Su Chaochan, Yang Meng, Huang Qiuxia, Yang Min
The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Guangzhou Nansha District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Front Psychol. 2025 Jul 18;16:1531091. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1531091. eCollection 2025.
The increasing prevalence of work-family conflict and anxiety among working parents, particularly in China, underscores the importance of understanding their interrelationship. This study sought to investigate the relationship between work-family conflict (WFC) and anxiety among working parents while exploring the mediating role of family health in this relationship.
A large-scale cross-sectional survey was conducted using data from the 2021 Psychology and Behavior Investigation of Chinese Residents. The sample comprised 5,068 occupational parents who met the research criteria. Anxiety was assessed using the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, WFC was measured using the WFC scale, and family health was evaluated using the Short Form of the Family Health Scale. Multinomial logistic regression and mediation analyses were applied to examine relationships.
Among the participants, 58.4% reported no symptoms of anxiety, 30.6% experienced mild anxiety, and 11.0% reported moderate to severe anxiety. Scores for WFC and family health demonstrated significant associations with anxiety levels. Specifically, higher levels of WFC were associated with an increased risk of mild anxiety (odds ratio [OR] = 1.058, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.051-1.064) and moderate to severe anxiety (OR = 1.123, 95% CI: 1.111-1.135). Conversely, higher family health scores were associated with a decreased risk of mild anxiety (OR = 0.934, 95% CI: 0.924-0.945) and moderate to severe anxiety (OR = 0.859, 95% CI: 0.842-0.876). Mediation analysis revealed that family health significantly mediated the relationship between WFC and anxiety levels ( < 0.05).
The findings confirm a significant relationship between WFC and anxiety, with family health serving as a partial mediator. These results suggest that improving family health may represent an effective strategy for reducing anxiety among working parents.
工作与家庭冲突以及在职父母焦虑情绪的日益普遍，尤其是在中国，凸显了理解二者相互关系的重要性。本研究旨在调查在职父母的工作与家庭冲突（WFC）和焦虑之间的关系，同时探讨家庭健康在这种关系中的中介作用。
使用2021年中国居民心理与行为调查的数据进行大规模横断面调查。样本包括5068名符合研究标准的职业父母。焦虑程度采用7项广泛性焦虑障碍量表进行评估，工作与家庭冲突采用WFC量表进行测量，家庭健康状况采用家庭健康量表简表进行评估。应用多项逻辑回归和中介分析来检验各关系。
在参与者中，58.4%报告无焦虑症状，30.6%经历轻度焦虑，11.0%报告中度至重度焦虑。工作与家庭冲突和家庭健康得分与焦虑水平显示出显著关联。具体而言，较高水平的工作与家庭冲突与轻度焦虑风险增加相关（优势比[OR]=1.058，95%置信区间[CI]：1.051-1.064）以及中度至重度焦虑（OR=1.123，95%CI：1.111-1.135）。相反，较高的家庭健康得分与轻度焦虑风险降低相关（OR=0.934，95%CI：0.924-0.945）以及中度至重度焦虑（OR=0.859，95%CI：0.842-0.876）。中介分析表明，家庭健康显著中介了工作与家庭冲突和焦虑水平之间的关系（<0.05）。
研究结果证实了工作与家庭冲突和焦虑之间存在显著关系，家庭健康起到部分中介作用。这些结果表明，改善家庭健康可能是减轻在职父母焦虑的有效策略。
