Nancy L. Marshall

Gender and the relationship between job experiences and psychological distress : a study of dual-earner couples

This article examines the association between job role quality and psychological distress in a sample of 300 full-time employed dual-earner couples, controlling for such individual level variables as age, education, occupational prestige, and marital quality and for such couple level variables as length of marriage, parental status, and household income. The magnitude of this effect is compared for men and for women. Results indicate that job role quality is significantly negatively associated with psychological distress for women as well as for men and that the magnitude of the effect depends little, if at all, on gender, casting doubt on the widely held view that job experiences more significantly influence mens mental health states than womens. The results are discussed in the context of differentiating between sex differences and gender differences.

Change in job and marital experiences and change in psychological distress: A longitudinal study of dual-earner couples.

Are changes in job quality more closely linked to changes in distress for men than for women? Conversely, are changes in marital quality more closely linked to changes in distress for women than for men? These questions were addressed in a longitudinal analysis of a random sample of 210 full-time employed dual-earner couples. Change over time in job role quality was significantly associated with change over time in distress, and the magnitude of the relationship differed little, if at all, by gender. In contrast, change over time in marital role quality was also associated with change in distress, but the magnitude of the association depended on gender. Among full-time employed married women, change in marital experience was more closely linked to change in distress than among their husbands.

Work-family strains and gains among two-earner couples

This paper investigates the sources of work-family strains and gains in a sample of 300 two-earner couples. Although most men and women report work-family gains, not all individuals experienced work-family strains. Workload and the quality of experiences at work and at home were major predictors of work-family strains. Experiences at work and at home, social support, and sex-role attitudes were major predictors of work-family gains.

The Relationship between Women’s Work and Family Roles and Their Subjective Well-Being and Psychological Distress

The aim of this chapter is to assess the effects of women’s work and family roles (both the occupancy and quality of these roles) on their mental health.1 Although there is general concern about the impact of multiple roles on women’s mental health, most of the available research examines the impact of individual roles such as that of mother (by itself) or paid employee (by itself). For example, we know that mothers report more symptoms of distress than nonmothers (Barnett & Baruch, 1985; Veroff, Douvan, & Kulka, 1981). Similarly, findings suggest that occupancy of the paid-employee role is associated with high subjective well-being and low psychological distress (Baruch, Biener, & Barnett, 1987; Brown & Harris, 1978; Thoits, 1983).

Job experiences over time, multiple roles, and women's mental health: A longitudinal study.

Are changes over time in the quality of a womans job associated with changes in her psychological distress? Do family roles moderate these relationships? We addressed these questions using longitudinal data from a 2-year 3-wave study of a stratified random sample of 403 employed women who varied in occupation, race, partnership, and parental status. After estimating individual rates of change for each woman on each of the predictors and the outcome, we modeled the relationships between family role occupancy and change in job-role quality on the one hand, and change in psychological distress on the other. Among single women and women without children, as job-role quality declined, levels of psychological distress increased. Among partnered women and women with children, change in job-role quality was unrelated to change in psychological distress.

Affect dysregulation in the mother-child relationship in the toddler years: Antecedents and consequences

The purpose of this study was to examine child, maternal, and family antecedents of childrens early affect dysregulation within the mother-child relationship and later cognitive and socioemotional correlates of affect dysregulation. Childrens affect dysregulation at 24 and 36 months was defined in the context of mother-child interactions in semistructured play and toy cleanup. Dyads were classified as dysregulated at each age based on high negative affect. Affect dysregulation was associated with less maternal sensitivity and stimulation, more maternal depressive symptoms, and lower family income over the first 36 months of life. Children with early negative mood, lower Bayley Mental Development Index scores and insecure-avoidant (15 months) or insecure-resistant attachment classifications (36 months) were more likely to be in an affect-dysregulated group. Controlling for family and child variables, affect-dysregulated children had more problematic cognitive, social, and behavioral outcomes at 54 months, kindergarten, and first grade. The findings are discussed in terms of the early role played by parents in assisting children with affect regulation, the reciprocal nature of parent-child interactions, and the contribution of affect regulation to childrens later cognitive, social, and behavioral competence.

Physical symptoms and the interplay of work and family roles.

The paradigm underlying research on the relationship between work and physical-health symptoms in men has focused on workplace stressors and has ignored mens family roles. Research on women, work, and health suggests several necessary additions to this paradigm, including (a) a focus on job rewards and job concerns and (b) attention to the impact of family roles on the relationship between job rewards and concerns and physical health. We included these variables in a study of a disproportionate random sample of 403 employed 25- to 55-year-old women. Major findings are that (a) work rewards (e.g., helping others at work) are related to reports of low levels of physical symptoms; (b) work concerns (e.g., overload) are associated with reports of high levels of physical symptoms; (c) particular work rewards, which may be different for women than for men, mitigate the negative health effects of work concerns; (d) among employed mothers, satisfaction with salary is negatively related to physical-health symptoms; and (e) women in positive marriages or partnerships were more likely to reap physical-health benefits from the rewards of helping others at work and from supervisor support.

Does class size in first grade relate to children's academic and social performance or observed classroom processes?

This study evaluated the extent to which first-grade class size predicted child outcomes and observed classroom processes for 651 children (in separate classrooms). Analyses examined observed child-adult ratios and teacher-reported class sizes. Smaller classrooms showed higher quality instructional and emotional support, although children were somewhat less likely to be engaged. Teachers in smaller classes rated typical children in those classes as more socially skilled and as showing less externalizing behavior and reported more closeness toward them. Children in smaller classes performed better on literacy skills. Larger classrooms showed more group activities directed by the teacher, teachers and children interacted more often, and children were more often engaged. Lower class sizes were not of more benefit (or harm) as a function of the childs family income. First-grade class size in the range typical of present-day classrooms in the United States predicts classroom social and instructional processes as well as relative changes in social and literacy outcomes from kindergarten to first grade.

Gender and the Relationship between Parent Role Quality and Psychological Distress A Study of Men and Women in Dual-Earner Couples

The association between parent role quality and psychological distress is examined in a sample of 180 full-time employed dual-earner couples, controlling for such individual-level variables as age, education, occupational prestige, and marital quality and for such couple-level variables as length of marriage, household income, and number, ages, and sex of children. The magnitude of this effect is compared for men and for women. Results indicate that parent role quality is significantly negatively associated with psychological distress for men as well as for women and that the magnitude of the effect depends little, if at all, on gender, casting doubt on the widely held view that parenting experiences more significantly influence womens mental health states than mens. The results are discussed in the context of the converging roles played by men and women in dual-earner couples.

Men, family-role quality, job-role quality, and physical health.

The relationship between the quality of mens family roles, as spouse and as parent, and the quality of mens job role, on the one hand, and their reports of physical symptoms, on the other, was examined in men drawn from a random sample of 300 dual-earner couples. The main effect of marital-role quality (i.e., rewards and concerns) on physical health was estimated, as was the Marital-Role Quality x Job-Role Quality interaction effect. With respect to the parent role, the effect of both parent-role occupancy and parent-role quality was estimated. After controlling for job-role quality, it was found that parent-role occupancy had neither main nor interactive effects. However, among the men who occupied all 3 roles (n = 180), only parent-role concerns were a significant predictor of physical health reports. Thus, concerns in the parent role are a major unmeasured source of variance in studies of the stress-illness relationship in men.