llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 293 10438 1326 LIB R ARY Michi gan State University This is to certify that the thesis entitled ANTECEDENTS OF COPING BEHAVIOR IN A ROLE CONFLICT SITUATION presented by WARSHA KATZ has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D. . PSYCHOLOGY degree 1n l ,' g ' a/3 L: /I/’// f / Major professor k/ Jeanne E. Gullahorn Date 2/7/78 0-7 639 ANTECEDENTS 0F COPING BEHAVIOR IN A ROLE CONFLICT SITUATION By Marsha Katz A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Psychology 1978 ABSTRACT ANTECEDENTS OF COPING BEHAVIOR IN A ROLE CONFLICT SITUATION 3y Marsha Katz The present survey explored the-role conflict coping strate- gies selected by a sample of 121 white middle class, relatively well-educated, employed married women with children. Whether responding to hypothetical role dilemmas or reporting on their actual practices, over two-thirds of the respondents chose the more effective coping strategies--i.e., structural role redefinition, which required delegating responsibilities to others or negotiating with role senders about expectations; or personal role redefini- tion, which involved establishing priorities among role obliga- tions. Contrary to expectations, the employment history of the respondents' mothers was not related to their choice of coping strategy. Early sex-role training, however, was so associated: Women who experienced a nontraditional upbringing were significantly more likely to choose the effective strategies. A large percentage of women with traditional backgrounds opted for the "super-mom" method of resolving family-work role com- petition, endeavoring personally to fulfill all traditional demands Marsha Katz of their home as well as their employment roles. Over three- fifths of the husbands of the working mothers in this study had experienced nontraditional sex-role training. While the wives of these men were more likely to use the structural role redefinition strategy, the relationship between this antecedent and coping strategies was not significant. Contrary to predictions, measures of marital satisfaction were not significantly related to effec- tiveness of role conflict resolution, although there was some rela- tionship between frequency of arguments and choice of less effective modes of coping. Suggestions for future research on role dilemmas were included. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank all the people who contributed to the development of this study. First, Dr. Jeanne Gullahorn who intro- duced me to the concept of "The Psychology of Women." Also, to the rest of my committee for their criticisms and patience: Drs. Andrew Barclay, Elaine Donelson and Lawrence A. Messé. I would also like to thank my husband and children for bearing with me during this work and for helping me resolve my own role conflict in a meaningful manner. My husband served as a sounding board for many ideas as well as being supportive of my nontraditional role. Finally, I would like to thank my parents. For without them as a model, I probably would not have tried to come so far. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES Chapter I. INTRODUCTION Historical Context Theoretical Background . Socialization and Sex- Role Training Modeling . . . . . . Role Theory . Role Conflict . . . Women's Family-Career Role Conflicts . . COping With Family-Career Role Conflict . Antecedents of Role Conflict Coping Behavior II. METHOD Subjects . Procedure . Survey Instrument. III. RESULTS . Comparison of University and Public School Samples . . Impact of Mother's Employment. . Sex-Role Training and Coping Style . . . Husband's Influence on Respondent' 5 Choice of. Coping Methods . . . . . Satisfaction Multiple Regression Analysis Iv. DISCUSSION . APPENDICES A. SUPPLEMENTARY DATA B. SURVEY FOR STUDY OF WORKING WOMEN - 1974 . REFERENCES Page iv —l 33 34 35 37 41 44 50 ST 58 80 Table 10. A-l. A-3. LIST OF TABLES Relationship Between Own Mother' 5 Employment and Coping Style . . . Impact of Own Mother' 5 Homemaking or Employment Satisfaction . . . . . . . Relationship Between Sex—Role Training and Coping Style . . . . . . . Relationship Between Maternal Employment, Sex-Role Training, and Choice of Coping Style Impact of Similarity in Spouses' Maternal Modeling and Sex- Role Training on Respondents' Coping Strategies in Actual and Hypothetical Situations . Relationship Between Coping Methods in Actual and Hypothetical Situations . . . . Relationship Between Husband's Background and Respondent's Coping Strategy Relationship Between Satisfaction and Coping Style Measures . . . . . . . . Correlations Between Satisfaction Measures and Similarities of Preferred and Actual CDping Behavior . . . . Multiple Regression Data Relating Family Background Antecedents and Coping Method. . College Women's Anticipated Employment According to the Age of Their Expected Children Labor Force Status of Married Women, Husband Present, by Age and Presence of Children, 1974 . . . . . . . Some Demographic Data About Women in This Sample iv Page 35 36 37 38 39 39 4O 42 42 43 52 52 53 Table A-4. A-5. A-6. A-7. Comparison of University and Public School Samples . . . . . Respondents' Age-Related Experiences With Working Mothers . . . . . . . . . . . Distribution of Coping Strategy Scores for Hypothetical Role Dilemmas . . Correlations Among Satisfaction Scales Page 54 55 56 57 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The role of women in our society has been changing in the last few decades, and the rate of change has accelerated since the emergence of the new feminist movement in the late