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Marital status and work-related health limitation: a longitudinal study of young adult and middle-aged Americans

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Objectives

The literature establishes clearly the health benefit of marriage. Much less clear from published data is whether work-related health (dis)advantages accruing to marital transitions persist over time or are limited to the short term. Informed by the marital resources and marital crisis perspectives, this study sought links between marital status measured via three approaches and work-related health limitation, exploring these relationships across genders.

Methods

The study employed data from eight recent waves (1996–2010) of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. It applied generalized estimating equations to estimate the impacts, on work-related health limitation, of current marital status; of marital transition 2 years in the past; and of marital transition 8 years in the past.

Results

Our gender-specific results indicated that lower likelihood of work-related health limitation was associated with a married status, a stable married status, and an entry into marriage.

Conclusions

Results are consistent overall with the marital resources perspective. The use of three different approaches to evaluate the relationship of marital status to work-related health limitation may explain the gender-specific results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Social Work, Texas Woman’s University, P. O. Box 425887, Denton, TX, 76204, USA

    Celia C. Lo

  2. School of Social Work, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487-0314, USA

    Tyrone C. Cheng & Gaynell M. Simpson

Authors
  1. Celia C. Lo
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  2. Tyrone C. Cheng
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  3. Gaynell M. Simpson
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Correspondence to Celia C. Lo.

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Lo, C.C., Cheng, T.C. & Simpson, G.M. Marital status and work-related health limitation: a longitudinal study of young adult and middle-aged Americans. Int J Public Health 61, 91–100 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-015-0695-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-015-0695-6

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