Change and stability in work-family conflict and mothers' and fathers' mental health: Longitudinal evidence from an Australian cohort

Social Science and Medicine

Volumn 155, Issue , 2016, Pages 24-34

  Cooklin, A R ^a   Dinh, H ^b   Strazdins, L ^b   Westrupp, E ^a   Leach, L S ^c   Nicholson, J M ^a  

^a LA TROBE UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

^b The Australian National University   (Australia)

^c AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

Author keywords

Cohort study; Employment; Job quality; Mental health; Parents; Social determinants of health; Work family conflict

Indexed keywords

COHORT ANALYSIS; EMPLOYMENT; MENTAL HEALTH; PSYCHOLOGY; WORKING CONDITIONS; WORKPLACE;

AUSTRALIAN; CHILD; FAMILY CONFLICT; FAMILY LIFE; FAMILY SIZE; FATHER; FEMALE; HUMAN; LONGITUDINAL STUDY; MAJOR CLINICAL STUDY; MALE; MENTAL HEALTH; MOTHER; MULTIPLE REGRESSION; OCCUPATION; SECONDARY ANALYSIS; SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH; WORKPLACE; ADULT; AUSTRALIA; CONFLICT; FAMILY; MENTAL DISORDERS; MENTAL STRESS; MIDDLE AGED; PSYCHOLOGY; STATISTICS AND NUMERICAL DATA; WORK; YOUNG ADULT;

AUSTRALIA;

ADULT; AUSTRALIA; CONFLICT (PSYCHOLOGY); FAMILY; FAMILY CHARACTERISTICS; FATHERS; FEMALE; HUMANS; LONGITUDINAL STUDIES; MALE; MENTAL DISORDERS; MIDDLE AGED; MOTHERS; SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH; STRESS, PSYCHOLOGICAL; WORK; YOUNG ADULT;

EID: 84960342638     PISSN: 02779536     EISSN: 18735347     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.02.036     Document Type: Article

References (85)

