Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Does the psychosocial quality of unpaid family work contribute to educational disparities in mental health among employed partnered mothers?

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

The contribution of unpaid family work quality to understanding social inequalities in women’s mental health has been understudied and further limited by a scarcity of psychometrically sound instruments available to measure family work. Therefore, using a multi-item scale of family work quality with evidence of validity and reliability, the overall aim of the present study was to determine whether psychosocial qualities of unpaid family work contribute to educational inequities in women’s mental health.

Methods

Study participants in this cross-sectional study were 512 employed partnered mothers living in a Canadian province and recruited from an online research panel. The dependent variable was psychological distress. In addition to a 28-item measure assessing five dimensions of unpaid family work quality, independent variables included material deprivation, job decision latitude, job demands and several measures of the work–family interface. Multiple linear regression was the primary analysis.

Results

Compared to women with high school or less, university educated women reported lower psychological distress [b = − 2.23 (SE = 0.50) p = 0.001]. The introduction of material deprivation into the model resulted in the largest reduction to the education disparity (51%), followed by equity in responsibility for unpaid family work (25%), family-to-work facilitation (22%), and decision latitude in paid work (21%). When entered simultaneously into the final model, the association between education and psychological distress was reduced by 70% and became statistically non-significant [b = − 0.68 (SE = 0.47) p = 0.10].

Conclusions

In addition to the more established mechanisms of material conditions and decision latitude to explain mental health disparities, inequity in responsibility for unpaid family work may also play a role.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Arcas MM, Novoa AM, Artazcoz L (2013) Gender inequalities in the association between demands of family and domestic life and health in Spanish workers. Eur J Public Health 5:883–888

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Avison WR, Ali J, Walters D (2007) Family structure, stress, and psychological distress: a demonstration of the impact of differential exposure. J Health Soc Beh 48:301–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baron RM, Kenny DA (1986) The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. J Per Soc Psychol 51:1173–1182

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borrell C, Muntaner C, Benach J et al (2004) Social class and self-reported health status among men and women: what is the role of work organisation, household material standards and household labour? Soc Sci Med 58:1869–1887

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chandola T, Kuper H, Singh-Manoux A et al (2004) The effect of control at home on CHD events in the Whitehall II study: gender differences in psychosocial domestic pathways to social inequalities in CHD. Soc Sci Med 58:1501–1509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chazelle E, Lemogne C, Morgan K et al (2011) Explanations of educational differences in major depression and generalised anxiety disorder in the Irish population. J Affective Dis 134:304–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Claffey S, Mickelson K (2009) Division of household labor and distress: the role of perceived fairness for employed mothers. Sex Roles 60:819–831

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooklin AR, Dinh H, Strazdins L et al (2016) Change and stability in work–family conflict and mothers’ and fathers’ mental health: longitudinal evidence from an Australian cohort. Soc Sci Med 155:24–34

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crocker L, Algina J (1986) Introduction to classical and modern test theory. College Publishing, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • DeVillis R (2003) Scale development: theory and applications. Sage, Newbury Park

    Google Scholar 

  • du Prel JB, Iskenius M, Peter R (2014) Are effort–reward imbalance and social isolation mediating the association between education and depressiveness? Baseline findings from the lidA-study. Int J Public Health 59:945–955

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furukawa TA, Kessler RC, Slade T et al (2003) The performance of the K6 and K10 screening scales for psychological distress in the Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Well-Being. Psychol Med 33:357–362

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Glymour M, Avendano M, Kawachi I (2014) Socioeconomic status and health. In: Berkman L, Kawachi I, Glymour M (eds) Social epidemiology, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 17–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenhaus J, Allen T, Spector P (2006) Health consequences of work–family conflict: the dark side of the work–family interface. In: Perrewé P, Ganster D (eds) Employee health, coping and methodologies. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Greenwich, pp 61–98

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin JM, Fuhrer R, Stansfeld SA et al (2002) The importance of low control at work and home on depression and anxiety: do these effects vary by gender and social class? Soc Sci Med 54:783–798

