Longitudinal Associations Between Maternal Work Stress, Negative Work‐Family Spillover, and Depressive Symptoms

• Published date: 01 July 2009
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2009.00550.x
• Author: W. Benjamin Goodman,Ann C. Crouter,
• Date: 01 July 2009

A Publication of

the National Council on

Family Relations

W. BENJAMIN GOODMAN The Pennsylvania State University

ANN C. CROUTER The Pennsylvania State University*

THE FAMILY LIFE PROJECT KEY INVESTIGATORS**

Longitudinal Associations Between Maternal Work

Stress, Negative Work-Family Spillover, and

Depressive Symptoms

The current study examined associations over

an 18-month period between maternal work

stressors, negative work-family spillover, and

depressive symptoms in a sample of 414

employed mothers with young children living

in six predominantly nonmetropolitan counties

in the Eastern United States. Results from a

one-group mediation model showed that a less

f‌lexible work environment and greater work

pressure predicted higher levels of depressive

symptoms and, further, that these associations

were mediated by perceptions of negative

work-family spillover. Additionally, results from

Department of Human Development and Family Studies, The

Pennsylvania State University, S-110 Henderson Building,

University Park, PA 16802 (bgoodman@psu.edu).

∗College of Health and Human Development, The

Pennsylvania State University, 201 Henderson Building,

University Park, PA 16802.

∗∗The Family Life Project Key Investigators include Lynne

Vernon-Feagans, Martha Cox, Clancy Blair, Peg Burchinal,

Linda Burton, Keith Crnic, Nan Crouter, Patricia Garrett-

Peters, Doug Granger, Mark Greenberg, Stephanie Lanza,

Adele Miccio, Roger Mills-Koonce, Deborah Skinner,

Cynthia Stifter, Lorraine Taylor, Emily Werner, and Mike

Willoughby.

Key Words: depression, work and families, work/family

balance, working mothers.

a two-group mediation model suggested that

work pressure predicted greater perceptions of

spillover only for mothers employed full-time.

Findings suggest the need for policies that

reduce levels of work stress and help mothers

manage their work and family responsibilities.

Over the past 30 years, researchers have increas-

ingly recognized that workplace conditions can

contribute to variations in individual well-being

over time (e.g., Eby, Casper, Lockwood, Bor-

deaux, & Brinley, 2005). Previous research

examining associations between workplace con-

ditions and individual well-being has determined

that numerous workplace stressors, including

high levels of pressure, lack of workplace f‌lex-

ibility, and low complexity and control over

work, are associated with employee depres-

sive symptoms (e.g., Barnett & Brennan, 1995;

Paterniti, Niedhammer, Lang, & Consoli, 2002).

Furthermore, an examination of the specif‌ic

mechanisms through which stress in the work-

place impacts mental health over time sug-

gests that experiences of work stress may

result in perceptions of negative work-family

spillover, which in turn predict higher levels

of depressive symptoms (e.g., Franche et al.,

2006). These studies are consistent with a role

Family Relations 58 (July 2009): 245– 258 245