Abstract
Objective
Study Design
Results
Conclusion
Background
The Stress Process Model
Work–Family Conflict
For employed wives with young children, difficulty in arranging child care and husbands' participation in child care have major effects on depression. Child care may be the overwhelming concern for employed mothers; it is not children per se who create stress for employed mothers, but the absence of supportive arrangements.
The Case of Low-income Women
Clinton, W. J. (1998). Remarks by the President on Welfare Reform, August 4, 1998. Online by G. Peters and J. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. Available: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=54734. Accessed: November 14, 2013.
Considering the Stress Universe
Methods
Hypotheses
- H1: Respondents who acquire employment will report fewer symptoms of psychological distress from baseline to follow-up than continuously unemployed respondents.
- H2: Respondents who acquire employment without child care conflict will report fewer symptoms of psychological distress from baseline to follow-up than continuously unemployed respondents.
- H3: Respondents who acquire employment with child care conflict and respondents who remain continuously unemployed will report similar changes in symptoms of psychological distress over the study period.
Data
Measures
Mental Health
Employment Status and Child Care Conflict
Common Stressors
Background Variables
Analytic Strategy
Range | Total Sample | Remained Unemployed | Acquired Employment | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mean or % | SD | Mean or % | SD | Mean or % | SD | ||
Employment characteristics | |||||||
Remained unemployed | 0.00–1.00 | 62.1% | - | ||||
Acquired employment | 0.00–1.00 | 36.7% | - | ||||
No child care conflict | 0.00–1.00 | 31.2% | - | ||||
Child care conflict | 0.00–1.00 | 6.7% | - | ||||
Psychological distress | |||||||
Total BSI (1999) | 1.00–4.56 | 1.392 | 0.53 | 1.407 | 0.56 | 1.370 | 0.48 |
Δ BSI (2001–1999) | −2.50–2.50 | −0.012 | 0.45 | 0.013 | 0.44 | −0.051∗ | 0.46 |
Anxiety (1999) | 1.00–4.67 | 1.340 | 0.58 | 1.354 | 0.61 | 1.321 | 0.53 |
Δ Anxiety (2001–1999) | −3.33–3.33 | −0.002 | 0.51 | 0.028 | 0.49 | −0.046∗ | 0.54 |
Depression (1999) | 1.00–4.67 | 1.454 | 0.66 | 1.466 | 0.68 | 1.437 | 0.61 |
Δ Depression (2001–1999) | −3.00–2.83 | −0.009 | 0.55 | 0.020 | 0.55 | −0.053∗ | 0.55 |
Somatization (1999) | 1.00–4.83 | 1.382 | 0.55 | 1.403 | 0.59 | 1.350 | 0.50 |
Δ Somatization (2001–1999) | −3.00–2.67 | −0.027 | 0.51 | −0.008 | 0.52 | −0.055 | 0.49 |
Chronic stressors | |||||||
Household disrepair | 0.00–8.00 | 1.253 | 1.47 | 1.242 | 1.47 | 1.293 | 1.49 |
Δ Household disrepair | −8.00–8.00 | −0.100 | 1.64 | −0.099 | 1.59 | −0.103 | 1.81 |
