DREAM on – a prolongation of the Dresden Study on Parenting, Work, and Mental Health (“DREAM”)

根据《世界人权宣言》，妇女和男子享有平等的权利，每个人都有工作的权利。尽管如此，我们有理由相信，德国的母亲而不是父亲承担了照顾孩子的责任，因此付出了巨大的牺牲，而不是追求有报酬的工作。除了平等方面的考虑，一些研究表明，母亲参与工作与更好的身心健康有关。然而，证据主要来自美国和横断面设计。此外，以前的研究主要集中在产妇保健，没有包括整个家庭系统。他们还忽视了不稳定的工作条件和心理社会工作压力的潜在相关性。因此，就业对健康的潜在病因作用仍不清楚。此外，目前还不清楚以前的国际研究结果是否适用于在德国的职业妇女和家庭，在那里的母亲的工作参与是相对较低的，本研究的目的是前瞻性地调查父母的角色分配，工作参与和工作条件对整个家庭的健康相关的结果的影响。在12个月的时间里，将从产科诊所和妇科诊所招募3 000多名孕妇及其伴侣。为了考虑到东德和西德德国之间产妇工作参与的差异，我们将从两个研究中心招募家庭，即东德研究中心（德累斯顿，n= 2，000）和西德研究中心（不莱梅市，n= 1，000）。总之，这项前瞻性双中心队列研究将包括四个测量点。选择测量点是为了与德国年轻家庭的某些里程碑保持一致，并能够调查随着时间的推移性别差距的潜在发展。感兴趣的变量将使用问卷进行评估，包括广泛的工作和健康相关的问题。除了定量数据收集，我们还打算进行定性子研究。深入采访将进行更传统的，以及更进步的夫妇。访谈将考虑双方对平等的态度以及关系中的任务分工和实际情况。这项研究，其中包括广泛的数据收集，提供了一个独特的机会，研究的角色分布，工作参与和健康的前瞻性协会在整个家庭。将按照纵向设计和系统方法检查因果关系。此外，本研究的结果将表明其他重要因素，如不稳定的工作条件和心理社会工作压力是否以及如何缓和潜在的关联。

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, women and men have equal rights and every human being has the right to work. Nevertheless, there is reason to believe that, instead of pursuing paid work, German mothers rather than fathers bear the brunt of child care responsibilities, and therefore incur great sacrifices. Beyond equality considerations, some studies have shown maternal work participation to be related to better somatic and mental health. However, evidence predominantly stems from the United States and from cross-sectional designs. Also, previous studies have primarily focussed on maternal health and have not included the entire family system. They have also neglected the potential relevance of precarious working conditions and psychosocial work stress. For this reason, the potential etiologic role of employment on health remains unclear. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether the previous international research results are applicable to working women and families in Germany, where maternal work participation is comparatively low.The aim of the present study is to prospectively investigate the impact of parental role distributions, work participation, and working conditions on health-related outcomes of the entire family. During the course of 12 months, more than 3,000 pregnant women and their partners will be recruited from maternity clinics as well as gynecological practices. In order to take into account the variation in maternal work participation between East and West Germany, we will recruit families from two study centers, i.e. an East German site (Dresden, n=2,000) and a West German site (the city of Bremen, n=1,000). Taken together, this prospective duo-centric cohort study will include four measurement points. The measurement points have been chosen to align with certain milestones for young German families and to be able to investigate the potential development of a gender gap over time. Variables of interest will be assessed using questionnaires including a wide spectrum of work and health related questions. In addition to the quantitative data collection, we intend to conduct a qualitative sub-study. In-depth interviews will be conducted with more traditional as well as more progressive couples. The interviews will consider both attitudes regarding equality and the division of tasks in the relationship and the actual situation. The study, which includes extensive data collection, provides a unique opportunity to study the prospective associations of role distributions, work participation, and health in the entire family. Causal relationships in accordance with a longitudinal design and a systemic approach will be examined. Further, the results of the present study will give indications with regard to whether and how other important factors, such as precarious working conditions and psychosocial work stress moderate potential associations.