Work-family conflict and employee psychiatric disorders: The national comorbidity survey

This study examined the relation between work-family conflict and several types of psychiatric disorders: mood, anxiety, substance dependence, and substance abuse. Survey data were obtained from a representative national sample of 2,700 employed adults who were either married or the parent of a child 18 years old or younger. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses revealed that both work-to-family and family-to-work conflict were positively related to having a mood, anxiety, and substance dependence disorder. Depending on the type of work-family conflict and type of disorder, employees who reported experiencing work-family conflict often were 1.99-29.66 times more likely than were employees who reported no work-family conflict to experience a clinically significant mental health problem. No support was found for gender differences. Research on the predictors of employee health has grown con-siderably over the past 2 decades. Most research has focused on predictors that are intrinsic to the work environment (e.g., work-load, decision latitude, work boredom, exposure to physical haz-ards). Nonetheless, a smaller body of research has begun to ex-amine the relation of work-family conflict to employee health outcomes. Work-family conflict represents a source of stress at the interface of work and family life, in that it reflects a lack of overall fit between work and family life (Frone, Russell, & Barnes, 1996; Frone, Russell, & Cooper, 1992a; Frone, Yardley, & Markel, 1997). Although research on the health outcomes of work-family conflict has become more prevalent, this literature is in need of further replication and development. Therefore, the present study has two goals. The first goal is to review briefly prior research on work-family conflict and employee health outcomes. The second goal is to identify two issues that need further attention and to present data from a national sample of U.S. workers