Islam, the religion of almost 90 per cent of Indonesian citizens, the father is accorded the

status of imam, the leader or head of the household (Surah Annisa, verse no. 34). He is

obliged to provide economically and is responsible for the overall wellbeing of his family, a

role endowed with a great deal of autonomy. By contrast women are taught to obey their

fathers and later their husbands, implying that they are always dependent on a man. In the

interpretation of many Islamic scholars, men have full authority in ruling women’s lives.

Messages to this effect are strongly promoted through early-morning homilies broadcast by

both radio and television across the country. Traditionally a Moslem father is portrayed as

someone with power over all family members and he should have their unquestioning

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respect. He should be ‘served’ by the wife in particular, but also by all dependent family

members.

However, the fatherhood role in Indonesia is in the process of transformation. There is a

growing message in the secular press and among reformist Islamic scholars that fathers

should be actively serving others (Yulindrasari & McGregor 2011). The father is enjoined to

help with infant and child care-giving and development; assisting his wife during pregnancy;

during the process of delivery; and after the birth. He is expected to spend ‘quality time’ with

his children, contributing to their education and their broader socialization. This may entail

contributions of time to the preparation of meals and maintenance of the household. Popular

publications are increasingly discussing the need for fathers to be domesticated (Poerwandari,

2010). This may pose some challenges for Islamic interpretations of fatherhood roles, and it

definitely presents alternative images for the roles fathers play in the Indonesian family. But

can fathers be successful in fulfilling their work aspirations while at the same time increasing

their involvement in nurturing of children? This is classically the dilemma that has been seen

to prevent women’s advancement in the labour market, so would it put men under similar

stresses?

This paper aims to explore young fathers living in Jakarta, Bekasi and Tangerang, the

northern strip of the Jakarta megalopolis. Several dimensions of young fathers’ lives are

examined including psychological and physical health, family involvement, work

involvement and values on gender roles and children.

Data

In this paper we focus on young fathers, who are defined as men aged 20-34 years who had

fathered at least one child. Data are drawn from the 2010 Jakarta Young Adults Survey,

which asked questions relating to social characteristics, attitudes and values and was

administered face-to-face by trained interviewers.

The survey used a two-stage cluster sample. In the first stage, 60 urban village units

(Kelurahan) were selected using probability proportionate to size (PPS) criteria. In the

second stage five neighbourhoods (Rukun Tetangga/RT) were chosen from each Kelurahan

by systematic random sampling (SRS). The resulting 300 RT were mapped and a census was

conducted in them to gather information on age, sex, marital status and relationship to head

of household for all households. The census allowed the compilation of full lists of young

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adults aged 20-34 living in each RT. Eleven eligible respondents were then selected from

each list using simple random sampling, yielding 3,300 names with the aim of achieving a

sample of 3,000 after accounting for refusals and non-contacts. In total 3,006 interviews were

successfully completed.

Method

The data were analysed using descriptive bivariate analysis as well as multivariate regression

analysis. The main objective was to examine how fathers differed in their characteristics and

attitudes from three other groups of respondents: childless men, mothers and childless

women. By comparing fathers with these groups it would be possible to see whether a

particular response to a variable was related to parenthood per se (in which case mothers and

fathers would have similar response patterns and childless men and women would have a

different pattern), to gender differences (in which case men in general would have different

views to women, regardless of parent status), or if one particular group, such as fathers,

appeared to differ from all other groups. For the descriptive bivariate analyses, sex and parent

status were cross-tabulated against each variable of interest.

Logistic regression was used in some analyses, even where the independent variable was

ordinal. For example, for attitudes towards gender and children respondents were presented

with a list of statements and asked to state their level of agreement on a 5-point likert scale,

where one equalled ‘strongly agree’ and five equalled ‘strongly disagree’. Although the

responses were ordinal, the assumption of proportional odds did not hold when tested, so

logistic regression was used, the binary outcome of interest being whether the respondent

agreed or strongly agreed with the statement versus other responses (‘mixed feelings’,

‘disagree’, ‘strongly disagree’).

