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Family, work and health

The impact of marriage, parenthood and employment on self-reported health of Australian men and women

Janeen Baxter

Mark Western

School of Social Science, University of Queensland

We investigate multiple-burden and multiple-attachment hypotheses for the association among marriage, parenthood, employment and health for Australian men and women. Using longitudinal data from the Australian panel survey, ‘Negotiating the Lifecourse’, we find that men and women employed full time report better health than those employed part time or not employed. Previously married women report worse health than married women, but there is no association between marital status and health for men. We also find that men with preschool children in the household report worse health than men with older children, whereas women with preschool children report better health than women with older children. In addition for women we find evidence of a role-burden where combining full-time employment and children has a negative impact on health, but combining children with part-time or no employment has a beneficial health effect. There are no health effects of combining roles for men.

Key Words: employment status • marital status • parenthood • self-reported health

Journal of Sociology, Vol. 42, No. 1, 61-78 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1440783306061353


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