[Work, family, resources and unequal levels of psychological distress between working men and working women : vulnerability or gendered expression of stress?]

Abstract

Introduction: This study aims to compare the vulnerability hypothesis and the expression hypothesis to explain a greater level of psychological distress among working women than among working men.

Method: The two hypotheses were contrasted by integrating work stressors, family stressors, work-family conflicts and psychosocial resources. The conceptual models were tested by using multilevel path analyses on 2026 employees in Quebec (Canada) based in 63 work establishments.

Results: Results partially supported both hypotheses. According to the vulnerability hypothesis, single parenting, child-related problems and self-esteem were indirectly involved in the variation of psychological distress among women through family-to-work, otherwise known as work-family conflict. According to the expression hypothesis, although family-to-work conflict was closely associated with more psychological distress among women, this stressor was also closely associated with higher at-risk alcohol consumption among men. Couple-related problems and a sense of control likewise played a role in the expression mechanism through family-to-work conflict.

Conclusion: These results underline the importance of considering that gender contributes to mental health inequalities through multiple mechanisms. They also call for a distinction between the two directions of work-family conflict as gendered mediators.

Keywords: Alcohol; Alcool; Conflit travail-famille; Détresse psychologique; Gender; Genre; Health inequality; Inégalité de santé; Psychological distress; Work-family conflict.