Self-reported health among lone mothers in Switzerland : Do employment and education matter?

Lone mothers may have several difficulties taking up employment, especially if they live in a country where parents receive little support to reconcile work and family life. Under such circumstances, is it better to work in order to raise one’s income, even if life is more stressful, or to withdraw from the labour force? What is the association between employment and health? This is the question raised by Emanuela Struffolino, Laura Bernardi and Marieke Voorpostel in the particular context of Switzerland, where mothers of young children, whatever their conjugal status, are not encouraged by the government to work full-time. Using data from the Swiss Household Panel, the authors analyse the relationship between self-reported health and full-time or part-time working for lone mothers relative to mothers in couples, by the level of education. They highlight the higher risk of poor self-reported health for lone mothers compared with mothers in a couple, especially for those in small part-time jobs