Gender Differences in the Work and Home Spheres for Teachers, and Longitudinal Associations with Depressive Symptoms in a Swedish Cohort

The high level of stress among teachers is a frequently reported problem globally but less is known about how demands and resources among teachers affect depressive symptoms, and to what extent gender differences in these conditions can explain potential differences in depressive symptoms. The present study investigated gender differences in teachers' self-reported depressive symptoms, and differences in their demands and resources in both work and home spheres. Associations between demands and resources, respectively, and depressive symptoms as well as gender differences in these associations were examined. Results from univariate and parallel growth modelling (N = 1,022), using data from six time points (2008 to 2018), found higher levels of depressive symptoms, higher emotional and quantitative work demands, and more time doing unpaid work among female teachers, whereas male teachers reported more time on leisure activities. Emotional and quantitative work demands were associated with depressive symptoms at baseline, and these associations also developed in parallel over time. Leisure time had a negative association with depressive symptoms at baseline. There were no gender differences in the strength of these associations. Findings suggest that gender differences in teachers' depressive symptoms could be attributable to women's greater demands in the work sphere and fewer resources in the home sphere than men as opposed to their being more vulnerable to workplace stressors.