abstract: 'Background: A large body of international research reveals that single

  mothers experience poorer mental health than their partnered

  counterparts, with socioeconomic disadvantage identified as an important

  contributory factor in understanding this health disparity. Much less

  research, however, has focused specifically on the psychological

  well-being of single mothers who are employed, despite their growing

  presence in the labor force. Of the research which has considered

  employment, the focus has been on employment status per se rather than

  on other important work-related factors which may impact psychological

  health, such as psychosocial work quality and work-family conflict. The

  aim of this study was to: (1) compare employed single mothers and

  employed partnered mothers on measures of psychological distress,

  psychosocial work quality and work-family conflict; and (2) explore the

  potential role of work-family conflict and psychosocial work quality as

  explanations for any observed differences in psychological distress

  based on partner status.

  Method: Analysis of data obtained from a cross-sectional telephone

  survey of employed parents in a mid-sized Western Canadian city.

  Analyses were based on 674 employed mothers (438 partnered and 236

  single), who were 25-50 years old, with at least one child in the

  household.

  Results: Compared to employed single mothers, employed partnered mothers

  were older, had more education and reported fewer hours of paid work.

  Single mothers reported higher levels of psychological distress,

  financial hardship, work-family conflict and poor psychosocial work

  quality. Statistical adjustment for income adequacy, psychosocial work

  quality and work-family conflict each independently resulted in single

  motherhood no longer being associated with psychological distress.

  Conclusions: While single employed mothers did experience higher levels

  of psychological distress than their partnered counterparts, differences

  between these groups of women in income adequacy, psychosocial work

  quality, and work-family conflict were found to explain this

  relationship. Future research employing a longitudinal design and

  subject to lower selection biases is required to tease out the

  interrelationship of these three life strains and to point to the most

  appropriate economic and social policies to support single mothers in

  the workforce.'
affiliation: 'Janzen, BL (Corresponding Author), Univ Saskatchewan, Dept Epidemiol
  \& Community Hlth, Hlth Sci Bldg,107 Wiggins Rd, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada.

  Dziak, Ewelina; Janzen, Bonnie L.; Muhajarine, Nazeem, Univ Saskatchewan, Dept Epidemiol
  \& Community Hlth, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada.

  Muhajarine, Nazeem, Univ Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan Populat Hlth \& Evaluat Res
  Unit, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E5, Canada.'
article-number: '6'
author: Dziak, Ewelina and Janzen, Bonnie L. and Muhajarine, Nazeem
author-email: bonnie.janzen@usask.ca
author_list:
- family: Dziak
  given: Ewelina
- family: Janzen
  given: Bonnie L.
- family: Muhajarine
  given: Nazeem
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1186/1475-9276-9-6
eissn: 1475-9276
files: []
journal: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR EQUITY IN HEALTH
keywords-plus: MENTAL-HEALTH; SCREENING SCALES; DISTRESS; STRESS; STRAIN
language: English
month: FEB 22
number-of-cited-references: '42'
papis_id: 3ebf563b631f92bd2795c7ff927f49b8
ref: Dziak2010inequalitiespsycholo
researcherid-numbers: Muhajarine, Nazeem/D-7360-2012
times-cited: '56'
title: 'Inequalities in the psychological well-being of employed, single and partnered
  mothers: the role of psychosocial work quality and work-family conflict'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000275443400001
usage-count-last-180-days: '2'
usage-count-since-2013: '63'
volume: '9'
web-of-science-categories: Public, Environmental \& Occupational Health
year: '2010'