Work-family Balance and Marital Satisfaction: The Mediating Effects of Mental and Physical Health

Abstract

Applying the stress-divorce model to explain the impact of spillover stress, this study analyzes 1,961 married participants in the National Study of the Changing Workforce. Specifically, it tests the individual and combined effects of work-to-family conflict, family-to-work conflict, work-to-family enrichment, and family-to-work enrichment on marital satisfaction. Additionally, this study tests whether these effects are mediated by mental and physical health. The results suggest that mental health and physical health both fully mediate the effect of work-to-family conflict, while mental health and physical health both partially mediate the effect of work-to-family enrichment on marital satisfaction. On the other hand, neither of the health measures mediates the effects of family-to-work conflict and family-to-work enrichment on marital satisfaction. These results suggest the importance of examining both the positive and the negative aspects of work-family balance in understanding marital satisfaction and highlight the mediating effects of mental and physical health in shaping how work-family balance affects marital satisfaction.