Abstract
Religion has been found to moderate the stress–strain relationship. This moderator role, however, may be dependent on age. The present study tested for the three-way interaction between work experience, age, and religiosity in the prediction of women’s well-being, and predicted that work experience and religiosity will combine additively in older women, while in younger women religiosity is predicted to moderate the relationship between work experience and well-being. In a sample of 389 married Malay Muslim women, results of the regression analyses showed significant three-way interactions between work experience, age, and religiosity in the prediction of well-being (measured by distress symptoms and life satisfaction). While in younger women the results were in line with the predictions made, in the older women, both additive and moderator effects of religiosity were observed, depending on the well-being measures used. These results are discussed in relation to the literature on work and family, with specific reference to women’s age, religion, as well as the issue of stress–strain specificity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barnett, R. C., & Marshall, N. L. (1991). The relationship between women’s work and family roles and their subjective well-being and psychological distress. In M. Frankenhaeuser, U. Lundberg, & M. Chesney (Eds.), Women, work and health (pp. 111–136). New York: Plenum Press.
Baruch, G. K., & Barnett, R. C. (1986). Role quality, multiple roles involvement and the psychological well-being in mid-life women. Journal of Personality and Social Behavior, 3, 578–585. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.51.3.578.
Batson, C. D., Schoenrade, P., & Ventis, W. K. (1993). Religion and the individual: A social-psychological perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bergin, A. E. (1983). Religiosity and psychological well-being: A critical re-evaluation and meta-analysis. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 14, 170–184. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.14.2.170.
Brief, A. P., Burke, M. L., George, J. M., Robinson, B. S., & Webster, J. (1988). Should negative affectivity remain an unmeasured variable in the study of job stress? Journal of Applied Psychology, 73, 193–199. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.73.2.193.
Carlson, D. S. (1999). Personality and role variables as predictors of three forms of work-family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 55, 236–253. doi:10.1006/jvbe.1999.1680.
Charles, S. T., Reynolds, C. A., & Gatz, M. (2001). Age-related differences and change in positive and negative affect over 23 years. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 136–151. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.80.1.136.
Chatters, L. M., & Taylor, R. J. (1989). Age differences in religious participation among Black adults. Journals of Gerontology, 44, S183–S184.
Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple regression /correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. New Jersey: Erlbaum Hillsdale.
Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98, 310–357. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310.
Coser, L. (1974). Greedy institutions. New York: Free Press.
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13.
Duxbury, L. E., & Higgins, C. A. (1991). Gender differences in work-family conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 60–74. doi:10.1037/0021-9010.76.1.60.
Ellison, C. G. (1991). Religious involvement and subjective well-being. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 32, 80–99. doi:10.2307/2136801.
Ellison, C. G., Boardman, J. D., Williams, D. R., & Jackson, J. S. (2001). Religious involvement, stress, and mental health: Findings from the 1995 Detroit area study. Social Forces, 80, 215–249. doi:10.1353/sof.2001.0063.
Ellison, C. G., Gay, D. A., & Glass, T. A. (1989). Does religious commitment contribute to individual life satisfaction? Social Forces, 68, 100–123. doi:10.2307/2579222.
Eysenck, S. B. J., Eysenck, H. J., & Barrett, P. (1985). A revised version of the Psychoticism Scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 6, 21–29. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(85)90026-1.
Ferraro, K. F., & Albrecht-Jensen, C. M. (1991). Does religion influence adult health? Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion, 30, 193–202. doi:10.2307/1387213.
Francis, L. J. (1997). The psychology of gender differences in religion: A review of empirical research. Religion, 27, 81–96. doi:10.1006/reli.1996.0066.
Francis, L. J., Pearson, P., Carter, M., & Kay, W. (1981). The relationship between neuroticism and religiosity among English 15- and 16-year olds. Journal of Social Psychology, 114, 99–102.
Glass, J. L., & Finley, A. (2002). Coverage and effectiveness of family-responsive workplace policies. Human Resource Management Review, 12, 313–337. doi:10.1016/S1053-4822(02)00063-3.
Goldberg, D. P. (1978). Manual of the General Health Questionnaire. Windsor: NFER Publishing.
Hamarat, E., Thompson, D., Steele, D., Matheny, K., & Simons, C. (2002). Age differences in coping resources and satisfaction with life among middle-aged, young-old and oldest-old adults. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 163, 360–367.
Hill, P. C., & Pargament, K. I. (2003). Advances in the conceptualization measurement of religion and spirituality: Implications for physical and mental health research. American Psychologist, 58, 64–74. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.58.1.64.
Idler, E. L. (1995). Religion, health, and nonphysical senses of self. Social Forces, 74, 683–704. doi:10.2307/2580497.
Jung, C. G. (1966). Psychology and religion. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Kaplan, G. A. (1996). People and places: Contrasting perspectives on the association between social class and health. International Journal of Health Services, 26, 507–519. doi:10.2190/4CUU-7B3G-G4XR-0K0B.
Karasek, R., & Theorell, T. (1990). Healthy work: Stress, productivity and the reconstruction of working life. New York: Basic Books.
Kessler, R. C., & McRae, J. A. (1982). The effects of wives’ employment on the mental health of married men and women. American Sociological Review, 47, 216–227. doi:10.2307/2094964.
Koenig, H. G. (1994). Aging and God. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press.
Koenig, H. G. (1995). Religion and older men in prison. International of Geriatric Psychiatry, 10, 219–230.
Koenig, H. G. (1997). Is religion good for your health? Binghamtom, NY: The Haworth Pastoral Press.
