Depression, Work and Family Roles, and the Gendered Life Course

Abstract

Do the mental health benefits of employment change as men and women age through their prime employment and child-rearing years?Women experience more depression than men, and this disparity worsens during adulthood. Although employment promotes mental health, gender inequalities in paid work suggest employment's health-promoting effects may vary by gender, age, and child-rearing stage. Job resources, such as earnings and authority, tend to accrue with age. Yet women have flatter career trajectories than men, in part due to child-rearing demands as well as discrimination against mothers and women more generally. These gendered employment experiences suggest men accrue greater mental health rewards from employment than women, a difference that could contribute to the worsening of women's mental health relative to men's with age.

Work-family life courses and psychological distress: Evidence from three British birth cohort studies

“…This is in line with previous evidence suggesting health benefits from delaying parenthood for both women and men (Hardy et al, 2009;Lacey, Kumari et al, 2017;Tosi & Grundy, 2019). Evidence from the United States has also shown that the health benefits of employment are attenuated for mothers when their children are young (Leupp, 2017). As entry to parenthood continues to impact on women's working lives (Argyrous et al, 2017;McMunn et al, 2019;Schober, 2013), more recent cohorts have increasingly turned to later entry into parenthood as a crucial way of managing this impact, allowing time to establish experience in the labour market prior to becoming a parent.…”

“…Women who combined early parenthood with full-time domestic work also had a relatively high probability of psychological distress in mid-life in all three cohorts which is generally in line with previous work showing worse mental health and wellbeing in mid-life amongst longterm full-time homemakers compared with those who had stronger ties to employment (Frech & Damaske, 2012;Leupp, 2017;McMunn, Bartley et al, 2006;Lacey, Stafford et al, 2016;Tosi & Grundy, 2019). The relative within-cohort difference in the probability of psychological distress amongst women spending long periods out of employment to look after the family full-time was particularly marked for women born in 1958.…”

“…As more longitudinal data became available, studies began to examine associations between work and family and health longitudinally. at two or three time points (Hewitt et al, 2006;Janzen & Muhajarine, 2003;Johansson et al, 2007;Klumb & Lampert, 2004;) but often did not take early health into account, with some exceptions (Frech & Damaske, 2012;Leupp, 2017;McMunn, Bartley et al, 2006;Nordenmark, 2004). Longitudinal studies using more than two waves of data have consistently found health benefits of continuous employment for women and men where men have been included (Frech & Damaske, 2012;Leupp, 2017;McMunn, Bartley et al, 2006;Tosi & Grundy, 2019).…”

An intersectional analysis of women's social role engagement and mental health

“…Considerable evidence supports the salubrious effects of holding multiple roles (Black et al, 2009; Davis et al, 2011; Sachs‐Ericsson & Ciarlo, 2000). Consistent with a role enhancement perspective, multiple role engagement boosts well‐being by enhancing resources, self‐conception, and life satisfaction (Leupp, 2017). Alternatively, the role strain perspective argues that occupying multiple roles has negative consequences for well‐being by increasing incompatible role demands (Marks, 1977).…”

Sources of Mattering for Women and Men: Gender Differences and Similarities in Feelings of Social Significance

“…Overall, men’s and women’s gendered roles have been linked to their emotional well-being (Leupp 2017; Simon 1995). Chloe E. Bird and Patricia P. Rieker (1999:748) explain thatGender differences in opportunities shape men’s and women’s choices and expectations regarding social roles and role-related activities, which in turn affect their exposures to various risks (including stress, role overload, [and] occupational health problems [ .…”