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harryson L, Novo M, Hammarstrom A (2012) Is gender inequality in the domestic sphere associated with psychological distress among women and men? Results from the Northern Swedish Cohort. J Epidemiol Community Health 66:271–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey SB, Modini M, Joyce S et al (2017) Can work make you mentally ill? A systematic meta-review of work-related risk factors for common mental health problems. Occup Environ Med 74:301–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kan M, Sullivan O, Gershuny J (2011) Gender convergence in domestic work: discerning the effects of interactional and institutional barriers from large-scale data. Sociol 45:234–251

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karasek R, Brisson C, Kawakami N et al (1998) The Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ): an instrument for internationally comparative assessments of psychosocial job characteristics. J Occup Health Psychol 3:322–355

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler RC, Andrews G, Colpe LJ et al (2002) Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychol Med 32:959–976

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler RC, Green JG, Gruber MJ et al (2010) Screening for serious mental illness in the general population with the K6 screening scale, results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) survey initiative. Int J Methods Psychiatr Res 19(S1):4–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Khawaja M, Habib R (2007) Husbands’ involvement in housework and women’s psychosocial health: findings from a population-based study in Lebanon. Am J Public Health 97:860–866

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kushnir T, Melamed S (2006) Domestic stress and well-being of employed women: interplay between demands and decision control at home. Sex Roles 54:687–694

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lennon MC (1994) Women, work, and well-being: the importance of work conditions. J Health Soc Behav 35:235–247

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lennon MC (1998) Domestic arrangements and depressive symptoms: an examination of housework conditions. In: Dohrenwend BP (ed) Adversity, stress, and psychopathology. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 409–21

    Google Scholar 

  • Lorant V, Deliege D, Eaton W et al (2003) Socioeconomic inequalities in depression: a meta-analysis. Am J Epidemiol 157:98–112

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lynch JW, Kaplan GA, Cohen RD et al (1996) Do cardiovascular risk factors explain the relation between socioeconomic status, risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and acute myocardial infarction? Am J Epidemiol 144:934–942

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marshall K (2006) Converging gender roles. Perspect Labour Income 18:5–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews S, Power C (2002) Socio-economic gradients in psychological distress: a focus on women, social roles and work-home characteristics. Soc Sci Med 54:799–810

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matthews RA, Kath LM, Barnes-Farrell JL (2010) A short, valid, predictive measure of work–family conflict: item selection and scale validation. J Occup Health Psychol 15:75–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNall LA, Nicklin JM, Masuda AD (2010) A meta-analytic review of the consequences associated with work–family enrichment. J Business Psychol 25:381–396

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mirowsky J, Ross C (2003) Education, social status and health. Aldine De Gruyter, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Moyser M (2017) Women and paid work. Women in Canada: a gender-based statistical report. Statistics Canada, Ottawa. Catalogue no. 89503X

  • Muntaner C, Eaton WW, Miech R et al (2004) Socioeconomic position and major mental disorders. Epidemiol Rev 26:53–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murcia M, Chastang JF, Niedhammer I (2015) Educational inequalities in major depressive and generalized anxiety disorders: results from the French national SIP study. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatric Epidemiol 50:919–928

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niedhammer I, Lesuffleur T, Coutrot T et al (2016) Contribution of working conditions to occupational inequalities in depressive symptoms: results from the national French SUMER survey. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 89:1025–1037

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff PM, MacKenzie SB, Lee JY et al (2003) Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. J Applied Psychol 88:879–903

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polachek AJ, Wallace JE (2015) Unfair to me or unfair to my spouse: men’s and women’s perceptions of domestic equity and how they relate to mental and physical health. Marriage Fam Rev 51:205–228

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qiu H, Bures R, Shehan CL (2012) The inconsistent mediating effects of psychosocial work characteristics on the education-health relationship. Soc Sci Med 75:1539–1546

