The purpose of this study was to describe the relative importance of aspects of the occupational environment in predicting personal strain and changes in the meaning of work (perceived changes in work role salience and work values) during the transition to parenthood. The aspects of the work environment under investigation were: work interference with family, family interference with work, supervisor support for combining work and family, and organization support (respect, separation, and integration types). Control variables were husband support, an important factor in adjustment during the transition to parenthood, and socioeconomic status. A sample of 118 women in dual career couples with one child under two years of age were recruited through childcare centers and newspaper announcements. The sample was predominantly Caucasian and middle or upper-middle class. Subjects completed self-report questionnaires. Hypotheses were tested using hierarchical multiple regression. Results of this study provided partial support for the hypothesis that workplace support and work/family interference would contribute to personal strain. Only family interference with work emerged as a significant predictor. The results of this study provided partial support for the hypothesis that husband support, workplace support, and work/family interference would contribute to change in work values. Only husband support was a significant predictor. Having a traditional marriage in which the wife assumes greater responsibility than her husband for parenting and household tasks contributed to her altering work values. The results of this study did not support the hypotheses that husband support and workplace support would predict family interference with work or work interference with family. Also, the results did not support the hypothesis that husband support, workplace support, and work/family interference would predict change in work role salience during the transition to parenthood. Theoretical and methodological issues are discussed.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-87).

Thesis (MSD (Employee Assistance Programme))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation Submitted to fulfil the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Research (Psychology) by Dissertation Only / The aim of this study was to explore black South African women academics’ constructions of culture, mothering and education. The study further explored the relationships inherent between these aspects. The study followed a qualitative design through the utilisation of open-ended interviews that took place at a large urban public university in Johannesburg, South Africa. Nine women in academia who were linked predominantly to the field of health, who were of African descent and who had children between the ages of 0 and 18 years old were interviewed. The results illustrated that the women used multiple sources in the construction of their identities, some of which were congruent whereas between others there were tensions. The largest influence in their constructions of their identities was their religious affiliation, which took precedence over all other influences. At different stages of life their diverse identities held various significances to the women. This study is important because it is the first to investigate mothering in a low-risk African group

The increasing involvement of mothers in paid employment has brought attention to child care both as a critical social issue and as a pressing need for families. Nevertheless, child care in Canada continues to be framed as a private issue to be resolved by individual families. In the absence of policies and programs that ensure widespread access to affordable, high-quality care, women who combine motherhood with paid employment face considerable challenges in making decisions about child care. This study examines the processes by which women make child care decisions and sheds light on both how and why they make such decisions. The emphasis is on the meanings that women themselves give to motherhood, paid work, and child care and on how they resolve the competing interests that inevitably underlie work and family decisions. By drawing on women's accounts of their own lives, the research elucidates the multiple and interrelated factors that enter into women's decisions and thus offers insights into the reasoning behind complex patterns of decision making. In-depth interviews were conducted with 25 women who were intending to return to work or school following the birth of their first child. Women were interviewed at three points in time, encompassing a period from late pregnancy to several months after returning to work. The study furthers our understanding of the public and private dimensions of child care by revealing the dilemmas faced by women who frame their child care concerns in deeply moral terms, yet are called on to meet their child care needs within a public market oriented child care system. In particular, women's accounts of their experiences demonstrate the ways in which the intertwined and deeply privatised notions of 'dependent child' and 'good mother' underlie women's decisions about child care. Moreover, the research leaves no doubt that women's experiences of making child care decisions do not accord with the prevailing neo-classical economics version of rational and self-interested decision making. By examining women's decisions over time, the study illuminates the sequence of decision making about child care and adds to our understanding of what is entailed in looking for and deciding about child care. The study concludes with a discussion of implications of the findings for policy development and future research.

This thesis reports comparative analyses of the work and family nexus for a group of working mothers in Adelaide, Australia and Harare, Zimbabwe.

Dissertation (Ph.D.) -- The Institute for Clinical Social Work, 1995. / A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Institute of Clinical Social Work in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Depression is experienced at a higher degree in poor, female, and under-employed persons, as compared to the general population. A very large number of poor mothers have entered the workforce since the welfare reform of 1996. Poor mental health can prevent these women from achieving economic self-sufficiency because it can affect their ability to find and retain jobs. This study analyses the New Hope data of working and non-working poor in a Midwestern city to find if predictive relations exist between depressive symptoms and employment and income outcomes across a three-year span. A bi-directional predictive relation is found between depressive symptoms and household income. Also, a higher number of hours worked predicts declines in depressive symptoms, and a lower level of depressive symptoms predicts less AFDC receipt three years later. / text

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 125 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 112-121). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center