Neighborhood disorder | 11.00–33.00 | 20.222 | 5.86 | 20.114 | 5.82 | 20.624 | 5.98 |
Δ Neighborhood disorder | −21.00–21.00 | −0.657 | 5.870 | −0.567 | 5.89 | −0.993 | 5.80 |
Intimate partner violence | 0.00–1.00 | 30.0% | - | 28.3% | - | 36.9% | - |
Control variables | |||||||
Log income (1999) | 0.00–11.51 | 5.964 | 2.95 | 6.081 | 2.909 | 5.711∗ | 3.01 |
Δ Log income (2001–1999) | −9.21–11.51 | 0.052 | 3.50 | −0.596 | 3.479 | 1.231∗∗∗ | 3.22 |
Married (1999 only) | 0.00–1.00 | 5.2% | - | 3.7% | - | 7.4%∗∗ | - |
Married (2001 only) | 0.00–1.00 | 6.8% | - | 6.4% | - | 7.4% | - |
Married (both waves) | 0.00–1.00 | 27.1% | - | 28.5% | - | 24.9% | - |
Unmarried (both waves) | 0.00–1.00 | 60.9% | 61.4% | - | 60.3% | - | |
Children (1999) | 1.00–6.00 | 2.700 | 1.43 | 2.728 | 1.48 | 2.728 | 1.34 |
Δ Children | −5.00–5.00 | 0.093 | 0.88 | 0.065 | 0.80 | 0.136 | 0.99 |
≥1 child <5 (1999 only) | 0.00–1.00 | 12.2% | - | 12.7% | - | 10.6% | - |
≥1 child <5 (2001 only) | 0.00–1.00 | 3.7% | - | 3.8% | - | 3.3% | - |
1 + Child Under 5 (Both Waves) | 0.00–1.00 | 48.6% | - | 46.6% | - | 56.1%∗∗∗ | - |
No child <5 (both waves) | 0.00–1.00 | 35.4% | - | 36.9% | - | 30.3% | - |
White | 0.00–1.00 | 6.9% | - | 7.5% | - | 6.0% | - |
Mexican | 0.00–1.00 | 36.1% | - | 37.3% | - | 34.2% | - |
Other Hispanic | 0.00–1.00 | 17.8% | - | 16.3% | - | 20.0% | - |
African American | 0.00–1.00 | 37.6% | - | 36.7% | - | 39.1% | - |
Education (y) | 0.00–14.00 | 10.287 | 2.28 | 10.052 | 2.37 | 10.646∗∗∗ | 2.07 |
Age (y) | 18.00–74.00 | 33.044 | 11.08 | 34.376 | 11.68 | 30.015∗∗∗ | 9.71 |
Boston | 0.00–1.00 | 29.8% | - | 29.1% | - | 30.9% | - |
Chicago | 0.00–1.00 | 34.9% | - | 35.0% | - | 34.8% | - |
San Antonio | 0.00–1.00 | 35.2% | - | 35.8% | - | 34.3% | - |
(1) Δ BSI | (2) Δ Anxiety | (3) Δ Depression | (4) Δ Somatization | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Acquired employment | −0.074∗∗ (0.03) | −0.079∗∗ (0.03) | −0.098∗∗ (0.03) | −0.058∗ (0.03) |
BSI (1999) | −0.379∗∗∗ (0.02) | |||
Anxiety (1999) | −0.432∗∗∗ (0.02) | |||
Depression (1999) | −0.351∗∗∗ (0.02) | |||
Somatization (1999) | −0.496∗∗∗ (0.02) | |||
HH disrepair (1999) | 0.000 (0.01) | 0.015 (0.01) | 0.007 (0.01) | −0.012 (0.01) |
Δ HH disrepair | 0.016 (0.01) | 0.028∗∗ (0.01) | 0.016 (0.01) | 0.008 (0.01) |
Neighborhood disorder (1999) | 0.003 (0.00) | 0.004 (0.00) | 0.004 (0.00) | 0.002 (0.00) |
Δ Neighborhood disorder | 0.003 (0.00) | 0.005 (0.00) | 0.003 (0.00) | 0.002 (0.00) |
Intimate partner violence | 0.033 (0.03) | 0.046 (0.03) | 0.068 (0.04) | 0.013 (0.03) |
Log Income (1999) | 0.003 (0.01) | 0.007 (0.01) | 0.005 (0.01) | 0.000 (0.01) |
Δ Log income | −0.003 (0.00) | −0.002 (0.01) | −0.002 (0.01) | −0.003 (0.00) |