1. Allard K., Haas L., Hwang C. Family-supportive organizational culture and fathers' experiences of work-family conflict in Sweden. Gend. Work Organ. 2011, 18(2):141-157.
2. Allen T.D., Finkelstein L.M. Work-family conflict among members of full-time dual-earner couples: an examination of family life stage, gender, and age. J. Occup. Health Psychol. 2014, 19(3):376-384.
3. Allen T., Herst D., Bruck C., Sutton M. Consequences associated with work-to-family conflict: a review and adgenda for future research. J. Occup. Health Psychol. 2000, 5(2):278-308.
4. Amstad F.T., Meier L.L., Fasel U., Elfering A., Semmer N.K. A meta-analysis of work-family conflict and various outcomes with a special emphasis on cross-domain versus matching-domain relations. J. Occup. Health Psychol. 2011, 16(2):151-169.
5. Bakker A., Demerouti E., Dollard M. How job demands affect partners' experience of exhaustion: integrating work-family conflict and crossover theory. J. Appl. Psychol. 2008, 93(4):901-911.
6. Baxter J. Mothers' employment transitions following childbirth. Fam. Matters 2005, 71:11-17.
7. Bünning M., Pollmann-Schult M. Family policies and fathers' working hours: cross-national differences in the paternal labour supply. Work Employ. Soc. 2015, Published online before print June 18, 2015. 10.1177/0950017015578999.
8. Burnett S., Gatrell C., Cooper C., Sparrow P. Fathers at work: a ghost in the organizational machine. Gend. Work Organ. 2012, 20(6):632-646.
9. Butts M., Casper W., Yang T. How important and work-family support policies? a meta-analytic investigation of their effects on employee outcomes. J. Appl. Psychol. 2013, 98(1):1-25.
10. Carlson D., Perrewe P. The role of social support on the stressor-strain relationship: an examination of work-family conflict. J. Manag. 1999, 25(4):513.
11. Carlson D., Grzywacz J., Ferguson M., Hunter E., Clinch C., Arcury T. Health and turnover of working mothers after childbirth via the work-family interface: an analysis across time. J. Appl. Psychol. 2011, 96(5):1045-1054.
12. Casper W., Eby L., Bordeaux C., Lockwood A., Lambert D. A review of research methods in IO/OB work-family research. J. Appl. Psychol. 2007, 92(1):28-43.
13. Cha Y. Reinforcing separate spheres: the effect of spousal overwork on men's and women's employment in dual-earner households. Am. Sociol. Rev. 2010, 75(2):303-329.
14. Charlesworth S., Strazdins L., O'Brien L., Sims S. Parents' jobs in Australia: work hours, polarisation and the consequences for job quality and gender equality. Aust. J. Labour Econ. 2011, 14(1):35-57.
15. Coltrane S., Miller E.C., DeHaan T., Stewart L. Fathers and the flexibility stigma. J. Soc. Issues 2013, 69(2):279-302.
16. Cooklin A.R., Westrupp E.M., Strazdins L., Giallo R., Martin A., Nicholson J.M. Fathers at work: work-family conflict, work-family enrichment and parenting in an Australian cohort. J. Fam. Issues 2014.
17. Cooklin A.R., Westrupp E., Strazdins L., Giallo R., Martin A., Nicholson J.M. Mothers' work-family conflict and enrichment: associations with parenting quality and couple relationship. Child Care, Health Dev. 2014, Online first 26 March, 2014.
18. Craig L., Sawrikar P. Work and family: how does the (gender) balance changes as children grow?. Gend. Work Organ. 2009, 16:684-709.
19. Crouter A., Bumpus M. Linking parent's work stress to children's and adolescents' psychological adjustment. Curr. Dir. Psychol. Sci. 2001, 10:156.
20. Demerouti E., Bakker A., Bulters A. The loss spiral of work pressure, work-home interference and exhaustion: reciprocal relations in a three-wave study. J. Vocat. Behav. 2004, 64:131-149.
21. Duxbury L., Higgins C. Work-life Balance in the New Millennium: Where Are We? Where Do We Need to Go? 2001, CPRN Discussion Paper No. W12, Canadian Policy Research Networks, Inc., Ottawa, ON, Available from:, (accessed 05.01.15.). http://cprn.org/documents/7314_en.PDF.
22. Eby L., Casper W., Lockwood A., Bordeaux C., Birinley A. Work and family research in IO/OB: content analysis and review of the literature (1980-2002). J. Vocat. Behav. 2005, 66:124-197.
23. Erikson R., Martinengo G., Hill E. Putting work and family experiences in context: differences by family life stage. Hum. Relat. 2010, 63:955-979.
24. Ferguson M., Carlson D., Hunter E., Whitten D. A two-study examination of work-family conflict, production deviance and gender. J. Vocat. Behav. 2012, 81:245-258.
25. Ferree M. Filling the glass: gender perspectives on families. J. Abnorm. Psychol. 2010, 72(3):420.
26. Gatrell C., Burnett S., Cooper C. The price of love: the prioritisation of childcare and income earning among UK fathers. Fam. Relat. Soc. 2015, 4(2):225-238.