In the regressions, a variable describing the combination of sex and parent status was entered

as an independent variable. Fathers were the reference category, and non-fathers, mothers

and non-mothers were compared to them. We also controlled for a number of other variables,

including age, education, employment status, religion and religiosity. The respondent’s age

was defined in three categories (20-24, 25-29, 30-34), with 25-29 as the reference category.

Highest level of education was categorized into five groups: primary school or less, junior

high school, senior high school, certificate level and Bachelors and above. Junior high school

was treated as the reference category. Muslims were compared with non-Muslims

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(reference), and for religiosity those who were not religious or did not report how religious

they were, and those who claimed to be either religious or very religious, were compared to

those who were somewhat religious as the reference category.

The basic demographic characteristics of the sample are shown, by sex, in Table 1. Overall,

females made up 58 per cent of the sample. Only one-third of male respondents had children

compared to just over 60 per cent of female respondents.

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of respondents by sex, Greater Jakarta, 2010

Males Females Total Males Females Total

% % % % % %

Age group Religiosity

20-24 38 30 33 Not religious 14 9 11

25-29 32 33 32 Somewhat religious 62 65 63

30-34 31 37 35 Religious 14 15 15

Very religious 5 7 6

Marital status

Don’t know/no

answer 5 4 5

Married (legally) 39 64 54

Married

(religiously) 0.4 0.5 0.5 Employment status

Widowed 0.2 0.6 0.4 Not employed 22 53 40

Divorced 0.3 1.4 0.9 Employed 78 47 60

Separated 0.4 0.6 0.5

Never married 59 32 43 Studying

Unknown 0.5 0.9 0.7 Unknown 0.4 0.4 0.4

Not studying 86 91 89

Parenthood status Studying 13 8 10

Parent 33 61 49

Childless 67 39 51 Geography

Bekasi 17 15 16

Highest education level Jakarta Pusat 6 7 7

Primary or less 9 17 14 Jakarta Selatan 14 16 15

Junior high school 15 18 17 Jakarta Timur 22 20 21

Senior high school 56 44 49 Jakarta Utara 10 11 10

Certificate 7 10 9 Jakarta Barat 16 14 15

Bachelors+ 13 11 12 Tangerang 15 16 16

Religion

Muslim 89 90 89

Other religion 11 10 11

Total N 1,246 1,760 3,006 Total N 1,246 1,760 3,006 Source: The 2010 Greater Jakarta Transition to Adulthood Survey. Note:

a Percentages may not add to 100, due

to rounding

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Respondents’ education levels were possibly the defining characteristic of the sample. Seven

out of ten had graduated from senior high school, and over one-fifth had gone on to a tertiary

qualification. However, there was a large gender gap in educational attainment with a much

higher percentage of women completing only primary school compared to men. There were

also gender differences in other demographic characteristics. Men were much more likely to

be employed or studying than females, and reported slightly lower levels of religiosity.

Results

Experience of Fatherhood

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Table 2 provides descriptive statistics for the young parents in the sample, comparing

fathers and mothers. The mean current age of the young fathers was 30, and the median

age at which they had had their first child was 25, whereas for mothers it was three years

younger. Parenthood for both sexes was almost universally associated with marriage. All

of the fathers and 99 per cent of the mothers were ever-married, but a small percentage

of marriages had ended either through death or separation/divorce. Thus, 99 per cent of

the fathers and 96 per cent of the mothers were currently legally or religiously married.

Only three never married women reported having children. The fact that females had

had their first children younger than males explains the differences in family

composition evident when comparing sample mothers and fathers. Since the respondents

were aged between 20-34 and since men tend to have children at a later age than women,

on average fathers in our sample had fewer children than mothers, and their youngest

children were younger.

