Persistent Exposure to Work Family Conflict and Depressive Symptoms Among Korean Working Women: An Exploration of Temporal Patterns and Age Heterogeneity

Abstract

This study examines whether persistent exposure to work family conflict (WFC) is longitudinally associated with depressive symptoms and this association differs by age. Using eight waves of a nationally representative study of Korean women (N = 6,544), individual fixed effects models were used to account for unobserved individual-level heterogeneity. Depressive symptoms increased immediately following exposure to WFC and peaked during the second wave of exposure. Since the peak, depressive symptoms have decreased and returned to the pre-exposure level by the fifth wave of exposure. While older women in their 60s experienced an increase in depressive symptoms only until the second wave of exposure, younger women in their 30s continued to experience an increase in depressive symptoms up to the fifth and subsequent waves of exposure. The results of this study inform the development of interventions to mitigate the long-term mental health effects of WFC among working women.

Keywords

work family conflict persistent exposure depressive symptoms age heterogeneity

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allen

T. D.

Herst

D. E. L.

Bruck

C. S.

Sutton

(2000). Consequences associated with work-to-family conflict: A review and agenda for future research. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 5(2), 278–308.

Andresen

E. M.

Malmgren

J. A.

Carter

W. B.

Patrick

D. L.

(1994). Screening for depression in well older adults: Evaluation of a short form of the CES-D. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 10(2), 77–84.

Brooks

Bolzendahl

(2004). The transformation of US gender role attitudes: Cohort replacement, social-structural change, and ideological learning. Social Science Research, 33(1), 106–133.

Cho

Jung

(2022). Parenthood and life satisfaction in stratified labor market: Evidence from Korea. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 874877.

Czabała

Charzyńska

Mroziak

(2011). Psychosocial interventions in workplace mental health promotion: An overview. Health Promotion International, 26(suppl_1), i70–i84.

Dinh

Cooklin

A. R.

Leach

L. S.

Westrupp

E. M.

Nicholson

J. M.

Strazdins

(2017). Parents’ transitions into and out of work-family conflict and children’s mental health: Longitudinal influence via family functioning. Social Science & Medicine, 194, 42–50.

du Prel

J.-B.

Peter

(2015). Work-family conflict as a mediator in the association between work stress and depressive symptoms: Cross-sectional evidence from the German lidA-cohort study. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 88(3), 359–368.

Feeney

M. K.

Stritch

J. M.

(2019). Family-friendly policies, gender, and work–life balance in the public sector. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 39(3), 422–448.

Ford

M. T.

(2011). Linking household income and work-family conflict: A moderated mediation study. Stress and Health, 27(2), 144–162.

10.

French

K. A.

Dumani

Allen

T. D.

Shockley

K. M.

(2018). A meta-analysis of work–family conflict and social support. Psychological Bulletin, 144(3), 284–314.

11.

Frone

M. R.

(2000). Work–family conflict and employee psychiatric disorders: The national comorbidity survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(6), 888–895.

12.

Gerber

G. L.

(1988). Leadership roles and the gender stereotype traits. Sex Roles, 18(11–12), 649–668.

13.

Griep

R. H.

Toivanen

van Diepen

Guimarães

J. M. N.

Camelo

L. V.

Juvanhol

L. L.

Aquino

E. M.

Chor

(2016). Work–family conflict and self-rated health: The role of gender and educational level. Baseline data from the Brazilian longitudinal study of adult health (ELSA-Brasil). International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 23(3), 372–382.

14.

Hammer

L. B.

Bauer

T. N.

Grandey

A. A.

(2003). Work-family conflict and work-related withdrawal behaviors. Journal of Business and Psychology, 17(3), 419–436.

15.

Hao

Liu

(2015). Association between work-family conflict and depressive symptoms among Chinese female nurses: The mediating and moderating role of psychological capital. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(6), 6682–6699.

16.

Irwin

Artin

K. H.

Oxman

M. N.

(1999). Screening for depression in the older adult: Criterion validity of the 10-item center for epidemiological studies depression scale (CES-D). Archives of Internal Medicine, 159(15), 1701–1704.

17.

Jansen

N. W. H.

(2006). Work-family conflict as a risk factor for sickness absence. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 63(7), 488–494.

18.

Jiang

(2022). Effect of work–family conflict on three-child fertility intention of working women of reproductive age under the background of active reproductive support: The moderating and mediating effects of anxiety disorders and life stress. Sustainability, 14(21), 14615.

19.

Joo

J. S.

Moon

Y. K.

Kim

Y. T.

Kim

Y. R.

Song

C. S.

Lim

Y. G.

Lee

B. H.

Lee

Y. S.

Kang

E. S.

(2016). 2015 Korean longitudinal survey of women & family annual report. Korean Women’s Development Institute.

20.

Kim

(2022). The relationship between children’s gender composition and parents’ all-cause mortality among older adults in Korea. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 41(3), 754–762.

21.

Kim

Park

G.-R.

(2023). Chronic loneliness, gender, and trajectories of change in hand grip strength in older adults. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 78(4), 649–658.

22.

Kim

Yoon

(2022). Longitudinal associations between expectations of receiving care in the future and life satisfaction among older adults in Korea. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 77(3), 604–614.

23.

Kim

(2008). Women and family-friendly policies in the Korean government. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 74(3), 463–476.

24.

