Work-family conflict and self-rated health trajectories among ELSA-Brasil workers: the moderating role of education.

Abstract

Introduction: Studies on the association between work-family conflict and self-reported health are mostly cross-sectional; few studies have investigated the effect of education on this association.

Objectives: To investigate association between work-family conflict, family-work conflict, lack of time for self-care and leisure due to family and work demands, and self-rated health trajectories, examining sex differences and the modifying effect of education on these associations.

Methods: Data from active workers (women = 4,283; men = 3,851) from the three waves and annual follow-up (2008-2020) of the Longitudinal Study of Adult Health were analyzed using multinomial logistic models.

Results: Work-family conflict, family-work conflict, and lack of time were associated with worse self-rated health trajectories in both sexes. However, among women who reported a lack of time for self-care and leisure, education was a modifying factor. The odds of a fair or poor self-reported health trajectory were higher among women with a high education level who reported a lack of time "sometimes" or "often" than in women with a low education level.

Conclusions: Work-family conflict dimensions were associated with worse self-reported health trajectories among both women and men. Education only modified this effect among women.