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Table 2. Parenthood attributes of young adults by sex

Father

s

Mother

s Mean current age of parents 30 29

Median age at parenthood

become parents

25 22

Current marital status (%)

parents

Married 99 96

Not currently married 1 4

Number of children (%)

1 60 44

2 31 43

3+ 8 13

Age of youngest child (%)

0 25 18

1-2 32 29

3-5 29 30

6+ 13 24

Total (%)

100 100

Source: The 2010 Greater Jakarta Transition to Adulthood Survey

The relationship between parenthood, age and highest education level is shown in Table

3. There are wide educational disparities, those with higher education levels being

considerably less likely to have children. Furthermore this pattern is found in every age

group. This may indicate that young people with higher education, and in particular

university degrees, experience a period of emerging adulthood which produces role

identities focused on their studies and careers. These identities, which are formed

without the presence of children, persist as young people get older, leading not only to a

delay but also to a decline in childbearing. In contrast, those with lower levels of

education appear to enter parenthood much sooner, and their identities as young parents

are formed early in life. For example, among sample men aged 25-29, one-third of those

with no post-school qualification were already parents, compared to only 16 per cent of

those with university degrees. For women the pattern of motherhood by education was

similar. It is important to note that the percentages displayed in Table 3 reflect both

period and cohort influences. As education levels increase over time, the pattern of

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parenthood at ages 30-34 may in the future turn out to be different for those currently

aged 20-24.

Table 3. Percentages who were parents by age, sex and highest education level

Males Females 20-24 25-29 30-34 Total 20-24 25-29 30-34 Total Education Primary school less 11 32 83 49 56 82 94 84 Junior high school 20 39 73 45 50 75 94 76 Senior high school 5 39 61 30 16 68 90 54 Certificate 6 13 60 24 9 44 73 44 Bachelors+ 2 16 44 20 10 42 61 41 Total percentage who

were parents 7 32 63 32 24 65 87 61


The four panels of Figure 1 show the impact of education on the likelihood of men

remaining childless in the decade between ages 20 and 29. Lines in the first panel show

that men with primary school or less education currently aged 30-34 had lower

proportions childless at each age than those aged 25-29 –meaning, the older men had

become fathers earlier. However, this effect was stronger for those with lower levels of

education than for those that had completed Senior High School or had a tertiary

qualification. Similar patterns are found at each educational level, but as education

increased the overall chance of fatherhood was lower and the proportion childless higher.

Thus, the overall trend in age at fatherhood is likely to be affected more by change in

educational composition of the population than by changes in the timing of parenting for

each education group.

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Figure 1. Proportion of male respondents who remain childless at each age by current

age group and highest educational attainment


The probability of being a parent was analysed further using multivariate logistic

regression. The results, shown in Table 4, confirm the bivariate analysis above.

Controlling for current age, respondents with lower levels of education had significantly

higher odds of being a parent. The number of siblings a person had was also a significant

predictor of parenthood. Compared to those who only had 0-2 siblings, those with 3 or

more siblings were significantly more likely to be parents themselves. Although the

effect of religion on parenthood status was not significant for male respondents, being a

Muslim increased the odds of having become a mother for women. Religiosity was not a

significant variable, net of other variables, in any of the regression models.

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Table 4. Logistic regression: Odds ratios of being a parent by sex

Odds ratio All Males Females

Sex

Male (ref) --

Female 3.98***

Age group

20-24 0.16*** 0.17*** 0.15*** 25-29 (ref) -- -- --

30-34 3.54*** 3.53*** 3.64***

Highest education level

Primary or less 2.22*** 1.64** 2.72***

JHS 2.03*** 1.74*** 2.30*** SHS (ref) -- -- --

Certificate 0.48*** 0.64 0.42***

Bachelors+ 0.39*** 0.45*** 0.36***

Total number of siblings

0-2 (ref) -- -- --

3-4 1.24* 1.18 1.30*

5+ 1.43*** 1.50** 1.31*

Religion

Non-muslim (ref) -- -- --

Muslim 1.84*** 1.07 2.68***

Religiosity

Not religious/not answered 1.02 0.82 1.25

Somewhat religious (ref) -- -- --

Religious/very religious 1.09 0.94 1.21

Total number of observations 2,946 1,158 1,662 Source: The 2010 Greater Jakarta Transition to Adulthood Survey

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Labour force participation

Employment

Overall, around 60 per cent of the sample was currently working, but the employment

situation varied significantly by sex and parenthood. Less than half the women were

employed compared to nearly 80 per cent of the men. If we compare people with children,

men who had children were more likely to work whereas women who had children were far

less likely to be working than their childless counterparts (Table 5). This is consistent with

the notion that fathers should be the economic providers for families and mothers should be

responsible for domestic duties rather than having careers in the public sphere.

