Men's work, Women's work, and mental health: A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between the gender composition of occupations and mental health.
This longitudinal investigation assesses the extent to which the gender composition of an occupation (e.g., the extent to which an occupation is comprised of males versus females) has an impact on mental health. We used 14 annual waves of the Household Income Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) study to construct a measure representing the gender ratio of an occupation. The outcome measure was the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5). A Mundlak model was used to compare within and between person effects, after controlling for possible confounders. Results suggest that males and females employed in occupations where their own gender was dominant had better mental health than those in gender-neutral occupations (between person effects). However, within-person results suggested that a movement from a gender-neutral to a male or female dominated occupation was associated with both a decline (females) and improvement (males) in mental health. These results highlight the need for more research on gender specific selection into and out of different occupations in order to progress understandings of gender as a social determinant of health in the work context.
['Milner|Allison|A|', 'King|Tania|T|', 'LaMontagne|Anthony D|AD|', 'Bentley|Rebecca|R|', 'Kavanagh|Anne|A|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D001315:Australia D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008137:Longitudinal Studies D008297:Male D008603:Mental Health D008875:Middle Aged D000073397:Occupational Stress D009790:Occupations D017678:Sex Distribution D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires D014931:Women, Working D014937:Work D055815:Young Adult
Work Mental health Gender Occupation Job stressors