Employment Status and Women's Health - Exploring the Dynamics

Employed women report fewer health problems than non-employed women. The social causation explanation argues that these inequalities arise because employment statuses differ as to their consequences for health, while the health-related mobility explanation claims that differences emerge because of selective mobility. The present study focuses on the dynamic relationships between health and employment statuses. Panel data from Norwegian surveys 1980-91 are analysed. Differences in health are already present when young women enter employment statuses. This pattern is reproduced through numerous employment status transitions and changes in health. Log-linear analyses indicate that health-related mobility is more important than social causation, although both models are relevant. Further analyses indicate that health-related mobility primarily occurs in terms of health problems that cause reductions in paid employment.