Lee

S. T. H.

Choy

B. K. C.

Yong

J. C.

(2022a). A bubble of protection: Examining dispositional optimism as a psychological buffer of the deleterious association between negative work-family spillover and psychological health. European Journal of Work & Organizational Psychology, 31(1), 35–46.

25.

Lee

Lim

J.-E.

Cho

S. H.

Won

Jeong

H.-G.

Lee

M.-S.

Y.-H.

Han

Ham

B.-J.

Han

K.-M.

(2022b). Association between work-family conflict and depressive symptoms in female workers: An exploration of potential moderators. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 151, 113–121.

26.

Matthews

R. A.

Bulger

C. A.

Barnes-Farrell

J. L.

(2010). Work social supports, role stressors, and work–family conflict: The moderating effect of age. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 76(1), 78–90.

27.

Mauno

Ruokolainen

Kinnunen

(2013). Does aging make employees more resilient to job stress? Age as a moderator in the job stressor–well-being relationship in three Finnish occupational samples. Aging & Mental Health, 17(4), 411–422.

28.

Minnotte

K. L.

(2012). Family structure, gender, and the work–family interface: Work-to-Family conflict among single and partnered parents. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 33(1), 95–107.

29.

Minnotte

K. L.

Minnotte

M. C.

Bonstrom

(2015). Work–family conflicts and marital satisfaction among US workers: Does stress amplification matter? Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 36(1), 21–33.

30.

T. W. H.

Feldman

D. C.

(2010). The relationships of age with job attitudes: A meta-analysis. Personnel Psychology, 63(3), 677–718.

31.

Obrenovic

Jianguo

Khudaykulov

Khan

M. A. S.

(2020). Work-family conflict impact on psychological safety and psychological well-being: A job performance model. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 475.

32.

OECD . (2020). How’s life? 2020: Measuring well-being. OECD.

33.

Oishi

A. S.

Chan

R. K. H.

Wang

L. L.-R.

Kim

J.-H.

(2015). Do part-time jobs mitigate workers’ work–family conflict and enhance wellbeing? New evidence from four east-Asian societies. Social Indicators Research, 121(1), 5–25.

34.

Peng

Jex

S. M.

Wang

(2018). Aging and occupational health. In Shultz

K. S.

Adams

G. A.

(Eds.), Aging and work in the 21st century. Routledge.

35.

Pitt-Catsouphes

Kossek

E. E.

Sweet

(2015). In Pitt-Catsouphes

Kossek

E. E.

Sweet

(Eds.), The work and family handbook. Routledge.

36.

Ravanera

Z. R.

Rajulton

Burch

T. K.

(2004). Patterns of age variability in life course transitions. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 29(4), 527.

37.

Rhee

Park

S. K.

Lee

(2020). Pathways from workplace flexibility to turnover intention: Role of work–family conflict, family–work conflict, and job satisfaction. International Journal of Social Welfare, 29(1), 51–61.

38.

Richter

Schraml

Leineweber

(2015). Work–family conflict, emotional exhaustion and performance-based self-esteem: Reciprocal relationships. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 88(1), 103–112.

39.

Shaffera

(2001). Struggling for balance amid turbulence on international assignments: Work–family conflict, support and commitment. Journal of Management, 27(1), 99–121.

40.

Somech

Drach-Zahavy

(2007). Strategies for coping with work-family conflict: The distinctive relationships of gender role ideology. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12(1), 1–19.

41.

Song

Kim

(2023). Prolonged exposure to intimate partner violence and depressive symptoms among Korean married couples: The intersection of gender and education. Society and Mental Health.

42.

Steinhardt

Dolbier

(2008). Evaluation of a resilience intervention to enhance coping strategies and protective factors and decrease symptomatology. Journal of American College Health, 56(4), 445–453.

43.

Sung

(2003). Women reconciling paid and unpaid work in a Confucian welfare state: The case of South Korea. Social Policy and Administration, 37(4), 342–360.

44.

Valentova

(2013). Age and sex differences in gender role attitudes in Luxembourg between 1999 and 2008. Work, Employment & Society, 27(4), 639–657.

45.

Williams

K. J.

Alliger

G. M.

(1994). Role stressors, mood spillover, and perceptions of work-family conflict in employed parents. Academy of Management Journal, 37(4), 837–868.

46.

Wolff

J. M.

Rospenda

K. M.

Richman

J. A.

(2014). Age differences in the longitudinal relationship between work-family conflict and alcohol use. Journal of Addiction, 2014, 1–10.

47.

Yang

(2021). Gender equality: Korea has come a long way, but there is more work to do. Paris: OECD.

48.

Yucel

(2017). Work-family balance and marital satisfaction: The mediating effects of mental and physical health. Society and Mental Health, 7(3), 175–195.

49.

Zhang

Duffy

J. F.

De Castillero

E. R.

(2017). Do sleep disturbances mediate the association between work-family conflict and depressive symptoms among nurses? A cross-sectional study. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 24(8), 620–628.

50.

Zhao

Namasivayam

(2012). The relationship of chronic regulatory focus to work–family conflict and job satisfaction. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31(2), 458–467.

51.

Zhao

Liu

(2014). An investigation into the relationship between hospitality employees’ work–family conflicts and their leisure intentions. Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, 55(4), 408–421.

52.

Zhou

Zhang

Chen

(2020). Work-family conflict and depressive symptoms among Chinese employees: Cross-level interaction of organizational justice climate and family flexibility. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(19), 6954.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.18 MB