Double Exposure: The Combined Impact of the Home and Work Environments on Psychosomatic Strain in Swedish Women and Men

Abstract

This study investigates the relative distribution of home responsibilities and psychosocial work environment characteristics and their associations with psychosomatic strain in a random sample of the female and male working population of Sweden (N = 12,772). Occupational variables investigated were psychological and physical demands, job control, social support, and job hazards. Home characteristics included measures of household work, number and age of children, and child care resources. A sex-pooled logistic regression analysis was performed to detect sex differences in the effects of the variables upon strain. Gender was no longer associated with psychosomatic strain after adjusting for work and home characteristics and their interactions, and while there were some similarities between the sexes with respect to the main effects of the home and work characteristics, in 52 of 60 combined effect comparisons women had a greater combined odds ratio for strain than men.

Occupational Stress and Mental Health among Correctional Officers: A Cross‐Sectional Study

“…Double exposure was also an important factor in shaping mental health; this was in agreement with previous studies based on Hall's theory 28) . Interesting findings emerged from the written comments of participants.…”

The importance of low control at work and home on depression and anxiety: do these effects vary by gender and social class?

“…Instead of focusing specifically on the crossover or interaction between work and home, the double exposure model suggests that exposure to stress occurs in both the home and work environment, with some exposures unique to each environment, and others common to both. If levels of total exposure (common and unique elements from both environments) are high, the risk for negative health outcomes increases (Hall, 1992;Lundberg et al, 1994). Hall (1992) used this approach to study exposures to stress from work and home and their combined effect on psychosomatic strain and found fundamental gender differences in "…the pattern of exposure to the stresses and the rewards of working and home life" (p. 253), and the relationship of this pattern to strain.…”

“…If levels of total exposure (common and unique elements from both environments) are high, the risk for negative health outcomes increases (Hall, 1992;Lundberg et al, 1994). Hall (1992) used this approach to study exposures to stress from work and home and their combined effect on psychosomatic strain and found fundamental gender differences in "…the pattern of exposure to the stresses and the rewards of working and home life" (p. 253), and the relationship of this pattern to strain. In her study of 12,772 working Swedish men and women, the greatest odds for psychosomatic strain was for women who worked more than 20 hours a week, had high home stress (defined as the level of burden from household duties) and low control on the job.…”

“…Yet studies that have taken into account the "second shift" (Hochschild, 1989), that is, the double burden of being employed and maintaining primary responsibilities for the family and home, have shown that employed women have similar or even higher rates of psychiatric symptoms than housewives (Haavio, 1986). Women who work full time, especially those in managerial and professional jobs (Bartley et al, 1992;Hall, 1992;Rosenfield, 1989;Walters et al, 1996), and who have dependent children (Arber et al, 1985;Hall, 1992) also report more ill-health and depressive symptoms than their part-time or childless counterparts. These findings suggest that for women who work full time and maintain the overall management of the home environment, there may be a threshold where the benefits of paid employment begin to reverse and become deleterious.…”

Multiple roles and women's mental health in Canada

“…[4,29] Numerous studies have shown that being a lone mother is particularly disadvantageous, both economically and in terms of mental health. [30,31] Evidence of high levels of distress among lone mothers is reinforced by findings from Hall's study on lone mothers' experiences in the workforce: [32] lower economic status and lower-quality work led to substantial levels of distress among lone mothers relative to their partnered counterparts.…”