Association of work status and mental well-being in new mothers

The present study was to consider the relationship between work status and mental well-being of women at six weeks postpartum. One hundred and eighty-eight employed mothers and 82 unemployed mothers were recruited from the Kaohsiung city area in southern Taiwan to participate in this study. Five instruments were used to collect data: the demographic data form, Cohen's perceived stress scale, Cohen's interpersonal support evaluation list, Coopersmith's self-esteem inventory, and the Beck depression inventory. In results, unemployed mothers were younger, had fewer years of education, and lower socioeconomic status than employed mothers. To adjust for these differences in group characteristics, one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed to determine the role of work on mental health factors. Unemployed mothers were found to be at significantly increased risk for depression in terms of prevalence and severity. They also showed significantly greater stress, reduced social support and lowered self-esteem. That employment is mentally beneficial for post-partum women may be due to increased financial resources and provision of additional stress release outlets, social support resources and opportunities for affirmation of personal worth. Since this study is cross-sectional, some reasonable alternative causal explanations for these data were also discussed.