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Regidor E, Pascual C, de la Fuente L et al (2010) Socio-economic position, family demands and reported health in working men and women. Eur J Public Health 21:109–115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothman KJ, Gallacher JE, Hatch EE (2013) Why representativeness should be avoided. Int J Epidemiol 42:1012–1014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Savitz DA (2003) Interpreting epidemiologic evidence: strategy for study design and analysis. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sayer LC (2010) Trends in housework. In: Treas J, Drobnic S (eds) Dividing the domestic: men, women, and household work in cross-national perspective. Stanford University Press, Palo Alto, pp 19–38

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schieman S, Koltai J (2017) Discovering pockets of complexity: socioeconomic status, stress exposure, and the nuances of the health gradient. Soc Sci Res 63:1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schieman S, Whitestone YK, Van Gundy K (2006) The nature of work and the stress of higher status. J Health Soc Beh 47:242–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schutte S, Chastang JF, Parent-Thirion A et al (2015) Psychosocial work exposures among European employees: explanations for occupational inequalities in mental health. J Public Health 37:373–388

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegrist J, Marmot M (2004) Health inequalities and the psychosocial environment—two scientific challenges. Soc Sci Med 58:1463–1473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegrist J, Starke D, Chandola T et al (2004) The measurement of effort–reward imbalance at work: European comparisons. Soc Sci Med 58:1483–1499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Solar O, Irwin A (2010) A conceptual framework for action on the social determinants of health. World Health Organization, Geneva

    Google Scholar 

  • Sperlich S, Geyer S (2015) The mediating effect of effort-reward imbalance in household and family work on the relationship between education and women’s health. Soc Sci Med 131:58–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sperlich S, Peter R, Geyer S (2012) Applying the effort-reward imbalance model to household and family work: a population-based study of German mothers. BMC Public Health 12:12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sperlich S, Arnhold-Kerri S, Siegrist J et al (2013) The mismatch between high effort and low reward in household and family work predicts impaired health among mothers. Eur J Public Health 23:893–898

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Staland Nyman C, Alexanderson K, Hensing G (2008) Associations between strain in domestic work and self-rated health: a study of employed women in Sweden. Scand J Public Health 36:21–27

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stansfeld SA, Head J, Fuhrer R et al (2003) Social inequalities in depressive symptoms and physical functioning in the Whitehall II study: exploring a common cause explanation. J Epidemiol Commun Health 57:361–367

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Canada (2013) Canadian Internet use survey, 2012. The daily. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/131126/dq131126d-eng.htm. Accessed 30 June 2017

  • Virtanen M, Koskinen S, Kivimaki M et al (2008) Contribution of non-work and work-related risk factors to the association between income and mental disorders in a working population: the Health 2000 Study. Occup Environ Med 65:171–178

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Voydanoff P (2005) The differential salience of family and community demands and resources for family-to-work conflict and facilitation. J Fam Economic Issues 26:395–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walters V, Lenton R, French S et al (1996) Paid work, unpaid work and social support: a study of the health of male and female nurses. Soc Sci Med 43:1627–1636

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weich S, Lewis G (1998) Material standard of living, social class, and the prevalence of the common mental disorders in Great Britain. J Epidemiol Community Health 52:8–14

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou N, Buehler C (2016) Family, employment, and individual resource-based antecedents of maternal work–family enrichment from infancy through middle childhood. J Occup Health Psychol 21:309–321

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (funding reference number: 79338). The authors would like to thank Dr. Prosanta Mondal for his statistical advice during manuscript revision.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    Bonnie Janzen

  2. Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education, College of Education, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    Laurie-ann M. Hellsten

Authors
  1. Bonnie Janzen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Laurie-ann M. Hellsten
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bonnie Janzen.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University of Saskatchewan Behavioral Review Board (Beh# 06-230) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 57 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Janzen, B., Hellsten, La.M. Does the psychosocial quality of unpaid family work contribute to educational disparities in mental health among employed partnered mothers?. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 91, 633–641 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-018-1310-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-018-1310-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation