After the Baby: Work-Family Conflict and Working Mothers' Psychological Health (original) (raw)
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Women & Health, 2001
The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between the employment status of new mothers and their depressive symptoms at 6 months postpartum. In order to have a better understanding of these links, we investigated the role that socio-environmental characteristics of new mothers plays in this relationship. Employment status is conceived to be closely linked to the characteristics of new mothers and their environment that constitute some of the well-known risk factors for postpartum depressive disorders. For that reason, the possibility that these characteristics could intervene in the relationship between employment status and depressive symptoms was considered. Three types of links were explored: independent, interactive or indirect relationships. Analysis was performed on a sample of 447 women in one of the four following situations: working, being on maternity leave, being a homemaker or actively seeking employment. Results appear to indicate the presence of an indirect relationship between employment status and depressive symptoms. Women on maternity leave, and, to a lesser degree, working mothers, present characteristics that are associated with a good mental health. Homemakers and women seeking employment, however, seem to be placed in situations associated with depressive symptoms. These results underscore the possibility that employment status could lead to living conditions that have an impact on a new mother's mental health.
2019
Pregnancy and postpartum are adaptation processes leading to physical and psychological changes. Pregnant and postpartum women are at risk of suffering psychological disorders, namely maternal depressive symptoms, a situation that is able to reduce the quality of life. Working mothers usually have double burdens, and those who suffer the symptoms in this situation would suffer worse impacts. This research is intended to know maternal depressive symptoms and factors leading to it for working mothers during their pregnancy and postpartum. The study employs a cross-sectional design. The population of the research is 97 working mothers who entrust their 1-12 months old babies in daycares in Bukittinggi. Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) is employed to measure maternal depressive symptoms, and the statistical test in use to see factors of age, parity, education, and income towards maternal depressive symptoms is chi-square. The research finds that most of the respondents do not...
Relation of work family conflict and role quality on depressive symptoms in mothers
Journal of Public Health, 2012
Aim The purpose of this study was to further investigate the relationship between perceived role quality (of the mother, partner, work and homemaker role), work family conflict (WFC) and maternal depression. We assume that role quality moderates the relation between WFC and depressive symptoms in working mothers. Method Data for the cross-sectional study were obtained from mothers (N0148) with children up to 10 years of age. In order to analyze the relationship between role quality, WFC and depressive symptoms in mothers, we conducted moderated regression analyses. Results The central findings are (1) that positive role quality of the mother (p<.001), partner (p<.001) and work role (p<.01) is negatively related to depressive symptoms; (2) that the frequently in recent literature discussed relation between high levels of WFC and the development of depressive symptoms, is moderated by role quality. Positive role quality buffers the detrimental influence of WFC on depressive symptoms. Conclusion Results indicated that in order to better understand possible influence combining work and family roles on depressive symptoms for mothers, focus should be on the quality of the occupied roles and not solely on possible conflict between roles. Roles provide important resources that help to cope with possible conflicts between roles thus protecting from the development of depressive symptoms in mothers.
Annals of Epidemiology, 2007
PURPOSE: Since 1970, women of childbearing age have increasingly participated in the workforce. However, literature on work-family conflict has not specifically addressed the health of postpartum women. This study examined the relationship between work-family conflict and mental and physical health of employed mothers 11 weeks after childbirth. METHODS: Employed women, 18 years and older, were recruited while in the hospital for childbirth (N Z 817; 71% response rate). Mental and physical health at 11 weeks postpartum was measured using SF-12 version 2. General linear models estimated the associations between the independent variables and health. A priori causal models and directed acyclic graphs guided selection of confounding variables. RESULTS: Analyses revealed that high levels of work interference with family were associated with significantly lower mental health scores. Medium and high levels of family interference with work revealed a dose-response relationship resulting in significantly worse mental health scores. Coworker support was strongly and positively associated with better physical health. CONCLUSIONS: Work-family conflict was negatively associated with mental health but not significantly associated with physical health. Availability of social support may relieve the burden women can experience when balancing work roles and family obligations.
International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
Purpose To investigate the effects of total workload and other work-related factors on postpartum depression in the first 6 months after childbirth, utilizing a hybrid model of health and workforce participation. Methods We utilized data from the Maternal Postpartum Health Study collected in 2001 from a prospective cohort of 817 employed women who delivered in three community hospitals in Minnesota. Interviewers collected data at enrollment and 5 weeks, 11 weeks, and 6 months after childbirth. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale measured postpartum depression. Independent variables included total workload (paid and unpaid work), job flexibility, supervisor and coworker support, available social support, job satisfaction, infant sleep problems, infant irritable temperament, and breastfeeding. Results Total average daily workload increased from 14.4 h (6.8 h of paid work; 7.1% working at 5 weeks postpartum) to 15.0 h (7.9 h of paid work; 87% working at 6 months postpartum) over the 6 months. Fixed effects regression analyses showed worse depression scores were associated with higher total workload, lower job flexibility, lower social support, an infant with sleep problems, and breastfeeding. Conclusions Working mothers of reproductive years may find the study results valuable as they consider merging their work and parenting roles after childbirth. Future studies should examine the specific mechanisms through which total workload affects postpartum depressive symptoms.
The Psychosocial Work Environment and Maternal Postpartum Depression
International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 2009
Background Postpartum depression is a debilitating mental disorder affecting women after childbirth. This study examined the correlates of postpartum depression at 11 weeks after childbirth, focusing on work-related stressors and applying the job demand–control–support model. Method Investigators recruited a prospective cohort of 817 employed Minnesota women when hospitalized for childbirth in 2001. Trained interviewers collected data in person and by telephone at enrollment and 5 and 11 weeks postpartum from three Minneapolis and St. Paul hospitals. Results Results of hierarchical regression analysis showed that worse depression scores (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) were associated with higher psychological demands, lower schedule autonomy, and lower perceived control over work and family. Perceptions of control mediated the relationships of coworker support and schedule autonomy with postpartum depression scores. Study findings showed no significant buffering effects for decision latitude; however, coworker support and decision latitude appear to act as functional substitutes in reducing postpartum depressive symptoms. Conclusion These findings raise questions about the applicability of the job demand–control–support model to postpartum women or to postpartum depression. Future research could assess the impact of the interaction between the work and home environment on maternal postpartum depression.
Working-Class Jobs and New Parents' Mental Health
Journal of Marriage and Family, 2011
Little research has explored linkages between work conditions and mental health in workingclass employed parents. The current study aims to address this gap, employing hierarchical linear modeling techniques to examine how levels of and changes in job autonomy, job urgency, supervisor support, and coworker support predicted parents' depressive symptoms in a sample of 113 dual-earner couples interviewed five times across the transition to parenthood. Increases in job autonomy and decreases in job urgency predicted fewer depressive symptoms in fathers at 1 year postpartum. For mothers, coworker support predicted fewer depressive symptoms, and supervisor support mitigated the negative effects of job urgency on depressive
Depressive Symptoms in Mothers: The Role of Employment and Role Quality
Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 2011
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether paid employment of mothers in Austria with children up to 10 years of age is related to depressive symptoms (N ¼ 248). Three contrasting theoriesscarcity theory, role enhancement theory, and role quality theory-have been discussed to explain the relation of multiple-role occupation and depressive symptoms. Results indicate that (a) in accordance with the assumptions of scarcity theory working mothers have higher levels of depressive symptoms than notworking mothers; (b) in accordance with role quality theory only mothers with low work-role quality have higher rates of depressive symptoms; and (c) besides work status the perceived quality of the mother role was significantly related to depressive symptoms.
Balancing Work and Family After Childbirth: A Longitudinal Analysis
Women's Health Issues, 2011
Background: In the United States, women with young children have dramatically increased their participation in the workforce, resulting in greater potential conflict between work and family roles. However, few studies have examined postpartum work-family conflict. This study examined associations between work-family conflict and women's health after childbirth. Methods: Employed women, 18 years of age and older, were recruited while hospitalized for childbirth and followed for 18 months (n ¼ 541; 66% response rate). Health outcomes were measured using the Short Form 12, version 2. Longitudinal fixed-effects models estimated the associations between work-family conflict (modeled as job and home spillover) and health. Results: Women who reported high levels of job spillover to home had mental health scores slightly, but significantly, worse than women who reported low levels of spillover (b ¼ À1.26; SE ¼ 0.47). Women with medium and high levels of home spillover to job also reported worse mental health (b ¼ À0.81, SE ¼ 0.30; and b ¼ À1.52, SE ¼ 0.78) relative to those with low spillover. Women who reported medium (versus low) levels of home spillover reported slightly improved physical health (b ¼ 0.64, SE ¼ 0.30). There was no significant association between job spillover and physical health. Conclusion: This study focused exclusively on employed postpartum women. Results illustrate that job and home spillover are associated with maternal mental and physical health. Findings also revealed that flexible work arrangements were associated with poorer postpartum mental health scores, which may reflect unintended consequences, such as increasing the amount of work brought home.