Table 5. Percentages of respondents by employment and parental statuses, by sex

% Males % Females

Father Non-Father Mother Non-mother

Not employed 1.9 20.5 42.4 12.5

Employed 31.5 46.1 20.8 24.3

N 1167 1672


Among married couples, in around one-third of cases both the man and the women were

currently employed. This percentage was much higher, however, just over half, among

couples with no children. In couples with children the male breadwinner model predominated

(Table 6).

Table 6. Employment status among couples by parental status

Childless

couples

Couples

with

children Total

Both partners work 53.7 28.5 31.7

Only man works 41.9 66.6 63.5

Only woman works 3.0 2.6 2.7

Nobody works 1.5 2.3 2.2

Total % 100 100 100

Total N 203 1,417 1,620


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Some insight into the employment experience of women that were not working can be gained

by looking at their stated reasons for not working. Women who were not working were

presented with a list of possible reasons for not working and asked to choose up to two of

them, a main reason and a secondary reason. Table 7 shows, by parental status, the

percentages choosing each reason as either their main or secondary reason for not working.

Whereas non-mothers emphasized reasons related to inability to find work or study

commitments, high percentages of mothers said they preferred to be at home with their

children and had no one else to look after their children, and 24 per cent of them indicated

that their partner did not want them to work. Those who had no one to look after their

children presumably were unable to afford to pay live-in nannies and housekeepers (available

for a minimum wage of US$110/month) and did not have extended family members who

could help with childcare. The strong notion of husbands’ authority is demonstrated by many

not allowing their wives to be involved in formal work.

Table 7. Reasons mentioned by women for not working by parental status

Mothers Non-mothers

Reason % %

Cannot find any work at all 5.0 24.4

Cannot find a job suitable to skills 4.2 19.4

Low skill levels 4.7 5.1

Cannot find work nearby 0.6 6.0

Cannot find a job with suitable hours 0.9 5.1

Studying 0.3 33.6

Poor health 1.1 4.6

Permanently handicapped 0.0 0.0

Pregnant 2.0 4.6

Prefer to be at home with the children 63.4 -

Have no one to look after my children 50.6 -

Family caring responsibilities (not children) 7.9 4.6

Partner does not want me to work 23.9 6.5

Do not need additional income 0.1 3.2

Other 8.5 21.7

N 696 217


Working hours

Among employed respondents, the number of hours worked per week differed by both sex

and parental status (Table 8). Overall 10 per cent of respondents worked less than 35 hours a

week, 63 per cent 35-59 hours and 27 per cent 60 or more hours. Fathers worked the longest

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hours. Nearly one-third worked 60 or more hours a week. Mothers were the most likely to

work part-time (20%), though the great majority of mothers work full-time. Similar patterns

have been found in Australian studies (Strazdins, Shipley and Broom, 2007)

Table 8. Hours worked per week by employed respondents by sex and parental status

Hours worked per week %

Father Non-Father Mother Non-mother Total

<35 hours 5.5 8.5 17.4 8.6 9.7

35-59 hours 61.9 62.3 56.9 70.8 63.3

60+ hours 32.7 29.2 25.8 20.6 27.0

N 346 554 334 441 1,675


Satisfaction regarding future job prospects

Respondents were asked to state how satisfied they were with various areas of their lives,

including their future job prospects. Overall, fathers were the most satisfied with their future

job prospects. A substantial proportion were still dissatisfied, but 55 percent were either

satisfied or very satisfied. Among mothers, the equivalent figure was substantially lower at

41 percent. Compared to mothers and fathers, childless respondents were more likely to have

‘mixed feelings’ regarding their future job prospects. This may reflect the fact that they were

younger, and may therefore not have finished studying and not yet have established

themselves in the full-time labour market.

