Quality of Family and Work Roles and Its Relationship with Health Indicators in Men and Women

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate whether the perceived qualities of work-related, marital, and parenting roles differentially predict distress symptoms, cardiovascular risk, anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. Also, I sought to evaluate whether there are interactions among the quality of different roles (work, marital, and parenting) and whether there are differences between men and women. Participants were 340 women (ages 30-55 years) and 279 men (ages 21-66 years) who lived and worked in Bogotá, Colombia. The questionnaire included valid self-report scales, and questions of specific interest for this study. Results indicate that the perceived quality of the roles differentially predicts the health indicators studied. Psychological health indicators are more strongly predicted than the cardiovascular health indicators by role quality. Self-esteem and anxiety in men and depression in women are more strongly predicted by the perceived quality of the roles. There were differences as well as similarities between genders.When people perceive more gratifying than ungratifying aspects in a role, it can be said that the role has a positive quality. Several studies suggest that the positive quality of work, marital, and parenting roles is associated with better physical and psychological health in both men and women

Depressive Symptoms in Mothers: The Role of Employment and Role Quality

“…If the mother permanently perceives difficulties in coping with the role as a mother, perceptions of failure may result, which in turn may produce role stress, which could lead to depressive symptoms. This result is consistent with findings that stresses from family domains influence depression (Gomez, 2006;Klein et al, 1998).…”

“…Our literature research revealed that there are only a few studies (Barnett, 1994;Barnett, Marshall, & Singer, 1992;Baruch & Barnett, 1986;Glynn, MacLean, Forte, & Cohen, 2009;Reid & Hardy, 1999;Voydanoff & Donnelly, 1999), considering the aspect of role quality on well-being or mental health, and even fewer considering role quality on depression (Gomez, 2006;Klein, Hyde, Essex, & Clark, 1998). The literature research further revealed that previous research in the German speaking countries neglected role theories in understanding depression among women, in the favor of sociodemographic factors (Gutierrez-Lobos, Wolfl, Scherer, Anderer, & Schmidl-Mohl, 2000; Klose & Jacobi, 2004).…”

“…Building upon assumptions of role quality theory research has shown that role quality is related to well-being and mental health. Poor role quality of the marital role (Proulx, Helms, & Buehler, 2007), of the mother role (Klein et al, 1998), of the work role (Netterstrom et al, 2008), the homemaker role (Bird, 1999), and of the combination of work, marital and parenting roles (Gomez, 2006) were found to be associated with depression and impaired well-being. In line with role theory, and based upon the findings of Gomez (2006), we therefore assess the perceived quality of the main social roles of mothers namely (a) the quality of the role as a mother, (b) the quality of the role as a homemaker, (c) the quality of the role as a partner, and, if applicable, (d) the quality of the role as a worker.…”

Correlatos valorativos de atributos desejáveis de um/a parceiro/a ideal

“…Neste caso, o desenvolvimento tecnológico acelerado vem despertando em homens e mulheres uma instabilidade emocional frente à necessidade de aperfeiçoamento profissional, mudança de trabalho ou possibilidade de perda de emprego. Estes aspectos repercutem de maneira negativa nas relações conjugais, principalmente para o homem, que tem, dentro do modelo tradicional de relacionamento, o papel de provedor (Gómez, 2006). Frente a um possível desemprego, o homem pode vir a apresentar doenças como a ansiedade e a depressão (Álvaro, 1992).…”

Working Women's Lifestyles and Quality of Life in the Information Society

“…Along these lines, Kimura, Ogushi, Takahashi, Munakata, and Ishii (2004) suggest that the factor most related to the Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) from among those analyzed is the amount of overtime at work. Specifically, Moen and Yu (2000) and Soares, Grossi, and Sundin (2007) have shown that an overload of work and having to perform many tasks at the same time are indicators associated with a lower quality of life; however, Gómez (2006) and Muhajarine and Janzen (2006) suggest that the number of activities carried out does not seem to be the best indicator when compared with the requirement supposed and the satisfaction reported.…”