Antony Chum1,2,3, Sukhdeep Kaur4, Celine Teo4,5, Andrew Nielsen4,5, Carles Muntaner6, Patricia O'Campo7,5. 1. Department of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 4A1, Canada. antony.chum@utoronto.ca. 2. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. antony.chum@utoronto.ca. 3. MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Canada. antony.chum@utoronto.ca. 4. Department of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON, L2S 4A1, Canada. 5. MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Unity Health Toronto, Toronto, Canada. 6. Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. 7. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
Abstract
PURPOSE: While there is strong evidence that job insecurity leads to mental distress, little is known about how gender and parental responsibilities may exacerbate this relationship. Examining their contribution as potential effect modifiers may provide insights into gender inequalities in mental health and inform gender-sensitive labour policies to ameliorate the negative effects of job insecurity. Our study addresses this gap by examining the longitudinal association between job insecurity and mental health across different configurations of gender and parental responsibilities. METHODS: Our sample includes 34,772 employed participants over the period of 2010-2018. A gender-stratified fixed-effect regression was used to model the within-person change over time in mental health associated with loss of job security, and effect modification by parent-partner status (e.g. childfree men, partnered father, etc.). RESULTS: Loss of job security was associated with a moderate decrease in mental health functioning for partnered fathers, partnered mothers, and childfree men and women ranging between a reduction in MCS-12 by 1.00 to 2.27 points (p < 0.05). Lone fathers who lose their job security experienced a higher decrease in mental health functioning at - 7.69 (95% CI - 12.69 to - 2.70), while lone mothers did not experience any change. CONCLUSION: The effects of job insecurity on mental health is consistent across gender and parent-partner status with the exception of lone fathers and lone mothers. Future studies should investigate the effects of policies that may reduce mental distress in the face of the threat of job loss such as reducing wait time for payment of unemployment benefits.
PURPOSE: While there is strong evidence that job insecurity leads to mental distress, little is known about how gender and parental responsibilities may exacerbate this relationship. Examining their contribution as potential effect modifiers may provide insights into gender inequalities in mental health and inform gender-sensitive labour policies to ameliorate the negative effects of job insecurity. Our study addresses this gap by examining the longitudinal association between job insecurity and mental health across different configurations of gender and parental responsibilities. METHODS: Our sample includes 34,772 employed participants over the period of 2010-2018. A gender-stratified fixed-effect regression was used to model the within-person change over time in mental health associated with loss of job security, and effect modification by parent-partner status (e.g. childfree men, partnered father, etc.). RESULTS: Loss of job security was associated with a moderate decrease in mental health functioning for partnered fathers, partnered mothers, and childfree men and women ranging between a reduction in MCS-12 by 1.00 to 2.27 points (p < 0.05). Lone fathers who lose their job security experienced a higher decrease in mental health functioning at - 7.69 (95% CI - 12.69 to - 2.70), while lone mothers did not experience any change. CONCLUSION: The effects of job insecurity on mental health is consistent across gender and parent-partner status with the exception of lone fathers and lone mothers. Future studies should investigate the effects of policies that may reduce mental distress in the face of the threat of job loss such as reducing wait time for payment of unemployment benefits.
Authors: Torkel Rönnblad; Erik Grönholm; Johanna Jonsson; Isa Koranyi; Cecilia Orellana; Bertina Kreshpaj; Lingjing Chen; Leo Stockfelt; Theo Bodin Journal: Scand J Work Environ Health Date: 2019-01-25 Impact factor: 5.024
Authors: Allison Milner; Zoe Aitken; Anne Kavanagh; Anthony D LaMontagne; Dennis Petrie Journal: Occup Environ Med Date: 2016-08-19 Impact factor: 4.402