Work-Family Guilt in Spanish Parents: Analysis of the Measurement, Antecedents and Outcomes from a Gender Perspective.

Olga Gómez-Ortiz,Andrea Roldán-Barrios

doi:10.3390/ijerph18158229

Olga Gómez-Ortiz, Andrea Roldán-Barrios

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18158229

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Abstract

This research work had three objectives: (1) to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Work–Family Guilt Scale, (2) to examine its invariance according to gender, and (3) to study the relationship between work–family guilt (WFG) and the different proposed antecedent (e.g., hours spent working, social support, rumination, and personality) or consequential factors (e.g., life satisfaction), noting any gender differences. The incidental sample comprised 225 parents who were in paid work and had at least one child attending nursery school (49.1% women; age of total sample = 36.88 on average). Multiple-group and confirmatory factor analyses, correlations, multiple regression, and moderation analyses were carried out. The WFGS reflected the same factorial structure in men and women, with two main factors: work interfering with family guilt (WIFG) and family interfering with work guilt (FIWG). No gender differences were found. The discrepancy associated with perfectionism was the only variable that was found to be a predictor of FIWG. The major predictors of WIFG were brooding from rumination and the number of hours spent working. WIFG was also associated with lower life satisfaction in women. The implications of these results are discussed, stressing the need to promote work–family reconciliation policies.

Highlights

The birth of a son or daughter heralds a period of personal transition in which parents take on a new role and their identity is transformed
Research has focused on the emotions that arise from the difficulty of balancing the new duties involved in parenting with responsibilities at work [2,3]—in other words, when the parents experience a major work–family conflict (WFC)
Scale [12], which covers two dimensions: “work interfering with family guilt” (WIFG: four items) and “family interfering with work guilt” (FIWG: three items)

Summary

Introduction

The birth of a son or daughter heralds a period of personal transition in which parents take on a new role and their identity is transformed These new circumstances lead to changes in personal and family routines, and the parents assume new responsibilities with new experiences that can trigger a range of new emotional processes [1]. The emotional processes linked to WFC include a reduction in wellbeing [4,5,6]—or in life, family, and marital satisfaction [5,7]—and especially the arousal of guilt [8] This last emotion has received much research attention in recent times [6,9,10,11]. It is necessary to study the guilt linked to WFC and its related factors in depth in order to better understand it and to be able to prevent it and its consequences

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Conclusion