27. Goodman W., Crouter A., Investigators TFLPK Longitudinal associations between maternal work stress, negative work-family spillover, and depressive symptoms. Fam. Relat. 2009, 58(3):245-258.
28. Goodman W., Crouter A., Lanza S., Coz M., Vernon-Feagans L. The family life project key investigators. Paternal work stress and latent profiles of father-infant parenting quality. J. Marriage Fam. 2011, 73(3):588-604.
29. Grandey A.A., Cropanzano R. The conservation of resources model applied to work-family conflict and strain. J. Vocat. Behav. 1999, 54(2):350-370.
30. Gray M., Sanson A. Growing up in Australia: the longitudinal study of Australian children. Fam. Matters 2005, 72:4-9.
31. Greenhaus J.H., Beutell N.J. Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Acad. Manag. Rev. 1985, 10(1):76-88.
32. Grice M., McGovern P., Alexander B. Flexible work arrangements and work-family conflict after childbirth. Occup. Med. 2008, 58:468-474.
33. Grice M., McGovern P., Alexander B., Ukestad L., Hellerstedt W. Balancing work and family after childbirth: a longitudinal analysis. Women's Health Issues 2011, 21(1):19-27.
34. Hagenaars A., de Vos K., Zaidi M. Poverty Statistics in the Late 1980s: Research Based on Micro-data 1994, Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg.
35. Higgins C., Duxbury L., Lee C. Impact of life-cycle stage and gender on the ability to balance work and family responsibilties. Fam. Relat. 1994, 43(2):144-150.
36. Hobfall S. Conservation of resources: a new attempt at conceptualising stress. Am. Psychol. 1989, 44(3):513-524.
37. Holt H., Lewis S. 'You can stand on your head and still end up with lower pay': gliding segregation and gendered work practices in Danish 'family-friendly' workplaces. Gend. Work Organ. 2011, 18(S1):e202-e221.
38. Huang Y., Hammer L., Neal M., Perrin N. The relationship between work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict: a longitudinal study. J. Fam. Econ. Issues 2004, 25(1):79-100.
39. Huffman A., Culbertson S., Henning J., Goh A. Work-family conflict across the life-span. J. Manag. Psychol. 2013, 28(7/8):761-780.
40. Humberd B., Ladge J., Harrington B. The "New" dad: navigating fathering identity within organizational contexts. J. Bus. Psychol. 2015, 30(2):249-266.
41. Innstrand S., Langballe E., Espnes G., Falkum E., Aaslang O. Positive and negative work-family interaction and burnout: a longitudinal study of reciprocal relations. Work Stress 2008, 22(1):1-15.
42. Johnson S., Li J., Kendall G., Strazdins L., Jacoby P. Mothers' and fathers' work hours, child gender and behavior in middle childhood. J. Marriage Fam. 2013, 75:56-74.
43. Kaufman G., Uhlenberg P. The influence of parenthood on the work effort of married men and women. Soc. Forces 2000, 78:931-949.
44. Kelloway E., Gottlieb B., Barham L. The source, nature and direction of work and family conflict: a longitudinal investigation. J. Occup. Health Psychol. 1999, 4(4):337-346.
45. Kelly E.L., Moen P., Tranby E. Changing workplaces to reduce work-family conflict: schedule control in a white-collar organization. Am. Sociol. Rev. 2011, 76(2):265-290.
46. Kessler R., Andrews G., Colpe L., Hiripi E., Mrocrek D., Normand S., et al. Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychol. Med. 2002, 32:959-976.
47. Kinnunen U., Geurts S., Mauno S. Work-to-family conflict and its relationship with satisfaction and well-being: a one-year longitudinal study on gender differences. Work Stress 2004, 18(1):1-22.
48. Kinnunen U., Feldt T., Mauno S., Rantanen J. Interface between work and family: a longitudinal individual and crossover perspective. J. Occup. Psychol. 2010, 83:119-137.
49. Knecht M., Bauer G., Gutzwiller F., Hammig O. Persistent work-life conflict and health satisfaction - a representative longitudinal study in Switzerland. BMC Public Health 2011, 11(271).
50. Kossek E., Baltes B., Matthews R. How work-family research can finally have an impact in organizations. Ind. Organ. Psychol. 2011, 4:352-369.
51. Little R., Rubin D. The analysis of social science data with missing values. Sociol. Methods Res. 1989, 18:292-326.
52. Marshall N., Barnett R. Work-family strains and gains among two-earner couples. J. Community Psychol. 1993, 21:64-78.
53. Marsiglio W., Amato P., Day R., Lamb M. Scholarship on fatherhood in the 1990s and beyond. J. Marriage Fam. 2004, 62(4):1173.
54. Maume D. Gender differences in restricting work efforts because of family responsibilities. J. Marriage Fam. 2006, 68:859-869.
55. McMillan J., Beavis A., Jones F.L. The AUSEI06: a new socioeconomic index for Australia. J. Sociol. 2009, 45(2):123-149.
56. Mesmer-Magnus J.R., Viswesvaran C. Convergence between measures of work-to-family and family-to-work conflict: a meta-analytic examination. J. Vocat. Behav. 2005, 67(2):215-232.
