Mental Health and Relationship Consequences of Mental Load

Inequities in the division of household labor between spouses are well-established, particularly among heterosexual couples. However, while quantification of physical labor (e.g., doing dishes, folding laundry) is straightforward, the measurement of the cognitive and emotional labor that goes into running a home (e.g., planning, organizing, delegating) is not. The present study, therefore, aimed to develop a comprehensive measure of this mental labor, the Mental Load Scale (MLS), for use among cohabitating couples and to determine the mental health and relationship consequences of mental load. To this end, an online questionnaire was developed and administered to 569 adults (56% women) who were currently in a cohabitating romantic relationship. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the MLS has three distinct subscales: invisible burden, logistical responsibility, and emotional labor. Further, an examination of the relationship consequences of mental load indicated that women endorsed higher levels of all three facets of mental load, and that women reported poorer relationship and mental health outcomes when mental load was high. The MLS is an important tool for researchers and clinicians who wish to measure this “invisible” construct among individuals and couples and mental load, as well as its negative effects, falls disproportionately to women.