Dataset Information

Comparing the acute effects of shiftwork on mothers and fathers.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Shift work may impact women more negatively than men due to the increased burden of coping with demanding work schedules while also undertaking more of the domestic chores, including childcare.

Aims

To examine whether the combination of shift working and caring for children affects the sleep, fatigue and work-family conflict experienced by women more than it affects men.

Methods

Using data from a survey of the Swedish working population, mixed linear regression models examined work schedule (daywork, shift work with nights, shift work without nights), gender and presence of children <13 years at home as predictors of sleep insufficiency, sleep disturbance, fatigue and work-family conflict, over up to three successive measurement occasions. Adjustments were made for age, education, full/part-time working and baseline year.

Results

In fully adjusted models (N = 8938), shift work was associated with insufficient sleep (P < 0.01), disturbed sleep (P < 0.01), fatigue (P < 0.05) and work-family conflict (P < 0.001). Interactions in the analyses of sleep disturbance (P < 0.001) and work-family interference (P < 0.05) indicated that among participants with no children, females reported more disturbed sleep and more work-family conflict than their male counterparts, irrespective of schedule; while among participants with children, female dayworkers reported more disturbed sleep than their male counterparts, and females working shifts without nights reported more work-family interference.

Conclusions

Having young children did not exacerbate negative effects of shift work, in either men or women. This may reflect high levels of gender equality and childcare provision in Sweden.

SUBMITTER: Tucker P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8703007 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundDepression in fathers in the postnatal period is associated with an increased risk of behavioural problems in their offspring, particularly for boys. The aim of this study was to examine for differential effects of depression in fathers on children's subsequent psychological functioning via a natural experiment comparing prenatal and postnatal exposure.MethodsIn a longitudinal population cohort study (the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC)) we examined the associations between depression in fathers measured in the prenatal and postnatal period (measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), and later behavioural/emotional and psychiatric problems in their children, assessed at ages 3(1/2) and 7 years.ResultsChildren whose fathers were depressed in both the prenatal and postnatal periods had the highest risks of subsequent psychopathology, measured by total problems at age 3(1/2) years (Odds Ratio 3.55; 95% confidence interval 2.07, 6.08) and psychiatric diagnosis at age 7 years (OR 2.54; 1.19, 5.41). Few differences emerged when prenatal and postnatal depression exposure were directly compared, but when compared to fathers who were not depressed, boys whose fathers had postnatal depression only had higher rates of conduct problems aged 3(1/2) years (OR 2.14; 1.22, 3.72) whereas sons of the prenatal group did not (OR 1.41; .75, 2.65). These associations changed little when controlling for maternal depression and other potential confounding factors.ConclusionsThe findings of this study suggest that the increased risk of later conduct problems, seen particularly in the sons of depressed fathers, maybe partly mediated through environmental means. In addition, children whose fathers are more chronically depressed appear to be at a higher risk of emotional and behavioural problems. Efforts to identify the precise mechanisms by which transmission of risk may occur should be encouraged to enable the development of focused interventions to mitigate risks for young children.