ABSTRACT

As of April 2021, nine states and the District of Columbia had enacted state-specific paid family leave (PFL) programs, offering partial wage replacement to parents after the birth of a child. The Biden Administration also proposed the development of a national solution through the American Families Plan. Despite these advances, concerns with workforce disruptions and economic costs have hindered wider adoption of PFL. While studies have documented the potential health benefits of PFL for women and babies, less is known about the mechanisms that lead to PFL potentially impacting women’s mental health. This mixed-methods study is based on focus groups with over 100 women in four states with operating programs and a secondary analysis of Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data. It presents evidence of how PFL may facilitate longer leave that possibly leads to improved mental health outcomes by providing more time at home. It also demonstrates that PFL may directly support mental health by providing women with increased financial security and work/life boundaries. Implications of PFL design features on access and shortcomings are also discussed. These results aim to inform national or additional state-level PFL programs that may benefit working women, their families, and their employers.

摘要

截至 2021 年 4 月，九个州和哥伦比亚特区制定了针对特定州的带薪家庭假 (PFL) 计划，在孩子出生后为父母提供部分工资替代。拜登政府还提议通过美国家庭计划制定国家解决方案。尽管取得了这些进步，但对劳动力中断和经济成本的担忧阻碍了 PFL 的更广泛采用。虽然研究已经记录了 PFL 对女性和婴儿的潜在健康益处，但对导致 PFL 可能影响女性心理健康的机制知之甚少。这项混合方法研究基于四个州的 100 多名妇女的焦点小组，这些妇女有运营计划，并对妊娠风险评估监测系统 (PRAMS) 数据进行了二次分析。它提供了 PFL 如何促进更长的假期的证据，这可能通过提供更多的在家时间来改善心理健康结果。它还表明，PFL 可以通过为女性提供更多的财务保障和工作/生活界限来直接支持心理健康。还讨论了 PFL 设计特征对访问和缺点的影响。这些结果旨在为可能有利于职业女性、她们的家庭和她们的雇主的国家或其他州级 PFL 计划提供信息。