Relation of work-family conflict to health outcomes: A four-year longitudinal study of employed parents

• Published in: Journal of occupational and organizational psychology Vol. 70; no. 4; pp. 325 - 335
• Main Authors: Frone, Michael R., Russell, Marcia, Cooper, M. Lynne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.1997; British Psychological Society
• Subjects: Alcohol use; Alcoholism; Biological and medical sciences; Conflict; Correlation analysis; Cronbach's alpha; Employment; Factors; Families & family life; Family; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health; Health risk assessment; Hypertension; Illness and personality; Illness, stress and coping; Longitudinal studies; Mental stress; New York State; Occupational stress; Parents; Parents & parenting; Physiology; Psychology; Psychology and medicine; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Regression analysis; Role conflicts; Studies; Work life balance; Work-Family conflict; Working parents; United States > US; Human; Mood disorder; Social environment; Hypertension; Cardiovascular disease; Depression; Stress; Occupational environment; Conflict; Follow up study; Young adult; Risk factor; Family environment; Adult; Coping; Psychological well being
• ISSN: 0963-1798; 2044-8325
• DOI: 10.1111/j.2044-8325.1997.tb00652.x

Cross‐sectional research provides consistent evidence that work–family conflict is positively associated with a host of adverse health‐related outcomes. The authors extend past research by examining the longitudinal relations of work → family and family → work conflict to self‐report (depressive symptomatology, physical health, and heavy alcohol use) and objective cardiovascular (incidence of hypertension) health outcomes. Survey data were obtained from a random community sample of 267 employed parents during 1989 (baseline) and 1993 (follow‐up). Ordinary least squares and logistic regression analyses revealed that family → work conflict was longitudinally related to elevated levels of depression and poor physical health, and to the incidence of hypertension. In contrast, work → family conflict was longitudinally related to elevated levels of heavy alcohol consumption.