Multiple social roles in early adulthood and later mental health in different labour market contexts

Work and family roles entail divergent responsibilities, which can be a source of conflict especially in young adulthood – the so-called “rush-hour” of life. Combining these multiple social roles can result in an accumulation of stress but also be a valuable resource for mental health. The aim of this study is to investigate combined employment, parenthood and partnership trajectories of men and women during early adulthood, and to analyse the relationship of these multiple roles with depressive symptoms at older age. We used harmonised data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) with retrospective information on employment, partnerships and parenthood histories between age 25 and 40 for 18,816 men and 24,686 women (n = 43,502). We applied sequence analysis and clustering to group trajectories into four clusters for women and three clusters for men. We then used multilevel models to analyse the links between combined employment and family roles and later mental health in different historical labour market contexts (indicated by female employment rates). Women and men who did not combine work and family roles between age 25 and 40 report higher levels of depression than those who combined work and family. Results differ by gender and labour market context, with stronger differences between women in countries with higher female employment rates. Overall, combining multiple roles in early adulthood is associated with decreased rather than increased risk for depressive symptoms in older Europeans.