Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Public Health
Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2016

Open Access 01-12-2016 | Research article

“I have surly passed a limit, it is simply too much”: women’s and men’s experiences of stress and wellbeing when living within a process of housework resignation

Authors: Lisa Harryson, Lena Aléx, Anne Hammarström

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2016

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Gender inequality within paid and unpaid work exposes women and men to different environments and responsibilities. These gender patterns shape living conditions for women and men, either negatively or positively, by affecting the prospect of good health. Most public health studies of gender and housework are quantitative, and knowledge about the relationship between housework experiences and health for women and men is limited. The aim of this study was to explore the housework experiences and practices of women and men and their experiences of stress and perceived wellbeing from a gender perspective.

Methods

We conducted thematic interviews with four women and four men living in Sweden, and performed an analysis using the Grounded Theory method.

Findings

We found that stereotypical gender practices in housework influenced experiences of stress and perceived wellbeing among women and men. Despite proposing gender equality in housework as a means of improving wellbeing, inequality was amplified by the way women and men handle the gendered division of housework. We call this recurring theme “The process of housework resignation”, which also constitute the core category in our analysis. “The process of housework resignation” was theorised from the categories “Gender practices in housework”, “Experiencing stress and wellbeing” and “Managing daily life”.

Conclusions

Stereotypical gender practices in housework can increase experiences of stress among women and men. Challenging stereotypical masculinities can be a key for breaking the process of resignation in housework and for facilitating improved health among both women and men in heterosexual couple relationships within a Swedish context.
Literature
1.
Eurpoean Commission. Europe in figures: Eurostat yearbook 2012. Belgium: Publications Office of the European Union; 2012.
2.
Statens Offentliga Utrednignar. Makten att forma samhället och sitt eget liv -jämställdhetspolitiken mot nya mål [The Gouvenment’s Public Inquiries. Power to shape society and your own life -towards new gender policy objectives]. 2005.
3.
4.
Courtenay WH. Constructions of masculinity and their influence on men’s well-being: a theory of gender and health. Soc Sci Med. 2000;50:1385–401.CrossRefPubMed
5.
Connell R. Gender, health and theory: conceptualizing the issue, in local and world perspective. Soc Sci Med. 2012;74:1675–83.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Harryson L, Novo M, Hammarström A. Is gender inequality in the domestic sphere associated with psychological distress among women and men? Results from the Northern Swedish Cohort. JECH. 2012;66:271–76.
7.
Kostiainen E, Martelin T, Kestila L, Martikainen P, Koskinen S. Employee, partner, and mother woman’s three roles and their implications for health. J Fam Issues. 2009;30:1122–50.CrossRef
8.
Hagqvist E, Gillander-Gådin K, Nordenmark N. Division of labor, perceived labor-related stress and well-being among European couples. Open J Prev Med. 2012;2:452–60.CrossRef
9.
Lunau T, Bambra C, Eikemo T, van der Wel K, Dragano N. A balancing act? Work–life balance, health and well-being in European welfare states. Eur J Public Health. 2014;24(3):422–7.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Bianchi S, Milkie M. Work and family research in the first decade of the 21st century. J Marriage Fam. 2010;72:705–25.CrossRef
11.
Boye K. Happy hour? Studies on well-being and time spent on paid and unpaid work. Dissertation Stockholm University 2008.
12.
Cunningham-Burley S, Backett-Milburn K, Kemmer D. Constructing health and sickness in the context of motherhood and paid work. Sociol Health Illn. 2006;28:385–409.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Markey C, Markey P. Leaving room for complexity in attempts to understand associations between romantic relationships and health: commentary on Wanic and Kulik. Sex Roles. 2011;65:313–9.CrossRef
14.
Bird CE. Gender, household labor, and psychological distress: the impact of the amount and division of housework. J Health Soc Behav. 1999;40:32–45.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Coltrane S. Gender theory and household labor. Sex Roles. 2010;63:791–800.CrossRef
16.
Forste R, Fox K. Household labor, gender roles, and family satisfaction: a cross-national comparison. J Comp Fam Stud. 2012;5:613–31.
17.
Öun I. Is it fair to share? Perceptions of fairness in the division of housework among couples in 22 countries. Soc Justice Res. 2013;26:400–21.CrossRef
18.
Mirowsky J, Ross C. Social causes of psychological distress. New York: Aldine de Gruyter; 2003.
19.
Staland-Nyman C, Alexanderson K, Hensing G. Associations between strain in domestic work and self-rated health: a study of employed women in Sweden. Scand J Public Health. 2008;36:21–7.CrossRefPubMed
20.
21.
Evertsson M, Nermo M. Dependence within families and the division of labor: comparing Sweden and the United States. J Marriage Fam. 2004;66:1272–86.CrossRef
22.
