Multi-faceted Household Dependency, Work-Family Conflict, and Self-rated Health in Five High-income Countries

• In Event: 1283 - Section on the Sociology of the Family Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 11. Work and Family in Different Countries

Abstract

Under the Demand-Resource framework, more household dependents and higher levels of work-family conflict are both seen as demands on workers in high-income countries, yielding negative effects on worker well-being. Using data from over 2000 individuals in five high-income countries, we investigate how living in a household characterized by multiple types of dependency (where children and other adults are living with respondents) shapes self-reported health. We further investigate whether work-family conflict mediates or moderates the relationship between multi-faceted dependency and self-reported health, as expected. Living in a multi-faceted dependent household is associated with better self-reported health, while work-family conflict has a negative influence on self-reported health. There is no evidence of strong mediating or moderating effects of work-family conflict on the positive association between living in a multi-faceted dependent household and health. Policy implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Authors

• Tyler Wiktor Myroniuk, George Mason University

• Shannon N. Davis, George Mason University