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Employment outside the home and women's psychological well-being

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Summary

Some researchers predict that work outside the home buffers the effects of childcare and marital Stressors for women by providing temporary relief from the demands of childcare and marital roles. Others argue that instead of being beneficial, work actually adds to the psychological stress generated by childcare and marital stressors by overloading working women with both employment and home-related responsibilities. This study was designed to explore the mechanisms through which work mediates the impact of childcare and marital stress on the psychological well-being of working mothers. The results indicate that work can reduce the negative effects of some forms of marital stress, but that work does not relieve or heighten stress arising from the childcare role.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Family Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, USA

    Neal Krause

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  1. Neal Krause
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Additional information

Work on the research reported in this paper was done while the author was a fellow in the Postdoctoral Training Program in Measurement NIMH Grant No. PHS T32 MH 15789-02.

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Krause, N. Employment outside the home and women's psychological well-being. Soc Psychiatry 19, 41–48 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00583860

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00583860

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