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Time-use Profiles, Chronic Role Overload, and Women’s Body Weight Trajectories from Middle to Later Life in the Philippines
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Although chronic life strain is often found to be associated with adverse health outcomes, empirical research is lacking on the health implications of persistent role overload that many women around the world are subject to, the so-called double burden of work and family responsibilities. Using data from the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (1994-2012), we examined the linkage between time-use profiles and body mass index (BMI) trajectories for Filipino women over an 18-year span. Out of the four classes of women with differential levels of a combination of work and family duties, the group with the heaviest double burden has the highest average BMI. In addition, those who have remained in this class for three or more waves of data not only have higher BMI on average but also have experienced the steepest rate of increase in BMI upon transition from midlife to old age.
Located in
Retired Persons
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Feinian Chen, Ph.D.
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Feinian Chen Publications
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Spousal migration and married adults’ psychological distress in rural China: The roles of intimacy, autonomy and responsibility
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Spousal separation due to migration is a prevalent phenomenon in the developing world, but its psychological consequences for left-behind partners are largely understudied. Using data from 2010, 2012 and 2014 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this paper first examined whether spousal migration causes rural married adults any psychological distress; this finding was then advanced by testing the mechanisms that could potentially explain the linkage between these two variables. Inverse Probability Weighting (IPW) for multivalued treatment effect models and paired Propensity Score Matching (PSM) have been used to correct the potential selection bias of spousal migration. The results show that prolonged spousal separation through migration increases the depressive symptoms of married adults in rural China, and the detrimental effects on left-behind spouses' psychological well-being can be explained by the reduced level of emotional intimacy between husband and wife, and partially by women becoming the master of the household. Considering that being the master of the household is accompanied by elevated stress levels associated with increasing family responsibilities, further examination showed that economic resources can buffer the negative effect associated with being the master of the household when the spouse migrates. However, we did not find that time use is an effective mechanism to link spousal migration and left-behind spouses’ well-being.
Located in
Retired Persons
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Feinian Chen, Ph.D.
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Feinian Chen Publications
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Better a Friend Nearby Than a Brother Far Away? The Health Implications of Foreign Domestic Workers’ Family and Friendship Networks
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Migrant domestic workers provide essential services to the families they live with, but they are not considered a part of the family. As a group, they are not well-integrated into the society and often suffer from social isolation. In this article, we explore the potential health buffering effects of their personal network, in terms of family and friendship ties in both the local community and their home country. Existing literature provides inconsistent evidence on who and what matters more, with regard to the nature, strength, and geographic locations of individual personal networks. Using data from the Survey of Migrant domestic Workers in Hong Kong (2017), we find that family ties are extremely important. The presence of family members in Hong Kong as well as daily contact with family, regardless of location, are associated with better self-reported health. Only daily contact with friends in Hong Kong, not with friends in other countries, promotes better health. We also find evidence that the protective effects of family and friends networks depend on each other. Those foreign domestic workers with families in Hong Kong but also maintain daily contact with friends have the best self-reported health among all.
Located in
Retired Persons
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Feinian Chen, Ph.D.
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Feinian Chen Publications