Married (1999 only) | −0.140∗ (0.06) | −0.140∗ (0.06) | −0.055 (0.07) | −0.193∗∗ (0.06) |
Married (2001 only) | −0.055 (0.05) | −0.006 (0.05) | −0.065 (0.06) | −0.101 (0.05) |
Married (both waves) | −0.161∗∗∗ (0.03) | −0.134∗∗∗ (0.04) | −0.170∗∗∗ (0.04) | −0.181∗∗∗ (0.04) |
No. of children (1999) | 0.017 (0.01) | 0.015 (0.01) | 0.019 (0.01) | 0.017 (0.01) |
Δ No. of children | 0.040∗∗ (0.01) | 0.053∗∗ (0.02) | 0.034 (0.02) | 0.033∗ (0.02) |
≥1 child <5 (1999 only) | −0.074 (0.06) | −0.096 (0.07) | 0.002 (0.08) | −0.132 (0.07) |
≥1 child <5 (2001 only) | −0.106∗ (0.04) | −0.100∗ (0.05) | −0.082 (0.05) | −0.149∗∗ (0.05) |
≥1 child <5 (both waves) | −0.122∗∗∗ (0.03) | −0.148∗∗∗ (0.04) | −0.059 (0.04) | −0.167∗∗∗ (0.03) |
White | 0.008 (0.05) | 0.068 (0.06) | 0.083 (0.07) | −0.105 (0.06) |
Mexican | 0.076 (0.05) | 0.076 (0.05) | 0.087 (0.06) | 0.072 (0.05) |
Other Hispanic | −0.034 (0.04) | −0.008 (0.04) | −0.042 (0.05) | −0.031 (0.04) |
Education (y) | −0.002 (0.01) | 0.005 (0.01) | −0.006 (0.01) | −0.005 (0.01) |
Age (y) | −0.002 (0.00) | −0.001 (0.00) | −0.003 (0.00) | −0.002 (0.00) |
Boston | 0.101∗ (0.04) | 0.080 (0.05) | 0.109 (0.06) | 0.108∗ (0.05) |
Chicago | 0.061 (0.04) | 0.036 (0.04) | 0.073 (0.05) | 0.073 (0.04) |
Missing Data
Results
Descriptive Statistics
Multivariate Analyses
(1) Δ BSI | (2) Δ Anxiety | (3) Δ Depression | (4) Δ Somatization | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Employed, no child care conflict | −0.122∗∗∗ (0.03) | −0.129∗∗∗ (0.03) | −0.150∗∗∗ (0.04) | −0.099∗∗ (0.03) |
Employed, child care conflict | 0.128∗∗ (0.05) | 0.134∗ (0.05) | 0.123∗ (0.06) | 0.115∗ (0.05) |
BSI (1999) | −0.378∗∗∗ (0.02) | |||
Anxiety (1999) | −0.433∗∗∗ (0.02) | |||
Depression (1999) | −0.349∗∗∗ (0.02) | |||
Somatization (1999) | −0.496∗∗∗ (0.02) | |||
HH disrepair (1999) | −0.000 (0.01) | 0.015 (0.01) | 0.007 (0.01) | −0.013 (0.01) |
Δ HH disrepair | 0.013 (0.01) | 0.024∗ (0.01) | 0.012 (0.01) | 0.005 (0.01) |
Neighborhood disorder (1999) | 0.002 (0.00) | 0.004 (0.00) | 0.003 (0.00) | 0.002 (0.00) |
Δ Neighborhood disorder | 0.002 (0.00) | 0.004 (0.00) | 0.002 (0.00) | 0.001 (0.00) |
Intimate partner violence | 0.035 (0.03) | 0.048 (0.03) | 0.070* (0.04) | 0.015 (0.03) |
Log income (1999) | 0.005 (0.01) | 0.009 (0.01) | 0.006 (0.01) | 0.001 (0.01) |
Δ Log income | −0.003 (0.00) | −0.002 (0.01) | −0.001 (0.01) | −0.003 (0.00) |
Married (1999 only) | −0.141∗ (0.06) | −0.140∗ (0.06) | −0.055 (0.07) | −0.194∗∗ (0.06) |
Married (2001 only) | −0.042 (0.05) | 0.007 (0.05) | −0.051 (0.06) | −0.090 (0.05) |
Married (both waves) | −0.147∗∗∗ (0.03) | −0.118∗∗ (0.04) | −0.154∗∗∗ (0.04) | −0.168∗∗∗ (0.04) |
No. of children (1999) | 0.017 (0.01) | 0.014 (0.01) | 0.018 (0.01) | 0.016 (0.01) |
Δ No. of children | 0.044∗∗ (0.01) | 0.057∗∗∗ (0.02) | 0.039∗ (0.02) | 0.036∗ (0.02) |
