Moms execute more household tasks. But they’re also family executives, doing more of the thinking ahead and assigning that are part of all those chores – bad news for their mental health.
University of Southern CaliforniaJul 30 2024
Our new research found that this cognitive dimension of housework, often called the "mental load," is divided even more unevenly within couples than the physical dimension – and it seems to take a particular mental health toll on women. According to the study we published in the Archives of Women's Mental Health, mothers who take on a more disproportionate share of cognitive household labor report higher levels of depression, stress, relationship dissatisfaction and burnout.
On average, mothers reported being responsible for about 73% of all cognitive household labor compared with their partners' 27%, and 64% of all physical household labor compared with their partners' 36%. Indeed, for every single task we examined, the gender difference was larger for the cognitive dimension than the physical execution dimension.
Family dynamics have societal impact An unequal division of household labor is a key driver of global gender inequity, suppressing women's full participation in the paid workforce and significantly affecting women's health and well-being. What still isn't known Our study was limited by its reliance on self-reported household labor and by the fact that we were able to collect data only from mothers in cohabiting, heterosexual couple relationships. Future studies can survey both partners and directly observe what chores couples do at home. They can also look at different kinds of relationship configurations, including gay and lesbian couples.
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