The stress process was examined for a sample of 94 dual-career women. The relationship between sources (role strain), mediators (coping responses, psychological resources of self-esteem and low self-denigration, number and age of children), and outcome (feelings associated with role strains) was quantitatively assessed via factor analysis to determine the efficacy of mediators in the stress process. Seven coping strategies were identified: Cognitive Restructuring, Delegating Responsibility, Limiting Responsibility, Integrating Work and Family, Avoiding Responsibility, and Using Social Support. Results indicated that strain accounts for a large portion of the variation in stress. Cognitive Restructuring was the most crucial coping response in the stress process, having the greatest effect in reducing not only strain, but also stress; low self-denigration was the most critical psychological resource, buffering both strain and stress levels. Limiting Responsibility was associated with higher levels of strain. In addition, stress was found to increase as number of children increased and as age of youngest child decreased. / Master of Science

This thesis was to explore the relationships between occupational conditions and parental behaviors and values. The data set for this thesis were taken from the 1988 National Survey of Families and Households, which includes a national crosssectional sample of 13,017 primary respondents. The subsamples used here were limited to married or cohabiting white families with children under 18 years old. Pearson’s r and one-way analysis of variance were used to examine the zero-order relationships among all the independent and dependent variables. Multiple regression analyses were adopted to present the relative importance of independent variables in predicting different aspects of parental childrearing practices. Findings from bivariate and multivariate analyses show that different dimensions of work-related variables examined in this thesis, such as occupational socioeconomic status, work hours and schedules, job satisfaction and employment status, are associated with different aspects of parental behaviors and values. Gender is found to be a very important factor in predicting parental involvement, negative responses and values. In general, these work-related variables explain limited variance of parental child-rearing styles. Based on the findings of the study, implications for academic research on the relationships between parental behaviors and values and working conditions were also discussed in the thesis. / Master of Science

Longitudinal data from 113 dual-career couples are used to explore the relationship between perceptions of marital equity and well-being and distress in marital, professional, and parental roles, how perceptions of equity change over time, and to examine efforts to restore equity. Differences in well-being and distress in roles are identified by gender and equity group. study results indicate that for both spouses, perceptions of inequity are associated with lower marital well-being and higher marital distress; however, under benefited wives reported higher professional well-being and under benefited husbands reported higher parental well-being. Couple perceptions of equity decreased between 1986 and 1990; under benefited husbands were more likely to use threats and bargaining to negotiate for relationship changes while wives sought counseling. Results demonstrate the importance of using multiple measures of well-being and distress and including gender and equity type in investigations of marital equity. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this research is to identify combinations of variables that most affect well-being among employed women. A hypothesized model of the stress and coping process examines the influence of situational demands on mediators, and mediators on well-being. Job and family strain, as well as coping resources such as spousal support, social support, and coping strategies were proposed to mediate between situational demands, represented by husband’s chore time, number of children, job flexibility, job hours, career stage, and job status and the outcome variable, well-being. Data from a national sample of 277 married, employed women representing dual-employed families were subjected to path analytic analyses using LISREL 7. Findings generally supported the proposed model. Results suggest that both role strain and coping resources mediated the stressor effects of situational demands on well-being. / Ph. D.