≥1 child <5 (1999 only) | −0.066 (0.06) | −0.088 (0.07) | 0.011 (0.08) | −0.125 (0.07) |
≥1 child <5 (2001 only) | −0.106∗ (0.04) | −0.101∗ (0.05) | −0.083 (0.05) | −0.149∗∗ (0.05) |
≥1 child <5 (both waves) | −0.136∗∗∗ (0.03) | −0.163∗∗∗ (0.04) | −0.074 (0.04) | −0.179∗∗∗ (0.03) |
White | −0.002 (0.05) | 0.059 (0.06) | 0.073 (0.07) | −0.113* (0.06) |
Mexican | 0.065 (0.04) | 0.065 (0.05) | 0.075 (0.06) | 0.063 (0.05) |
Other Hispanic | −0.034 (0.04) | −0.008 (0.04) | −0.042 (0.05) | −0.031 (0.04) |
Education (y) | −0.001 (0.01) | 0.006 (0.01) | −0.005 (0.01) | −0.004 (0.01) |
Age (y) | −0.002 (0.00) | −0.002 (0.00) | −0.003 (0.00) | −0.002 (0.00) |
Boston | 0.101∗ (0.04) | 0.081 (0.05) | 0.109 (0.06) | 0.108∗ (0.05) |
Chicago | 0.066 (0.04) | 0.042 (0.04) | 0.079 (0.05) | 0.078 (0.04) |

Discussion
Implications for Practice and/or Policy
Acknowledgments
References
- Employment transitions and psychological distress: The contrasting experiences of single and married mothers.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1997; 38: 345-362
- Consequences associated with work-to-family conflict: A review and agenda for future research.Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. 2000; 5: 278
- A meta-analysis of work–family conflict and various outcomes with a special emphasis on cross-domain versus matching-domain relations.Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. 2011; 16: 151-169
- Family roles and sex differences in depression.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1981; 22: 379-393
- The contagion of stress across multiple roles.Journal of Marriage and the Family. 1989; 51: 175-183
- Household disrepair and the mental health of low-income urban women.Journal of Urban Health. 2011; 88: 142-153
- Radio address to the nation on welfare reform.1992 (Online by G. Peters & J. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. Available:) (Accessed: November 14, 2013)
- Sex differences in psychological distress among married people.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1983; 24: 111-121
Clinton, W. J. (1998). Remarks by the President on Welfare Reform, August 4, 1998. Online by G. Peters and J. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. Available: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=54734. Accessed: November 14, 2013.
- Both hands tied: Welfare reform and the race to the bottom in the low-wage labor market.University of Chicago Press, Chicago2010
- Childcare subsidies and the transition from welfare to work.Family Relations. 2004; 53: 219-228
Derogatis, L. (2000). Brief Symptom Inventory 18: Administration, scoring, and procedures manual. Minneapolis, MN: National Computer System.
