Psychological Distress Among Employed Fathers

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 294-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bonnie L. Janzen ◽  
Ivan W. Kelly

The aim of this study was to compare levels of psychological distress in employed single fathers relative to partnered fathers and to explore the role of psychosocial job quality, work–family conflict, and work–family facilitation as explanations for differences in distress. The data were collected from a cross-sectional telephone survey conducted in a Canadian city. Participants were 486 employed fathers with children living in the household. In addition to experiencing higher levels of psychological distress than partnered fathers ( p = .057), single fathers reported greater work–family conflict, poorer work quality, and lower family-to-work facilitation. Adjusting for the strain-based work–family conflict variables in the regression analysis resulted in the largest reduction to the association between partner status and psychological distress. Future research employing a longitudinal design and subject to lower selection biases is required to tease out the interrelationship between these exposures and to point to the most appropriate policies to support employed single fathers.

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-85
Author(s):  
Anil Kumar ◽  
Sarang Narula

Policing job is quantitatively demanding and may draw upon officer’s resources. This study aimed to examine quantitative demands’ effects for officers’ burnout and allied outcomes. Specifically, the study examined a mediation model that incorporated burnout as a mediator of quantitative demands’ relationship with job satisfaction, commitment to the workplace, organizational citizenship behaviours, health, work–family conflict, and feeling to quit. Using a cross-sectional (paper–pencil version) design, the study examined the model in a non-random sample of 1,223 officers of an Indian state, Haryana. The results showed that quantitative demands were associated positively with burnout, and burnout partially transmitted quantitative demands’ effect on job satisfaction, work–family conflict, and feeling to quit. The results vis-à-vis other outcomes revealed inconsistent mediation of burnout (i.e., suppression situations). As expected, quantitative demands, via burnout, had a negative effect on commitment to the workplace, organizational citizenship behaviours, and health; however, the concerned direct effect was against expectation. Apart from contribution to knowledge, the study’s findings are potentially of value for the government and police administrators. Practical implications of the findings, limitations of the study, and directions for future research are discussed.


Author(s):  
Bonnie Janzen ◽  
Laurie-Ann Hellsten

Research suggests that a socioeconomic gradient in employed adults’ mental health may be partially mediated by their work conditions. Largely ignored in this body of research is the potential role of unpaid domestic labor. The objectives of this paper were to determine whether socioeconomic disparities in mental health were present in a sample of employed, partnered mothers, and if so, identify the intervening mechanisms which contributed to the disparity. Participants for this cross-sectional study were 512 women recruited from an online research panel of residents living in Saskatchewan, Canada. Household income was the primary exposure and psychological distress was the dependent variable. Potential mediators included material deprivation, job control, job demands, work–family conflict, and the conditions of domestic labor. Descriptive analyses followed by simple and multiple mediation analyses were performed. Lower income was associated with greater distress, with material deprivation, work–family conflict, and inequity in responsibility for domestic work acting as mediators. These results suggest that in addition to more well-established mechanisms, the conditions of unpaid domestic labor, particularly how that labor is shared within households, may play a role in the genesis of mental health inequities among employed partnered mothers. Limitations of the study are discussed as are implications for future research.


Author(s):  
Zaiton Hassan ◽  
Hana Hamidi

Although work-family conflict studies are available in Malaysia, most rely on cross-sectional design and focus on women. This study uses the longitudinal design on a heterogeneous sample which is aimed to enhance the understanding of the antecedents of work-family conflict (WFC) and familywork conflict (FWC) from work and family demands and resources. The respondents were 296 employees in diverse industries from six public and private organizations in Kuching, Sarawak. Two surveys were conducted over a three-month interval. Structural Equation Modeling via AMOS 7.0 was used to analyse the data. The study found that the respondents reported higher WFC than FWC. Demands from work predicted WFC positively while resources from work predicted WFC negatively. None of the demands and resources from work and family predicted FWC. The findings implied the importance of organizations in influencing the work-family balance of the employees.   Keywords: Work-family conflict (WFC), family-work conflict (FWC), demands, resources.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 94
Author(s):  
Aimzhan Iztayeva

As both paid and unpaid work were disrupted during the COVID-19 crisis, the two roles that working custodial single fathers occupy—breadwinners and caregivers—have intensified significantly. Using two independent sets of interviews, this study examines how custodial single fathers navigated work and caregiving responsibilities prior to COVID-19 and compares them to the experiences of single fathers interviewed during the pandemic. The findings are organized into three key themes. First, men with white-collar jobs experienced less work-family conflict than men with blue-collar jobs. The COVID-19 crisis further widened this divide as lack of flexibility put men with blue-collar jobs in a precarious position in the labor market. Second, the way single fathers arranged childcare varied with the availability of extended family and the coparenting relationship with the child(ren)’s mother. The pandemic significantly complicated these arrangements by removing men’s access to extended family and intensifying already conflicted coparenting relationships. Finally, prior to the pandemic, many single fathers struggled with lack of leisure time and diminished social support networks that shrunk with their initial break from their child(ren)’s mother. The resulting feelings of fatigue and loneliness seeped into men’s psychological well-being. COVID-19 and related social distancing measures further exacerbated single fathers’ isolation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanaz Aazami ◽  
Khadijah Shamsuddin ◽  
Syaqirah Akmal

We examined the mediating role of behavioral coping strategies in the association between work-family conflict and psychological distress. In particular, we examined the two directions of work-family conflict, namely, work interference into family and family interference into work. Furthermore, two coping styles in this study were adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 429 Malaysian working women using self-reported data. The results of mediational analysis in the present study showed that adaptive coping strategy does not significantly mediate the effect of work-family conflict on psychological distress. However, maladaptive coping strategies significantly mediate the effect of work-family conflict on psychological distress. These results show that adaptive coping strategies, which aimed to improve the stressful situation, are not effective in managing stressor such as work-family conflict. We found that experiencing interrole conflict steers employees toward frequent use of maladaptive coping strategies which in turn lead to psychological distress. Interventions targeted at improvement of coping skills which are according to individual’s needs and expectation may help working women to balance work and family demands. The important issue is to keep in mind that effective coping strategies are to control the situations not to eliminate work-family conflict.


Author(s):  
Maryam Shaygan ◽  
Maryam Yazdanpanah

Background: Taking into account the differences in job requirements and conditions, it is expected that workers in some occupations are more susceptible to pain than others. Objective: To examine the prevalence of chronic pain among workers of several petrochemical and petroleum refinery plants. We also examined the predictive role of psycho-familial variables (depression, work-family conflict and job stress) in causing chronic pain when controlling for demographic and occupational factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 674 workers. Those with chronic pain were identified by affirmative answers to screening questions based on the ICD-11 criteria. Results: There were 162 (24.0%; 95% CI 20.8% to 27.3%) workers meeting the ICD11 criteria for chronic pain. Headache was the most frequently reported pain (29.9%). We found a significantly (p=0.03) higher prevalence of pain among the middle age than in other age groups. Chronic pain more frequently affected divorced/widowed workers (p<0.001), and those with more work experience (p=0.04). Workers with chronic pain reported significantly higher levels of depression (p<0.001), job stress (p=0.007), and work-family conflict (p<0.001). After controlling for demographic and occupational factors, depression (p<0.001) and work-family conflict (p=0.003) were found to be independent predictors of chronic pain among studied workers. Conclusion: Workers who experience higher levels of depression, work-family conflict and job stress might be more prone to chronic pain. The majority of these factors are modifiable, and the problem may thus be solved by establishing appropriate screening programs, and availability of proper services and education.


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