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Depression Risk among Mothers of Young Children: The Role of Employment Preferences, Labor Force Status and Job Quality

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Abstract

This study examines how desire for employment, employment status, and job quality associate with depressive symptoms among mothers of infants and toddlers. We use the longitudinal NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) to estimate regression models with a variety of controls including prior depression. We find that employment in high-quality versus low-quality jobs is associated with reductions in depressive symptoms, both for mothers who do and do not desire employment. Furthermore, non-employed mothers have elevated depression levels only if they desire employment. Our results demonstrate that neither employment nor non-employment is best for all mothers of young children; rather mental health depends on mothers’ employment preferences and, when they do work for pay, job quality.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge helpful comments of members of the sociology department of the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Policy Research, Syracuse University, 426 Eggers Hall, Syracuse, NY, 13244-1020, USA

    Margaret L. Usdansky

  2. Department of Sociology and Institute of Government and Public Affairs, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 West Harrison St, MC 312, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA

    Rachel A. Gordon

  3. Department of Sociology, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 West Harrison St, MC 312, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA

    Xue Wang

  4. Department of Sociology, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, CA, 90840, USA

    Anna Gluzman

Authors
  1. Margaret L. Usdansky
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  2. Rachel A. Gordon
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  3. Xue Wang
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  4. Anna Gluzman
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Correspondence to Margaret L. Usdansky.

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Usdansky, M.L., Gordon, R.A., Wang, X. et al. Depression Risk among Mothers of Young Children: The Role of Employment Preferences, Labor Force Status and Job Quality. J Fam Econ Iss 33, 83–94 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-011-9260-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-011-9260-5

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