- Families facing untenable choices.Contexts. 2011; 10: 38-42
- Depression and unemployment: Panel findings from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area study.American Journal of Community Psychology. 1994; 22: 745-765
- Underemployment and depression: Longitudinal relationships.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 2000; 41: 421-436
- Psychological assessment of patients with temporomandibular disorders: Confirmatory analysis of the dimensional structure of the Brief Symptoms Inventory 18.Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2006; 60: 365-370
- Work and the political economy of stress: Recontextualizing the study of mental health/illness in sociology.in: Avison W. McLeod J. Pescosolido B. Mental health, social mirror. Springer, New York2007: 143-167
- Work-family conflict and employee psychiatric disorders: The National Comorbidity Survey.Journal of Applied Psychology. 2000; 85: 888-895
- Relationship of work-family conflict to substance use among employed mothers: The role of negative affect.Journal of Marriage and the Family. 1994; 56: 1019-1030
- Work–family conflict, gender, and health-related outcomes: A study of employed parents in two community samples.Journal of Occupational Health Psychology. 1996; 1: 57-69
- Antecedents and outcomes of work-family conflict: Testing a model of the work-family interface.Journal of Applied Psychology. 1992; 77: 65-78
- Relation of work–family conflict to health outcomes: A four-year longitudinal study of employed parents.Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. 1997; 70: 325-335
- Can poor families find childcare? Persisting inequality nationwide and in Massachusetts.(Cambridge, MA: Harvard Child Care and Family Policy Project)1995
- Social roles, sex roles and psychological distress: Additive and interactive models of sex differences.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1983; 24: 300-312
- The effect of children and employment on the mental health of married men and women.Social Forces. 1977; 56: 66-76
- Work, family, and mental health: Testing different models of work-family fit.Journal of Marriage and Family. 2003; 65: 248-261
Hays, S. (1996). The cultural contradictions of mothering. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.
- Nonstandard work schedules: Employer-and employee-driven flexibility in retail jobs.Social Service Review. 2006; 80: 609-634
- Relationship violence and psychological distress among low-income urban women.Journal of Urban Health. 2007; 84: 537-551
- Neighborhood disorder, psychophysiological distress, and health.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 2005; 46: 170-186
- The economy and social pathology.Annual Review of Sociology. 1984; 10: 95-119
- Health insurance status and symptoms of psychological distress among low-income urban women.Society and Mental Health. 2015; 5: 1-15
- Two-wave panel analysis: Comparing statistical methods for studying the effects of transitions.Journal of Marriage and Family. 2005; 67: 1061-1075
Kalleberg, A. L. (2011). Good jobs, bad jobs. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
- Arranging child care.Future of Children. 1997; 7: 99-109
- The effect of wives' employment on the mental health of married men and women.American Sociological Review. 1982; 47: 216-227
- Unemployment and health in a community sample.Journal of health and social behavior. 1987; 28: 51-59
- Intervening processes in the relationship between unemployment and health.Psychological Medicine. 1987; 17: 949-961
- Unemployment, reemployment, and emotional functioning in a community sample.American Sociological Review. 1989; 54: 648-657
- Welfare reform and the subject of the working mother: Get a job, a better job, then a Career.Theory and Society. 2002; 32: 445-480
- Work and unemployment as stressors.in: Horwitz A. Scheid T. A handbook for the study of mental health: Social contexts, theories, and systems. Cambridge University Press, New York1999: 284-294
- Work and unemployment as stressors.in: Scheid T. Brown T. A handbook for the study of mental health: Social contexts, theories, and systems. Cambridge University Press, New York2010: 213-225
- ‘Some of us are excellent at babies’: Paid work, mothering, and the construction of need in a welfare-to-work program.in: Piven F. Acker J. Hallock M. Morgen S. Work, welfare and politics: Confronting poverty in the wake of welfare reform. University of Oregon Press, Eugene2002: 81-94
- Effects of unemployment on mental and physical health.American Journal of Public Health. 1985; 75: 502-506
- Towards a citizens' welfare state: The 3 + 2 ‘R’s of welfare reform.Theory, Culture & Society. 2001; 18: 91-111
