Is gender inequality in the domestic sphere associated with psychological distress among women and men? Results from the Northern Swedish Cohort

Abstract

Gender inequality in the domestic sphere seems to be an important determinant of psychological distress for both women and men.

Perceived gender inequality in the couple relationship and musculoskeletal pain in middle-aged women and men

“…this study is, to the author's knowledge, the first to investigate the specific contribution of gender inequality in the couple relationship to the experience of musculoskeletal pain, and one out of few to include men. the findings indicate that the health of women and men is equally affected by perceived gender inequality in the domestic sphere, which is in accordance with previous studies [16,19].…”

“…According to one recent study, unequal distribution of domestic work relates to psychological distress in both women and men, even after consideration of health-related selection [19].…”

Domestic work and self-rated health among women and men aged 25–64 years: Results from a population-based survey in Sweden

“…Instead a strong independent association was found between how burdensome domestic work was experienced and suboptimal selfrated health, both in men and women. These results are in line with a prospective study in Sweden, showing no association between time spent in domestic work and psychological distress in women or in men [23]. The results of the current study thus partly support the expansion theory [6] in that domestic work, in terms of hours spent in it, is not necessarily associated with poorer health.…”

Central gender theoretical concepts in health research: the state of the art

“…Gender equality can refer to the societal power relations between men and women as possible social determinants of health. For example, gender equality in marriage/cohabitation (measured as shared household duties) has been shown to be a determinant of mental health for women and men 37 . Gender equity can be an adequate concept for research on needs-based prevention, treatment and rehabilitation 35 38.…”