Lantz, P. M., House, J. S., Lepkowski, J. M., Williams, D. R., Mero, R. P., & Chen, J. (1998). Socioeconomic status, health behaviors and mortality: Results from a nationally representative prospective study of U.S. adults. Journal of the American Medical Association, 279, 1703–1708. doi:10.1001/jama.279.21.1703.
Levin, J. S., Chatters, L. M. & Taylor, R. J. (1995). Religious effects on health status and life satisfaction among Black Americans. Journal of Gerontology (Social Sciences), 50B, S154–S163.
Levin, J. S., & Markides, K. S. (1988). Religious attendance and psychological well-being in middle-aged in middle-aged and older Mexican Americans. Sociological Analysis, 49, 66–72. doi:10.2307/3711104.
Levin, J. S., Markides, K. S., & Ray, L. A. (1996). Religious attendance and psychological well-being in Mexican Americans: A panel analysis of three generations data. Gerontologist, 36, 454–463.
Lewis, C. A., Lanigan, C., Joseph, S., & de Fockert, J. (1997). Religiosity and happiness: No evidence for an association among undergraduates. Personality and Individual Differences, 22, 119–121. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(97)88910-6.
Lewis, C. A., Maltby, J., & Burkinshaw, S. (2000). Religion and happiness: Still no association. Journal of Beliefs and Values, 21, 233–236. doi:10.1080/713675504.
Marks, S. (1977). Multiple roles and role strain: Some notes on human energy, time, and commitment. American Sociological Review, 42, 921–936. doi:10.2307/2094577.
McCrae, R. R. (1990). Controlling neuroticism in the measurement of stress. Stress Medicine, 6, 237–241. doi:10.1002/smi.2460060309.
McCullough, M. E., Hoyt, W. T., Larson, D. B., Koeniq, H. G., & Thoresen, C. (2000). Religious involvement and mortality: A meta-analytic review. Health Psychology, 19, 211–222. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.19.3.211.
Miller, W. R., & Thoresen, C. E. (2003). Spirituality, religion, and health: An emerging research field. American Psychologist, 58, 24–35. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.58.1.24.
Mirola, W. A. (1999). A refuge for some: Gender differences in the relationship between religious involvement and depression. Sociology of Religion, 60.
Moyle, P. (1995). The role of negative affectivity in the stress process: Tests of alternative models. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 16, 647–668. doi:10.1002/job.4030160705.
Mroczek, D. K., & Spiro III, A. (2005). Change in life satisfaction during adulthood: Findings from the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 189–202. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.88.1.189.
Nelson, P. B. (1989). Ethnic differences in intrinsic/extrinsic religious orientation and depression in the elderly. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 3, 199–204.
Noor, N. M. (1995). Work and family roles in relation to women’s well-being: A longitudinal study. British Journal of Social Psychology (Special Issue on Health and Social Psychology), 34, 87–106.
Noor, N. M. (2006a). Locus of control supportive workplace policies and work-family conflict. Psychologia: An International Journal of Psychology in the Orient, 49, 48–60. doi:10.2117/psysoc.2006.48.
Noor, N. M. (2006b). Malaysian women’s state of psychological well-being: Empirical validation of a conceptual model. The Journal of Social Psychology, 146, 95–115. doi:10.3200/SOCP.146.1.95-115.
O’Connor, D. B., Cobb, J., & O’Connor, R. C. (2003). Religiosity, stress and psychological distress: No evidence for an association among undergraduate students. Personality and Individual Differences, 34, 211–217. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00035-1.
Pargament, K. I. (1997). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, practice. New York: Guildford Press.
Park, C., Cohen, L., & Herb, L. (1990). Intrinsic religiousness and religious coping as life stress moderators for Catholics versus Protestants. Journal Personality and Social Psychology, 59, 562–574. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.3.562.
Ross, C. E., & Huber, J. (1985). Hardship and depression. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 26, 77–91. doi:10.2307/2136655.
Schrabracq, M. J. (2003). Everyday well-being and stress in work and organizations. In M. J. Schrabracq, J. A. M. Winnubst, & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), The handbook of work and health psychology (pp. 9–36). Chichester: Wiley.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness: Using the new positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Sloan, R., & Bagiella, E. (2001). Religion and health. Health Psychology, 20, 228. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.20.3.228.
Sorenson, A., Grindstaff, C., & Turner, R. (1995). Religious involvement among unmarried adolescent mothers: A source of emotional support? Sociology of Religion, 56, 71–81. doi:10.2307/3712040.
Stova, A. Z., Chiu, R. K., & Greenhaus, J. H. (2001). Negative affectivity, role stress, and work-family conflict. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 60, 1–16. doi:10.1006/jvbe.2001.1812.
Tennant, C. (2001). Work-related stress and depressive disorders. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 51, 697–704. doi:10.1016/S0022-3999(01)00255-0.
Wilde, A., & Joseph, S. (1997). Religiosity and personality in a Moslem context. Personality and Individual Differences, 23, 899–900. doi:10.1016/S0191-8869(97)00098-6.
Williams, D. R., Larson, D. B., Buckler, R. E., Heckman, R. C., & Pyle, C. M. (1991). Religion and psychological distress in a community sample. Social Science and Medicine, 32, 1257–1262. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(91)90040-J.
Wink, P., & Dillon, M. (2002). Spiritual development across the adult life course: Findings from a longitudinal study. Journal of Adult Development, 9, 79–94. doi:10.1023/A:1013833419122.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Noor, N.M. Work and Women’s Well-being: Religion and Age as Moderators. J Relig Health 47, 476–490 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-008-9188-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-008-9188-8