Postpartum Employment Breaks and Mental Health after Return to Work

• In Event: 220 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 20. Motherhood Penalties

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between women’s postpartum breaks from employment and their mental health following their return to work. Both breaks of very short duration and those lasting more than a year are associated with declines in mental health, but little is understood about how these processes work differently for women across the SES spectrum. Using data from nationally representative longitudinal sample of more than 1600 women, I predict mental health as a function of breaks from employment after first birth. The duration of women’s breaks from employment vary by SES characteristics. Further, in preliminary analyses longer breaks appear to be associated with declines in mental health. Planned longitudinal regression analysis will be used to further investigate how SES stratifies women, and the final analyses will include greater exploration of pre-birth and post-break employment characteristics. The results appear to confirm a U-Shape to the relationship between mental health and employment in the context of the transition to parenthood, and will expand on the inequalities in this association based on SES and employment.

Author

• Lydia Nicole Hayes, Pennsylvania State University