The Effects of Work-Family Conflict and Dissatisfaction on Health and Health Behaviors Among Married Working Females

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Abstract

Work-family conflict has become an increasingly important social determinant of health with a rising share of workers now balancing both work and family duties. Relatedly, work-family dissatisfaction, observed through job and relationship satisfaction measures, has also been found to have a deleterious impact on health. This study uses data from the 40+ and 50+ health modules of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) 1979 cohort to analyze the effect of both work-family conflict and dissatisfaction on health and health behaviors for married working females. We find strong associations for health and work-family conflict/dissatisfaction, but mixed effects for health behaviors. We also find evidence of cumulative disadvantage, as those who experience both job and relationship dissatisfaction are observed to have the worst health.

Authors

• In Choi, University at Albany, SUNY

• Jonathan Dirlam, University at Albany, SUNY