Table 9. Satisfaction regarding future job prospects by sex and parental status

%

Father Non-father Mother Non-mother

No answer 0.7 2.7 6.4 3.7

Very satisfied 5.7 4.8 3.8 5.9

Satisfied 49.5 42.7 37.2 41.9

Mixed feelings 13.3 21.0 14.8 19.5

Dissatisfied 28.8 25.3 32.6 26.0

Very dissatisfied 2.0 3.6 5.1 3.1

N 406 839 1072 681


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Emotional relationships with parents

Leaving the parental home

Overall, just over half the sample was still living with their parents, but among these nearly a

quarter had returned after leaving home at least once before. The ages at which individuals

had first left home were very similar for men and women, median ages being respectively 20

and 19 years.

After leaving home for the first time there was a wide range of destinations, including

moving into a place of one’s own with a spouse, in with other relatives, into a share house or

into a boarding house. Eight out of ten respondents who had their own children did not live in

the home of their own parents. It is possible that some were living with in-laws, but that was

not specifically asked about. Among the fathers and mothers who were not living with their

own parents, about 60 per cent were living in a house that they or their partner owned or

rented. Nowadays it is increasingly common for brides and grooms to be economically

independent, and in fact one of the major motivations for delaying marriage is to accumulate

the resources needed to live independently.

Emotional relationships with parents

Respondents were asked to describe their relationship with their father and mother on a scale

from 1-5, where 1 equalled ‘not very close’ and 5 equalled ‘very close’. Responses given by

individuals whose biological mother or father was still alive are shown in the diagram below.

Fifty to 60 percent of respondents described their relationship to their father as either close or

very close. The remainder described it as average, not close or not very close, or they could

not answer. Relationships with mothers were described as much closer by all respondents,

and in particular by women. Emotional relationships with parents after marriage and having

children show the strong attachment and functioning of the extended family. Figure 2

demonstrated that emotional relationships with parents are lower for respondents who have

become parents than non-parents for both sexes.

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Figure 2. Impact of childbearing on respondents’ relationship with their parents


Health and Mental Health

Self-rated general health

When asked to self-rate their health, the vast majority of respondents said their health was

‘good’. Only 13 per cent felt it was only ‘fair’ or ‘poor’, and this is not surprising given the

youth of the sample. Non-parents were more likely to report their health as being at the

higher or lower end of the scale. They were more likely to say it was ‘very good’ or

‘excellent’, but also more likely to classify it as ‘fair’ or `poor’.

Vitality and Mental health

Respondents were asked a series of questions to measure their vitality and mental health.

Their vitality was measured by two questions: How often did you have lots of energy? How

often have you felt tired and worn out? The mean level of vitality was 71 where 100 indicated

the highest possible level of vitality.

Mental health was measured using six items: How often did you feel full of life? How often

have you felt nervous? How often have you felt that nothing could cheer you up? How often

have you felt calm and peaceful? How often have you been a happy person? and How often

have you felt very depressed? Respondents were given a timeframe of the past four weeks

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and response options ranged from 1 = All of the time, to 5 = None of the time. The

Cronbach’s alpha for the six items was 0.68 and the mean score on mental health was 80.

Table 10 shows three regression models, the first for self-rated health (ordinal regression) and

the second and third for the vitality scores and mental health scores (linear regression). For

self-rated health, non-mothers were less likely than fathers to rate their health highly, as were

those with primary school education. For vitality, compared to fathers, women had lower

scores and this was especially true of mothers. Compared to those aged 25-29, individuals in

their early 20s were significantly less likely to have higher vitality scores. For mental health

there was a greater range of variables which had some predictive power. Non-fathers had

poorer mental health than fathers, but mothers and non-mothers did not differ significantly

from fathers. Those aged 20-24 had poorer mental health than those aged 25-29. Australian

studies have demonstrated that fathers with full-time jobs and mothers with part-time jobs are

the most healthy and happy (Baxter et al., 2007).

