Work Conditions and Mental Health in Lesbian and Gay Dual‐Earner Parents

This is the first study to examine the relationship between work conditions and mental health in dual-earner lesbian/gay parents (N = 86). How time- and strain-based demands (work hours, job urgency) and supportive resources (supervisor support, lesbian, gay, bisexual [LGB]-friendly workplace climate) are examined, as well as outness at work and internalized homophobia, and how they relate to depressive and anxious symptoms. Supervisor support was negatively related to mental health problems, such that parents with greater support reported fewer depressive/anxious symptoms. The relationship between urgency and mental health depended on climate: working a high-urgency job was associated with more depressive symptoms for parents in very LGB-unfriendly workplaces, and with fewer anxious symptoms for parents in very LGB-friendly workplaces. The relationship between outness and mental health depended on internalized homophobia: being very out at work was associated with higher depressive/anxious symptoms for parents reporting high internalized homophobia. Gay men reported higher levels of symptoms than lesbians.Key Words: gay, internalized homophobia, lesbian, mental health, outness, work conditions.With the rise in dual-earner households, researchers have increasingly examined the role of work in the lives of dual-earner parents, insomuch as balancing parenting, the couple relationship, and paid work can represent a challenging although potentially rewarding task, with consequences for parents' well-being (Voydanoff, 2005, 2007). Of particular interest has been to identify how work conditions affect parents' mental health, because parent mental health affects parenting abilities and parent-child relationships (Crouter, Bumpus, Maguire, & McHale, 1999).Research on parents' work conditions and well-being has almost exclusively focused on heterosexual couples. Given that samesex couples are increasingly raising children (Goldberg, 2010), and many of them are dual earner (Perlesz et al., 2010), there is a need for more research on work and well-being in this population. In particular, research that examines "traditional" work-related demands and resources, as well as sexual minority-specific factors (e.g" workplace climate, outness at work, and internalized homophobia) is needed. Indeed, upon becoming parents, lesbians and gay men may find that their sexual orientation is more visible than before (Goldberg, 2012), particularly at work (Bergman, Rubio, Green, & Padron, 2010), rendering issues of outness and acceptance (i.e., by oneself and one's workplace, respectively) more salient. This study examines work conditions and mental health in lesbian and gay parents with young children. We focus on parents of preschool-age children (M = 2.5 years; range 2-4.5 years) given that this is a particularly demanding time for parents (Ralph, Haines, Harvey, McCormack, & Sherman, 1999). For example, parents often report frustration related to the oppositional behaviors that characterize this stage (Calkins & Williford, 2009). Dual-earner parents of young children may experience heightened stress, insomuch as they must manage the challenges of this developmental stage while juggling the demands of two partners' jobs, a process that can leave them with little time or energy, particularly if their work conditions are stressful (Koizumi, Sugawara, & Kitamura, 2001). Such challenges may be further exacerbated for lesbian/gay dual-earner parents, whose sexual minority status may introduce added stress in their lives generally and in their workplaces specifically.To contextualize this study, we briefly review the research on (a) workplace conditions and mental health and (b) sexual minority-specific processes and mental health. The studies that we review have utilized heterosexual samples unless otherwise specified.Workplace ConditionsTheoretical and empirical work have demonstrated the interconnectedness of work and family domains. …