57. Mesmer-Magnus J.R., Viswesvaran C. How family-friendly work environments affect work/family conflict: a meta-analytic examination. J. Labor Res. 2006, 27(4):555-574.
58. Michel J.S., Kotrba L.M., Mitchelson J.K., Clark M.A., Baltes B.B. Antecedents of work-family conflict: a meta-analytic review. J. Organ. Behav. 2011, 32(5):689-725.
59. Milkie M.A., Kendig S.M., Nomaguchi K.M., Denny K.E. Time with children, Children's well-being, and work-family balance among employed parents. J. Marriage Fam. 2010, 72(5):1329-1343.
60. Nohe C., Meier L.L., Sonntag K., Michel A. The chicken or the egg? a meta-analysis of panel studies of the relationship between work-family conflict and strain. J. Appl. Psychol. 2014, 100(2):522-536.
61. O'Neill O.A., O'Reilly C.A. Careers as tournaments: the impact of sex and gendered organizational culture preferences on MBAs' income attainment. J. Organ. Behav. 2010, 31(6):856-876.
62. Öun I. Work-family conflict in the Nordic countries: a comparative analysis. J. Comp. Fam. Stud. 2012, 43(2):165-184.
63. Parke R. Development in the family. Annu. Rev. Psychol. 2004, 55:356-399.
64. Perry-Jenkins M., Smith J.Z., Goldberg A.E., Logan J. Working-class jobs and new parents' mental health. J. Marriage Fam. 2011, 73(5):1117-1132.
65. Rantanen J., Kinnunen U., Feldt T., Pulkkinen L. Work-family conflict and psychological well-being: stability and cross-lagged relations within one and six-year follow-ups. J. Vocat. Behav. 2008, 73:37-51.
66. Rantanen J., Kinnunen U., Pulkkinen L., Kokko K. Developmental trajectories of work-family conflict for Finnish workers in midlife. J. Occup. Health Psychol. 2012, 17(3):290-303.
67. Royston P., White I. Multiple imputation by chained equations (MICE): implementation in STATA. J. Stat. Softw. 2011, 45(4):1-20.
68. Rubin D. Multiple imputation after 18+ years (with discussion). J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 1996, 91:473-489.
69. Ruppanner L., Pixley J. Work-to-family and family-to-work spillover: the implications of childcare policy and maximum work-hour legislation. J. Fam. Econ. Issues 2012, 33(3):283-297.
70. Sayer L. Gender, time and inequality: trends in women's and men's paid work, unpaid work and free time. Soc. Forces 2005, 84(1):285-303.
71. Skinner N., Hutchinson C., Pocock B. The Big Squeeze: Work, Life and Care in 2012-The Australian Work and Life Index 2012, Centre for Work + Life, Adelaide.
72. Soloff C., Lawrence D., Johnstone R. Longitudinal Study of Australian Children Technical Paper No. 1: Sample Design 2005, Australian Institiue of Family Studies, Melbourne, Available from:, (accessed 23.03.06.). http://www.aifs.gov.au/growingup/pubs/techpapers/tp1/pdf.
73. Statacorp Stata Statistical Software: Release 13 2013, Statacorp LP, College Station, TX.
74. Steinmetz H., Frese M., Schmidt P. A longitudinal panel study on antecedents and outcomes of work-home interference. J. Vocat. Behav. 2008, 73(2):231-241.
75. Stevens D., Minotte K., Mannon S., Kiger G. Examining the "neglected side of the work-family interface": antecedents of positive and negative family-to-work spillover. J. Fam. Issues 2007, 28(2):242-262.
76. Stoeva A., Chiu R., Greenhaus J. Negative affectivity, role stress, and work-family conflict. J. Vocat. Behav. 2002, 60:1-16.
77. Stone P., Hernandez L.A. The all-or-nothing workplace: flexibility stigma and "opting out" among professional-managerial women. J. Soc. Issues 2013, 69(2):235-256.
78. Strazdins L., Korda R., Lim L., Broom D., D'Souza R. Around-the-clock: parent work schedules and children's well-being in a 24-h economy. Soc. Sci. Med. 2004, 59:1517-1527.
79. Strazdins L., Shipley M., Broom D. What does family-friendly really mean? Well-being, time and the quality of parents' jobs. Aust. Bull. Labour 2007, 33:202-225.
80. Strazdins L., O'Brien L., Lucas N., Rodgers B. Combining work and family: rewards or risks for children's mental health?. Soc. Sci. Med. 2013, 87:99-107.
81. Todd P., Binns J. Work-Life balance: is it now a problem for management?. Gend. Work Organ. 2013, 20(3):219-231.
82. Weiss H., Cropanzano R. Affective events theory: a theoretical discussion of the structure, causes and consequences of affective experiences at work. Res. Organ. Behav. 1996, 18:1-74.
83. Westrupp E., Strazdins L., Martin A., Cooklin A., SR Z., Nicholson J. Maternal work-family conflict and psychological distress: reciprocal relationships over 8 years. J. Marriage Fam. 2015, (accepted 09.03.15.).
84. White I.R., Royston P., Wood A.M. Multiple imputation using chained equations: issues and guidance for practice. Statistics Med. 2011, 30(4):377-399.
85. Williams J.C., Blair-Loy M., Berdahl J.L. Cultural schemas, social class, and the flexibility stigma. J. Soc. Issues 2013, 69(2):209-234.