Abstract
BackgroundFemale household heads are faced with more problems than men due to their multiple concurrent roles. The present study was conducted to determine the relationship of supportive roles with mental health and satisfaction with life in female household heads in Karaj, Iran using a structural equations model.MethodsThe present descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 286 eligible female household heads in Karaj, Iran, in 2020, who were selected by convenience sampling. Data were collected using Vaux’s Social Support, the perceived social support scale, the general health questionnaire (GHQ), and the satisfaction with life questionnaire plus a socio-demographic checklist, and were analyzed in SPSS-16 and Lisrel-8.8.ResultsThe participants’ mean age was 43.1 ± 1.7 years. According to the path analysis results, satisfaction with life had the highest direct positive relationship with perceived social support (B = 0.33) and the highest indirect positive relationship with age (B = 0.13) and the highest direct and indirect positive relationship with education and social support (B = 0.13). Also, mental health had a direct negative relationship with satisfaction with life (B = -0.29), an indirect negative relationship with social support, and both a direct and indirect negative relationship with perceived support (B = -0.26).ConclusionBased on the results, supportive roles had a negative relationship with mental health; in other words, mental health problems increase as supportive roles decrease. They also had a positive relationship with satisfaction with life in female household heads.Accordingly, given the status and role of women in the health of family members and the community and their greater vulnerability, further attention and support should be directed toward these women by the government and relevant organizations like establishment of counseling-support centers.
Highlights
Female household heads are faced with more problems than men due to their multiple concurrent roles
On the advice of the Health Deputy of Alborz University of Medical Sciences and based on the information provided by the Integrated Health System of Iran, called the SIB, centers with the largest numbers of referrals of female household heads were selected for this study
Study population Based on the results reported by Chang e al [17]. in their article and considering a correlation of 0.19 between social relations and life satisfaction, first and second types of error of 0.05 and 0.1, respectively, and using the equation below, sample size was determined as 286
Summary
Female household heads are faced with more problems than men due to their multiple concurrent roles. The present study was conducted to determine the relationship of supportive roles with mental health and satisfaction with life in female household heads in Karaj, Iran using a structural equations model. The number of single-parent families is constantly increasing in the western world, and 60% of women worldwide are currently their family’s breadwinners and 37.5% of households around the world are run by women [4]. This percentage is increasing in Iran, such that the percentage of female-headed households increased from 9.5% in 2006 to 12.1% in 2011 and 12.7% in 2016. There are currently over 3 million female-headed households in Iran [3]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
