The Cumulative Health Toll of Precarious Employment in China: Dose‑Response Effects and Gender Disparity in Life Satisfaction

Abstract Drawing on cumulative disadvantage theory and resource conservation theory, this study uses seven waves of the China Family Panel Studies (2010–2022, N = 20,662) to examine the cumulative effects of precarious employment on life satisfaction and its mediating mechanisms. Each additional year of high-risk exposure reduces life satisfaction by 0.061 points, equivalent to 1.6% of the sample mean (p < 0.001), and women suffer 53% greater cumulative damage than men. Structural equation modeling reveals two independent mediation pathways: social trust accounts for 11.9% of the total effect, and family care accounts for 6.8%. These findings extend cumulative disadvantage theory from extreme events to everyday precarious employment and provide empirical evidence for early social protection policies targeting flexible workers.