Association between Precarious Employment and Chronic Stress: Effect of Gender, Stress Measurement and Precariousness Dimensions—A Cross-Sectional Study

Mireia Julià, Fabrizio Méndez-Rivero, Álex Gómez-Gómez, Óscar J. Pozo and Mireia Bolíbar
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Mireia Julià: Research Group on Health Inequalities, Environment, and Employment Conditions (GREDS-EMCONET), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08005 Barcelona, Spain
Fabrizio Méndez-Rivero: Research Group on Health Inequalities, Environment, and Employment Conditions (GREDS-EMCONET), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08005 Barcelona, Spain
Álex Gómez-Gómez: Applied Metabolomics Research Group, IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Óscar J. Pozo: Applied Metabolomics Research Group, IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Mireia Bolíbar: Research Group on Health Inequalities, Environment, and Employment Conditions (GREDS-EMCONET), Department of Political and Social Sciences, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 08005 Barcelona, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-14

Abstract: Precarious employment has been highlighted as a social determinant of health, given, among others, to its alleged association with chronic stress. However, few studies have been conducted analyzing such association, using both perceived stress indicators and biological markers. Accordingly, the present study analyzed the association of multidimensional (6 dimensions) precarious employment scale with perceived stress and 23 markers of adrenal and gonadal hormone production, including cortisol. The sample consisted of 255 salaried workers from Barcelona (125 men, 130 women) aged 25–60. OLS regression models stratified by sex were conducted. Results demonstrated that precarious employment increased the probabilities of having perceived stress in both sexes. In addition, the production of adrenal hormones among men is associated with precarious wages and among women with precarious contracts (“Temporariness”, “Disempowerment”, and “Rights” dimensions). Therefore, precarious employment could be embodied by workers, altering their perceived well-being and physiological characteristics. Differences between men and women in the physiological effect of precarious employment could express not just the biochemical differences inherent to biological sex, but also the social construction of gender identities, positions and roles in society and family, as well as gender inequalities in the labour market.

Keywords: cortisol; chronic stress; precarious employment; gender; social determinants of health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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