- Work time, work interference with family, and psychological distress.Journal of Applied Psychology. 2002; 87: 427-436
- Work, family, and their intersection.in: Avison W. Aneshensel C. Schieman S. Wheaton B. Advances in the conceptualization of the stress process: Essays in honor of Leonard I. Pearlin. Springer, New York2010: 131-145
- Social causes of psychological distress.Aldine de Gruyter, Hawthorne, NY2003
- Maternal, family, and work correlates of role strain in low-income mothers.Journal of Family Psychology. 2004; 18: 424-432
- The influence of past unemployment duration on symptoms of depression among young women and men in the United States.American Journal of Public Health. 2009; 99: 1826-1832
- The sociological study of stress.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1989; 30: 241-256
- Stress and mental health: A conceptual overview.in: Horwitz A. Scheid T. A handbook for the study of mental health: Social contexts, theories, and systems. Cambridge University Press, New York1999: 131-145
- Stress, health, and the life course: Some conceptual perspectives.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 2005; 46: 205-219
- Work and well-being: Gender differences in the psychological consequences of employment.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1995; 36: 57-71
- Message to the congress on ‘a quest for excellence’.1987 (Online by G. Peters & J. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. Available:) (Accessed: November 14, 2013)
- Factor structure of the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 in adult survivors of childhood cancer: Results from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.Psychological Assessment. 2006; 18: 22-32
- The effects of women's employment: Personal control and sex differences in mental health.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1989; 30: 77-91
- Dividing work, sharing work, and in-between: Marriage patterns and depression.American Sociological Review. 1983; 48: 809-823
- Child care and emotional adjustment to wives' employment.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1988; 29: 127-138
- The impact of the family on health: The decade in review.Journal of Marriage and the Family. 1990; 52: 1059-1078
- Home-to-work conflict, work qualities, and emotional distress.Sociological Forum. 2003; 18: 137-164
- Education and work-family conflict: Explanations, contingencies and mental health consequences.Social Forces. 2011; 89: 1341-1362
- Parental role strains, salience of parental identity and gender differences in psychological distress.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1992; 33: 25-35
- Gender, multiple roles, role meaning, and mental health.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 1995; 36: 182-194
- The Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2) development and preliminary psychometric data.Journal of Family Issues. 1996; 17: 283-316
- Work and mental health.in: Aneshensel C. Phelan J. Handbook of the sociology of mental health. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York1999: 255-274
- The sociology of work and well-being.in: Aneshensel C. Bierman A. Phelan J. Handbook of the sociology of mental health. Springer, New York2013: 433-455
- A sociology of mental illness.Pearson/Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ2004
- After REACH: Experience of AFDC recipients who leave welfare with a job.Mathematica Policy Research, Princeton, NJ1990
- Impact of social anxiety disorder on employment among women receiving welfare benefits.Psychiatric Services. 2009; 60: 61-66
- Examining factorial structure and measurement invariance of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)-18 among drug users.Addictive Behaviors. 2010; 35: 23-29
- Employment, parental responsibility, and psychological distress: A longitudinal study of married women.Journal of Family Issues. 1989; 10: 527-546
- Sampling the stress universe.in: Avison W. Gotlib I. Stress and mental health: Contemporary issues and prospects for the future. Springer, New York1994: 77-114
- Multiple imputation using chained equations: Issues and guidance for practice.Statistics in Medicine. 2011; 30: 377-399
- Work–family conflict in context: The impact of structural and perceived neighborhood disadvantage on work–family conflict.Social Science Research. 2015; 50: 311-327
- When hard times take a toll: The distressing consequences of economic hardship and life events within the family-work interface.Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 2012; 53: 84-98
- Spouse's work-to-family conflict, family stressors, and mental health among dual-earner mothers and fathers.Society and Mental Health. 2014; 4: 1-20