Magnusson E. Conflict, danger and difference. Nordic heterosexual couples converse about gender equality and fairness. In: Magnusson E, Rönnblom M, Silius H, editors. Critical studies of gender equalities: Nordic Dislocations, Dilemmas and contradictions. Halmstad: Makadam; 2008.
23.
Connell R. Gender. Cambridge: Polity Press; 2009.
24.
Magnusson E. Gendering or equality in the lives of Nordic heterosexual couples with children: no well-paved avenues yet. NORA. 2005;13:153–63.
25.
Khawaja M, Habib RR. Husbands’ involvement in housework and women’s psychosocial health: findings from a population-based study in Lebanon. Am J Public Health. 2007;97:860–6.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
26.
Connell R, Messerschmidt W. Hegemonic masculinity rethinking the concept. Gend Soc. 2005;19:829–59.CrossRef
27.
28.
Schofield T, Connell R, Walker L, Wood J, Butland D. Understanding men’s health and illness: a gender-relations approach to policy, research, and practice. J Am Coll Health. 2000;48:247–56.CrossRefPubMed
29.
Ng N, Weinehall L, Öhman A. ‘If I don’t smoke, I’m not a real man’--Indonesian teenage boys’ views about smoking. Health Ed Res. 2007;22:794–804.CrossRef
30.
Schofield T. Men’s health and wellbeing. In: Kuhlmann E, Annandale E, editors. The palgrave handbook of gender and health care. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan; 2010.
31.
Gadamer HG. The enigma of health. Stanford: Stanford University Press; 1996.
32.
Folkman S, Lazarus RS. The relationship between coping and emotion: implications for theory and research. Soc Sci Med. 1988;26:309–17.CrossRefPubMed
33.
Koeske GF, Kirk SA, Koeske RD. Coping with job stress: which strategies work best? J Occup Organ Psychol. 1993;66:319–35.CrossRef
34.
35.
Rönnblom M, Hudson C. Dela lika: från praktiv till logistik. Forskningsrapport i Statsvetenskap vid Umeå Universitet [Share alike: from practice to logistics. Reseach report in Political Science at Umeå University]: 2012;139–48.
36.
Charmaz K. Constructing grounded theory: a practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage; 2006.
37.
Hammarström A, Janlert U. Cohort profile: the Northern Swedish cohort. Int J Epidemiol. 2012;41:1545–52.CrossRefPubMed
38.
39.
Data Inspektionen. Samtycke enligt personuppgiftslagen. Datainspektionen informerar [The Swedish Institute for Data Inspection: Consent according to the law of personal data. Information from the Swedish Institute of Data Inspection]; 2015.
40.
Swedish Law of Personal Data (Swedish Code of Statutes 1998:204).
41.
Rotondo DM, Carlson DS, Kincaid JF. Coping with multiple dimensions of work-family conflict. Pers Rev. 2003;32:275–96.CrossRef
42.
Forssén A, Carlstedt G. “It’s heavenly to be alone!”: a room of one’s own as a health-promoting resource for women. Results from a qualitative study. Scand J Public Health. 2006;34:175–81.CrossRefPubMed
43.
Walters V, Charles N. “I just cope from day to day”: unpredictability and anxiety in the lives of women. Soc Sci Med. 1997;45:1729–39.CrossRefPubMed
44.
Van de Velde D, Bracke P, Van Hove G, Josephsson S, Vanderstraeten G. How do men with paraplegia choose activities in the light of striving for optimal participation? A qualitative study, based on a phenomenological–hermeneutical method. Disab Soc. 2013;28:645–59.CrossRef
45.
Greenstein TN. Gender ideology and perceptions of the fairness of the division of household labor: effects on marital quality. Soc Forces. 1996;74:1029–42.CrossRef
46.
Thagaard T. Gender, power, and love: a study of interaction between spouses. Acta Soc. 1997;40:357–76.CrossRef
47.
Ahlberg J, Roman C, Duncan S. Actualizing the “Democratic Family”? Swedish policy rhetoric versus family practices. Soc Pol Int Stud Gender, State Society. 2008;15:79–100.
48.
Magnusson E. The rhetoric of inequality: Nordic women and men argue against sharing house-work. NORA. 2008;16:79–95.
49.
Aléx L, Hammarström A. Shift in power during an interview situation: methodological reflections inspired by Foucault and Bourdieu. Nurs Inq. 2008;15:169–76.CrossRefPubMed
50.
Morse JM, Barrett M, Mayan M, Olson K, Spiers J. Verification strategies for establishing reliability and validity in qualitative research. Int J Qual Methods. 2002;1:13–22.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
“I have surly passed a limit, it is simply too much”: women’s and men’s experiences of stress and wellbeing when living within a process of housework resignation
Authors
Lisa Harryson
Lena Aléx
Anne Hammarström
Publication date
01-12-2016
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2016
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-2920-5

Other articles of this Issue 1/2016

BMC Public Health 1/2016 Go to the issue

Research article

Prevalence, awareness, treatment, control and socio demographic determinants of hypertension in Malaysian adults

Research article

Fish, food security and health in Pacific Island countries and territories: a systematic literature review

Research article

Maternal knowledge, outcome expectancies and normative beliefs as determinants of cessation of exclusive breastfeeding: a cross-sectional study in rural Kenya

Research article

Sociodemographic factors associated with IgG and IgM seroprevalence for human cytomegalovirus infection in adult populations of Pakistan: a seroprevalence survey

Research article

Validity and reliability of a brief self-reported questionnaire assessing fruit and vegetable consumption among pregnant women

Research article

Cardiovascular risk outcome and program evaluation of a cluster randomised controlled trial of a community-based, lay peer led program for people with diabetes