Parental long working hours and adult children's depression in South Korea: a cross-sectional study
Abstract Background: This study investigated the association between parental long working hours and the depression of adult children living with them in South Korea. Methods: Data from two years of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) in 2014 and 2016 were analyzed using a cross-sectional study. Study samples included 1334 adult children aged ≥ 19 and 2486 parents (1483 mothers and 1003 fathers). Depression was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the association between parental long working hours and their adult children’s depression. Results: Odds ratio (OR) of adult children’s depression for maternal working > 60 hours/week was 4.88 (95% confidential interval (CI): 1.95 – 12.2) when maternal working ≤ 40 hours/week was considered as a reference in the crude model. After considering parental and adult children’s socio-demographic characteristics and occupational characteristics, and parental depression, OR of adult children’s depression for maternal working was found to be 10.2 (95% CI: 2.47 – 42.0). The association between paternal long working hours and adult children’s depression was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Mothers’ long working hours were associated with the greater risk of their adult children’s depression in South Korea. Comprehending aging mothers’ weekly working hours is an important factor when developing strategies for addressing adult children’s depression using family-based interventions.