Publication year
2017
Citation Title
Family fairness and cohesion in marital dyads: Mediating processes between work–family conflict and couple psychological distress.
Journal Name
Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology
Journal Volume
90
Issue Number
1
Page Numbers
95-116
DOI
10.1111/joop.12165
Summary
Conflict at work may be negatively contributing to Soldier and spouses' family cohesion, thus affecting perceptions of fairness in household labor and couples' mental health. This study examined both Soldier and spouses' perceptions of work-to-family conflict (i.e., work demands interfering with family life) and how it affected psychological distress. Overall, findings revealed that work-to-family conflict lead to spillover from the military career to the family as well as distress among spouses.
Key Findings
Soldier and spouses' work-to-family conflict (i.e., work demands interfering with family life) was negatively related to fairness in household labor (i.e., more conflict, less fairness), and perceived fairness was related to family cohesion (i.e., less fairness, less cohesion).
Work-to-family conflict was negatively related to Soldiers' psychological distress through fairness in household labor, whereas spouses' psychological distress was negatively related to conflict through family cohesion.
Family cohesion was negatively related to spouses' psychological distress, but not related to psychological distress for Soldiers.
Implications for Program Leaders
Develop research-based curricula for military couples that help them resolve conflicts related to work and family
Engage military couples in workshops to help discuss their perceptions of household fairness in hopes to build family cohesion
Offer support groups for military couples in effort to learn about available supportive services to handle increased household and work responsibilities
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to support programs that offer family-supportive resources to reduce psychological stress created by work-to-family conflict
Recommend education for community providers serving military families about the effects of psychological distress on the entire family system
Encourage the development and continuation of programs that can promote positive family cohesion in Service members, their partners, and children
Methods
The sample was recruited from five U.S. military installations where Soldiers completed paper surveys and spouses completed online surveys.
Soldier and spouses' perceptions of work-to-family conflict were examined to determine the relationship among conflict and perceptions of household labor fairness, family cohesion, and psychological distress.
Statistical analyses were conducted to examine if Soldier and spouses' perceptions of work-to-family conflict were related to fairness in household labor, family cohesion, and psychological distress.
Participants
Across this sample of Active Duty Army Soldiers and their spouses (N=78 couples, 156 participants) the average age was 31 years old.
A majority of the participants were White (75%), followed by Latino (12%), and African American (5%). Additional race/ethnicity information was not provided.
Most of Soldiers were male (90%) and had female spouses (90%) and had experienced at least one deployment (80%) in their military careers.
Limitations
Only perceptions of family cohesion from the Soldier and spouse were included, thus limiting perceptions from other family members (i.e., children).
This study lacked specificity on what resources were affecting family cohesion, thus it is uncertain what other factors may have contributed to couples' psychological distress.
Data were collected at one time point, therefore there is no evidence of the long-term effects of work-to-family conflict on family cohesion, psychological distress, and fairness in household labor.
Avenues for Future Research
Examine the effects of work-to-family conflict on all members of the military family (e.g., military children, Service members' parents)
Conduct qualitative interviews to examine military families' perceptions of household labor, family cohesion, and work-to-family conflict
Assess the long-term effects of work-to-family conflict on psychological distress and family cohesion among military families
Focus
Army
Target Population
Population Focus
Military Branch
Military Component
Abstract
The well-being of employed adults is linked to demands and resources in both work and
family domains. This study takes a family systems approach to understand how an
employee’s work–family conflict and their spouse’s observed work–family conflict can
create stress within a family unit by negatively impacting employee and spousal
perceptions of fairness in the division of household labour. This decreased fairness is
related to reduced family cohesion, which we argue is a key resource in the family domain. These variables were assessed by data collected from military personnel and their spouses in a sample of 78 marital dyads. Analyses using the actor–partner interdependence model and maximum likelihood bootstrapping supported our contention that work–family conflict is related to family cohesion through perceived fairness in the division of household labour. However, after accounting for the strong direct effect employee’s reported work-to-family conflict has on employee’s psychological distress, reduced family cohesion was only directly related to the psychological distress of employee’s spouses, and not employees themselves. We suggest that these findings support the importance of taking a family systems approach to more fully contextualize the impact of dual-domain challenges on employee well-being.
family domains. This study takes a family systems approach to understand how an
employee’s work–family conflict and their spouse’s observed work–family conflict can
create stress within a family unit by negatively impacting employee and spousal
perceptions of fairness in the division of household labour. This decreased fairness is
related to reduced family cohesion, which we argue is a key resource in the family domain. These variables were assessed by data collected from military personnel and their spouses in a sample of 78 marital dyads. Analyses using the actor–partner interdependence model and maximum likelihood bootstrapping supported our contention that work–family conflict is related to family cohesion through perceived fairness in the division of household labour. However, after accounting for the strong direct effect employee’s reported work-to-family conflict has on employee’s psychological distress, reduced family cohesion was only directly related to the psychological distress of employee’s spouses, and not employees themselves. We suggest that these findings support the importance of taking a family systems approach to more fully contextualize the impact of dual-domain challenges on employee well-being.
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