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Relationship Quality, Work-Family Stress, and Mental Health Among Australian Male Mining Industry Employees

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 April 2014

Samara McPhedran  and
Diego De Leo
Samara McPhedran*
Affiliation:
Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention, National Centre of Excellence in Suicide Prevention and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Suicide Prevention, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Diego De Leo
Affiliation:
Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention, National Centre of Excellence in Suicide Prevention and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Suicide Prevention, Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE: Samara McPhedran, Level 1, M24 (Psychology), 176 Messines Ridge Rd, Mt Gravatt Campus, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt QLD 4122, Australia. Email: s.mcphedran@griffith.edu.au
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Abstract

Australia is one of the world's foremost mining nations. While the economic and employment benefits of the mining industry are well documented, potentially negative aspects of mining industry employment are less understood. It has been suggested that mining industry workers may be more likely than workers in other occupations to experience relationship problems and work-family stress, but there is very little empirical study examining this proposal. Data from the nationally representative Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey were used to compare males employed in the Australian mining industry with males working in other occupations, on indices of relationship quality and work-family balance, as well as mental and emotional health. Employment in the resources sector was not associated with poorer outcomes on these measures, relative to other occupations. These results suggest that hypothesised connections between mining industry employment and relationship/family stress require careful examination.

Keywords

occupationrelationshipsstress
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Relationships Research , Volume 5 , 2014 , e3
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australian Academic Press Pty Ltd 2014 

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