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Table 10. Regression models of self-rated health, vitality and mental health status of

respondents

Ordinal regression, self-rated health

(higher score=better health) (higher score=better vitality/mental health)

Self rated health

(odds ratios)Vitality Mental health

Sex and parenthood

Fathers (reference) -- -- --

Non-fathers 0.91 -0.95 -2.08***

Mothers 0.79* -2.14** 1.11

Non-mothers 0.67*** -2.60** -0.65

Age group

20-24 0.78** -1.68** -1.46***

25-29 (reference) -- --

30-35 0.91 -0.77 -0.39

Highest education

Primary school or less 1.25 -2.07** -1.93**

Junior high school (reference) -- -- --

Senior high school 1.71*** 1.26 1.02*

Certificate level 2.34*** 2.66** 2.31**

Bachelors + 1.98*** 1.37 1.90**

Employment

Not employed (reference) -- -- --

Employed 0.98 -0.20 1.39***

Constant 72.75*** 79.54***

note: *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1

Linear regression on vitality and

mental health scores


Gender attitudes

Respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement (on a 5-point Likert scale) with

a series of statements regarding the role of women, relationships and the household division

of labour. For this analysis a series of statements which were more directly related to

fatherhood or the division of labour within the home have been selected.

Table 11 shows the percentages of respondents agreeing to each chosen statement by sex

and parental status. While in general females exhibit more egalitarian values than men,

certain statements capturing traditional gender role stereotypes received high support from

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both sexes: The husband is the head of the household; A wife must worship and serve the

husband; Marriage is for life. This finding is in line with Indonesian norms and values that

see husbands as authority figures, regulating and dominating the household, and served and

respected by their wives. That said, majorities of both male and female respondents signalled

egalitarian views by agreeing with the following statements: If both the husband and wife

work, they should share equally in household duties and childcare; Both the husband and

wife should contribute equally to the household income. While these responses indicated

majority support for married women’s involvement in paid employment, interestingly the

statement generating the most diverse response pattern by sex was: Having a job is the best

way for a woman to be independent. Only 51 percent of fathers agreed to the statement,

compared to 82 percent of non-mothers. The results for the more educated group are

consistent with recent research indicating a preference for dual-earner marriages among

educated young people, with wives taking up the role of secondary earners (A.Utomo 2008).

Table 11. Percentages of respondents agreeing to statements on gender role attitudes by

sex and parental status

% Agree/Strongly agree

Fat

hers

Non-

Father

Mot

hers

Non-

Mother

s

A husband does not belong in the kitchen 12.8 16.6 19.5 14.4

Someone should not have maintain a

marriage/relationship should it no longer serves their

needs

26.7 35.2 32.7 33.9

Having a job is the best way for a woman to be

independent 50.8 61.3 71 81.9

Wives have bigger role in maintaining domestic harmony 59.1 55.6 59.7 54.7

It does not matter in a relationship if a wife earns more

than the husband 77.4 80.3 82.6 84.7

Wives and husbands should equally contribute to the

family income 81.3 87.7 90.7 92.8

If husband and wife are working, they both should share

same household duties and childcare 91 90.1 93.5 94.5

Marriage is for life 96.1 96.3 97.5 97.2

A wife must worship and serve the husband 97.9 98.6 98.9 98

Husband is the head of household 99.2 99.6 99.8 99.7


21

To assess how gender role attitudes were related to sex and parental status a series of logistic

regressions were conducted (Table 12). The dependent variable was whether or not the

respondent agreed or strongly agreed with a proposition. Overall, female respondents were

more likely than fathers to exhibit egalitarian attitudes to gender roles. Non-fathers did not

differ significantly from fathers in their responses to most statements of egalitarian and

traditional attitudes , although they were more likely to agree that both the husband and wife

should contribute to the household income, and that someone should not have to maintain a

marriage or relationship if it no longer served their needs.

Education comes out as a significant factor in each of these four cases and this may just

indicate that those with higher education may simply be more comfortable in stating a

‘strong’ opinion about something.

