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Publication #FAR5048

 

Social Roles and Women's Health1

Donna Davis2

Figure 1. 
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When my children were younger and I was working full-time, all while juggling volunteerism, I often had people tell me they just didn't know how I did it all. And, while "doing it all" was certainly challenging, according to a new study published in England, it may also result in better health. Researchers found that women who occupied multiple social roles over the long term generally reported better health and were less likely to be obese than mothers who were full-time homemakers (McMunn, Bartley, Hardy, & Kuh, 2006).

Researchers from University College London found that of the 53- and 54-year-old women in their study, mothers who were married and working were significantly more likely to report better health than homemakers, single mothers, or women with no children. The researchers tracked the health of more than 2,000 women from age 26 to 54 and found that prior health, mental health, and childhood social class did not seem to make a difference in the increased likelihood of being obese at 53 (McMunn et al., 2006).

Most important, where prior research couldn't determine whether work made women healthier or healthier women were able to work, the researchers suggest "good health is more likely to be the result, rather than the cause, of multiple role occupation" (McMunn et al., 2006, p. 488). What they want to better understand now is "what it is about particular work and family roles that influences people's health" (McMunn et al., 2006, p. 488).

Listening, learning, and living together: it's the science of life. "Family Album" is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, and of WUFT-FM. If you'd like to learn more, please visit our website at http://www.familyalbumradio.org.

To listen to the radio broadcast:

http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/439.mp3

http://www.radiosource.net/radio_stories/439.wav

Reference

McMunn, A., Bartley, M., Hardy, R., & Kuh, D. (2006.) Life course social roles and women's health at mid-life: Causation or selection? Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 60, 484-489.

Footnotes

1.

This document is FAR5050, one of a series of the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Broadcast as program 439. Published February 2009. Revised March 2012. In the interest of time and/or clarity, the broadcast version of this script may have been modified. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Donna Davis, senior producer, Family Album Radio, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service; Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida; Gainesville 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.