A couple-level analysis of participation in physical activity during unemployment

Abstract

There is a well-documented negative correlation between unemployment and health. Yet, little research has examined how unemployment relates to participation in physical activity, and few researchers have considered how an individual's unemployment may affect the health of their spouse or partner. The purpose of this study is to answer three questions: 1. Is one's own unemployment associated with changes in physical activity participation? 2. Is one's partner's unemployment associated with changes in physical activity participation? 3. Do changes in physical activity behaviors associated with unemployment differ by gender? This study uses nationally representative, longitudinal data on couples in the United States, covering the period 1999–2013. These data, obtained from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, are used to estimate fixed-effects models of the relationships between one's own, and one's partner's, unemployment and participation in physical activity. I find that for men unemployment is not associated with changes in physical activity time. For women, own unemployment is associated with increases in physical activity, whereas a partner's unemployment is associated with decreases in physical activity. I argue that unemployed women, unlike men, are able to take advantage of the increased availability of time through reduced labor supply to invest in their health during unemployment, which could have positive long-run consequences. Results suggest the importance of studying unemployment and health at the household level and suggest a need for further investigation into gender differences in unemployment and health.

Social and Solitary Exercise among the Unemployed and Out of the Labor Force in the United States: Estimates by Gender and Partnership Status

“…For men, total time in exercise does not vary by partner's unemployed/OOLF status, but women with nonworking partners exercise slightly less. This is consistent with recent research (Gough, 2017) and may reflect differential labor market responses to a partner's unemployment/OOLF status. Men's partners are more likely to be voluntarily OOLF, and men tend to work full time, so they may not increase paid labor time if their partner stops working.…”

“…Unemployed and OOLF men spend more time exercising overall, alone, and with others compared to employed men, contrary to H1. These results conflict with research that indicated men do not change their exercise during unemployment (Gough, 2017). The current study is cross-sectional, so unobserved time-invariant characteristics may explain some of this conflict.…”

“…The difference between unemployed and OOLF women could arise if unemployed women are reluctant to significantly change time use in anticipation of re-employment. Thus, results partially support H2 and are consistent with research that suggests unemployed women might use their "extra" time to invest in their health through exercise (Gough, 2017).…”

“…Unemployment has been examined as a determinant of exercise, but questions remain. For example, in couples, transitions into and out of unemployment are associated with changes in exercise for women but not men (Gough, 2017). Women increase exercise during unemployment and reduce exercise when their partners experience unemployment (Gough, 2017 (Gough, 2017), this paper tests two hypotheses:…”

How Is the Self-Perceived Work Ability Affected by the Duration of Unemployment, Heart Rate Variability and the Amount of Physical Activity in Older Long-Term Unemployed Persons?

“…The latter two may additionally fuel the duration of the unemployment in a vicious cycle. Several studies further observed a decrease in the amount of physical activity in unemployed compared to employed persons [9,10] This lack of health-enhancing physical activity may further worsen the vicious cycle. In such a vicious cycle of reduced work ability, increased stress levels, and lower physical activity exists, specific stress-reducing work-ability-enhancing or physical-activity-promoting programs may be able to counteract against this process.…”