Working and non-working mothers: a comparative study

Expands on research which has demonstrated that employment has positive or neutral effects on women's health. This pilot study examines whether these positive effects could also be found in employed mothers by comparing working mothers with non-working mothers on measures of mental health, self...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women in management review (Bradford, West Yorkshire, England : 1992) West Yorkshire, England : 1992), 1997-11, Vol.12 (7), p.264-275
Main Authors: Rout, Usha R, Cooper, Cary L, Kerslake, Helen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cardiovascular disease
Child care
Children & youth
Comparative analysis
Employment
Families & family life
Female employees
Housework
Husbands
Hypotheses
Mental depression
Mental health
Mothers
Polls & surveys
Self esteem
Social conditions & trends
Social networks
Speech therapy
Stress
Women
Working mothers
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Summary:Expands on research which has demonstrated that employment has positive or neutral effects on women's health. This pilot study examines whether these positive effects could also be found in employed mothers by comparing working mothers with non-working mothers on measures of mental health, self-esteem, and mother role satisfaction. Also this study assesses the stress experienced by these mothers and examines the coping strategies used by them. Of the 200 questionnaires distributed, 101 were returned giving a 50.5 per cent return rate of which 78 per cent were working mothers and 22 per cent non-working mothers. The working mothers had better mental health and reported less depression than the non-working mothers. The most frequently reported source of stress for working mothers was not having enough time to do everything, whereas for non-working mothers lack of social life was a major stressor. The findings of this study support the expansion hypothesis, which emphasizes the benefits rather than the costs of multiple role involvement.
ISSN:0964-9425
1754-2413
1758-7182
1754-2421
DOI:10.1108/09649429710181234