Table 12. Logistic regressions of egalitarian and traditional gender attitudes

Egalitarian attitudes Traditional attitudes

Strongly agree/Agree vs. other responses Strongly agree/Agree vs. other responses

It does not

matter in a relationship if

the wife earns

more than the

husband

Each spouse should have

separate

activities from

each other

Both the husband

and wife

should contribute

to the

household

income

Someone should

not have to

maintain a marriage or

relationship if it no

longer serves their

needs

A husban

d does

not belong

in the

kitche

n

In maintaini

ng

domestic harmony,

the wife

has the

main role

A wife must be

ok with her

husband having

another wife

Sex and parenthood

Fathers (reference) -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Non-fathers 1.09 1.18 1.79*** 1.34** 1.40* 0.86 1.19

Mothers 2.18*** 1.41*** 2.79*** 1.35** 1.39* 0.93 0.34***

Non-mothers 1.63*** 1.46*** 3.12*** 1.29* 1.10 0.87 0.44***

Age group

20-24 1.56*** 0.92 0.83 1.28** 1.12 0.98 1.23

25-29 (reference) -- -- . -- -- -- --

30-35 1.15 1.00 0.89 1.19* 0.78** 0.86 1.37

Employment

Not employed (reference) -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Employed 1.75*** 1.20** 1.44*** 1.01 0.92 1.00 0.91

Highest education

Primary school or less 0.95 0.87 1.32 0.71** 1.17 1.16 0.91

Junior high school

(reference) -- -- .

-- -- -- --

Senior high school 1.23 0.97 1.04 0.94 0.55*** 0.82* 0.68*

Certificate level 2.00*** 0.81

1.52

1.33* 0.51*** 0.74* 0.48*

Bachelors + 1.97*** 1.06 1.48 1.11 0.33*** 0.57*** 0.81

Religion

Other religion (reference) -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Muslim 0.85 1.06 0.44*** 1.22 1.04 1.32** 0.87

Religiosity

Not religious 1.12 0.89 0.87 1.33*** 1.23 0.94 1.79***

Somewhat religious -- -- . -- . . .

Religious/Very religious 1.04 0.95 0.78* 0.82* 1.14 1.41*** 1.26

Source: The 2010 Greater Jakarta Transition to Adulthood Survey. Note: *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1

22

Attitudes towards children

As with the gender attitudes, respondents were asked to state their levels of agreement to a

series of statements regarding children. A series of logistic regressions were conducted to

investigate the effects on attitudes of various demographic characteristics. Compared to

fathers, childless respondents were less likely to agree that A life without children is not fully

complete. Childless respondents and mothers were, however, significantly more likely to

agree that There is social pressure to have children. Women in general (mothers and non-

mothers) were more likely than men to agree that A working mother can establish just as

warm and secure a relationship with her children as a mother who does not work. Compared

to fathers, mothers were more likely to agree that The mother is responsible for the child’s

growth and development.

Respondents with more education appeared to place a higher ‘value’ on children than those

who had only completed up to junior high school. They were more likely to agree that A life

without children is not fully complete and less likely to agree that Children are a burden so it

is better not to have more than two. Those with more education were also less likely to agree

that The mother is responsible for the child’s growth and development and that Having

children is a religious duty.

Religion also played a role in shaping attitudes. Respondents who were Muslim were more

likely to agree that having children was a religious duty, and less likely to agree that having

children was a burden, so that it was better to not have more than two. The attitude that a

mother is responsible for a child’s growth and development declines consistently with age,

perhaps as the importance of a father’s contribution becomes more appreciated.

23

Table 13. Logistic regressions of attitudes towards children

Strongly agree/Agree vs. other responses

A life without children is not fully complete

Children are a burden so it is better not to have more than two

A working mother can establish just as warm and secure a relationship with her children as a mother who does not work

The mother is responsible for the child's growth and development

There is social pressure to have children

Having children is a religious duty

Sex and parenthood

Fathers (reference)

Non-fathers 0.44*** 1.21 1.24 1.14 1.89*** 1.06

Mothers 1.15 0.95 2.33*** 1.65*** 1.36* 1.24

Non-mothers 0.47*** 0.96 2.20*** 1.16 1.73*** 0.91

Age group

20-24 1.59*** 1.28* 0.99 1.23** 0.89 0.99

25-29 (reference) . . . . . .

