Invisible labor can negatively impact well-being in mothers

Knowing who needs to be where, on what day and at what time. Buying a bigger pair of pants before a child outgrows what is currently hanging in the closet. Always having a jar of unopened peanut butter on hand.

These caregiving tasks require mental and emotional effort and are examples of the invisible labor women contribute and caring for their families. Researchers from Arizona State University and Oklahoma State University examined how invisible labor impacted the well-being of a sample of American women. The work will be published on January 22 in Sex Roles.

“Until recently, no one stopped to think about mom herself,” said Suniya Luthar, Foundation Professor of psychology at ASU and senior author on the study. “We need to attend to the well-being of moms if we want children to do well, and also for their own sakes.”