30-35 1.37* 0.92 1.08 0.77*** 1.03 0.85

Employment

Not employed (reference) . . . . . .

Employed 1.03 0.85 1.31*** 1.18* 1.02 1.12

Highest education

Primary school or less 0.66* 1.33* 1.28* 1.29* 1.29 1.16

Junior high school (reference)

. . . . . .

Senior high school 1.58** 0.52*** 1.10 0.57*** 0.86 0.65***

Certificate level 1.88** 0.55*** 1.30 0.27*** 0.66* 0.48***

Bachelors + 1.67* 0.33*** 1.41** 0.26*** 0.68* 0.49***

Religion

Other religion (reference) . . . . . .

Muslim 1.50* 0.68** 0.91 1.21 0.92 1.83***

Religiosity

Not religious/Don’t know 0.88 1.09 1.06 1.16 1.19 1.24*

Somewhat religious . . . . . .

Religious/very religious 0.70** 1.07 0.82** 0.99 0.94 0.97

Source: The 2010 Greater Jakarta Transition to Adulthood Survey. Note: *** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1

24

Discussion

Young fathers exhibit a high rate of employment compared to young men who are not

fathers. In contrast there is a relatively low level of paid employment among mothers

compared with both married and unmarried women who are not mothers. There is little

opportunity for part-time work for either fathers or mothers in Jakarta, and many fathers work

very long hours (60+ per week). It is important to note that since we are using cross-sectional

data we are not making any claims about causality at this stage regarding the effect of

childbearing on men’s working patterns. While men with children work longer hours than

men without children, it is possible that this is due to a selection effect. That is employed men

who work long hours, and earn a higher level of income, may be more attractive partners and

therefore more likely to marry and have children than their peers who are less successful in

the labour market.

As these are relatively young parents, their children are also still quite young (the youngest

usually still under school age). Reasons for mothers not working largely reflect traditional

values and choices. The notion that it is the mother’s primary duty to look after children

shapes the options that most women perceive concerning employment versus domestic

activities. In a surprisingly high percentage of cases, young fathers do not want their wives to

work. This is a core indication of the generally strong traditional attitudes among fathers

compared to other young men.

Fathers have a high degree of satisfaction about their job prospects, and this might be a

reason why their wives are not working. Education of the mother changes this situation. The

higher her education the more likely she is to be working. The precise reasons for this pattern

are not clear. Educated mothers may receive intrinsic rewards from their work, but at the

same time they may have more bargaining power with their husbands to allow them to pursue

their own careers and spend time out of the household. They can also more easily afford

alternative childcare.

Regarding financial and emotional relationships with parents, fathers reported themselves to

be less close to their parents than non-fathers, mothers and non-mothers, and 50 percent of

fathers were not close or very close to their own fathers compared to about one-third not

being close to their mothers. Thus, there seems to be a degree of separation of male

generations, especially when the next generation has its own children.

25

Men are more likely than women to report themselves to be healthy and also report higher

vitality scores. There is no significant difference between fathers and non-fathers in these

matters, but young fathers have better mental health scores than young non-fathers. All three

health and wellbeing measures are influenced by education, with the more educated reporting

higher degrees of health/wellbeing.

The broad picture is of fathers working long hours to earn income to support their wives and

children. This defines the socially preferred male breadwinner role.

Fathers have good physical and mental health and mostly consider their job prospects to be

good, in line with the breadwinner model. The introduction of higher education for women

complicates this picture. Where the mother has a high level of education, she is much more

likely to work and also works relatively long hours, implying a reliance on alternative forms

of childcare.

The observed life situations tend to reflect traditional attitudes and behaviour among young

fathers. In contrast mothers in our young adult sample display differing values which are

often not consistent with their life situations. Young fathers are much less egalitarian in their

gender attitudes than young women in general, and are more conservative about traditional

values related to children.

26

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