sixties. Increasing numbers of married women are in the labor force, and women are represented in a broader range of occupations than ever before (Gullahorn, l977; Carnegie Commission on Higher Education, I973). However, though women have broadened their competences to include occupational skills, they have not necessarily lost their domestic obligations. Women typically are expected to maintain responsibility for domestic chores as well as for their new jobs. This study concerns the role conflicts women may experience in combining home and career roles and explores conflict resolution. The investigation also examines the relationship between role conflict coping style and family background. To provide a framewOrk for the present research, I shall first briefly describe the historical context of women's changing roles. Then I shall examine patterns of sex-role training and discuss how these relate to role theory. Finally, I shall discuss different methods of coping with career-family role conflict, and then present the hypotheses investigated in the present study. Historical Context Previous to industrialization both men and women in many Western societies were productive members of a team, whether they worked on a farm or operated a business. Child rearing was not con- sidered a full-time job but existed alongside such household chores as baking bread, sewing clothes, gardening, etc. Children shared in the chores or amused themselves. Their mothers were not expected to keep them occupied or give them quality care. With the advent of industrialization many men left the home during the day for work in the factories. In the early phases, women and Children did so as well. Instead of the families being self-sufficient, over time men typically went out to make money to buy most of the family's necessities as well as luxuries, while the women stayed home. Many of the women's traditional responsibili- ties diminished considerably. Presently fewer women routinely sew all the family clothes, can food, bake bread, etc. And technologi- cal improvements in cooking facilities, in Cleaning and in laundry appliances have greatly reduced the time required for many remain- ing household tasks. More complex sociological analyses of house- work are needed, however (see Glazer-Malbin, 1976; Smuts, 1959; Zaretsky, 1973). Since some household and economic responsibilities have decreased for American women, many women have tried to fill this gap by increasing their attention to their children. Middle class women in particular have been increasingly consuming information on parent training and on stimulating their children's learning-- e.g., teaching them to read as preschoolers. Although child rear- ing has become more elaborate, the average number of children per family has decreased to less than three. Thus in the family life cycle there are now fewer years when at least one child is home all day. This means that even those women who devote full time to child care will find themselves in an early "retirement." For middle class women in intact families, these lifestyle changes may account in part for their increased labor force involvement. For such mothers, however, employment generally is considered to con- flict with family role obligations. To understand why this is so, let us consider how sex role expectations develop. Theoretical Background Socialization and Sex-Role TraT nTng Through socialization the child learns the norms and role structure of the society. Within the limits of what is deemed acceptable, the child is encouraged by the parents to perform cer- tain activities. Other activities are regarded as neutral and still others are actively discouraged. Thus the child is led by individuals in the social environment to develop an actual behavior repertoire considerably narrower in range than what he or she is capable of performing. Moreover, the child tends to learn the norms of his or her society from caregivers that the Child is dependent on. Traditionally the mother assumes major socialization responsibility. Training for "sex-appropriate" behavior is a major source of constricting a child's behavior repertoire (Donelson & Gulla- horn, 1977). Sex-role training actually begins before the Child is able to distinguish between boys and girls. In our society even the Clothing for newborns is often Color-coded (blue for boys; pink for girls) to broadcast the infant's sex. Room decorations and toys are often sex-typed. This attention to sex categorizing is related to differ- ential treatment of the sexes. Lewis (1972) found that parents treat girls and boys differently as early as 12 weeks (girls were looked at and talked to by their mothers more than boys). Another investigation reported that girls are treated more warmly in infancy than boys, but the girls are more Often disciplined by their mothers, and more often subjected to withdrawal of love for misconduct (Watson, 1965). Even "liberal" college-educated parents tend to treat their girls and boys differently, despite their claims to the contrary (Fagot, 1974). As the child gets older, sex-role training becomes more explicit. There is more differentiation between boy and girl toys (Lyon, 1972) and girls are encouraged to play house, attend to babies, practice helping men as nurses, and learn how to make them- selves beautiful. Boys, on the other hand, are encouraged to play with space missiles, trains, and erector sets (Carden, 1974). Elementary school textbooks also reinforce traditional sex- typing. Males are portrayed as smarter than girls, with greater initiative and achievement. Often girls are portrayed as "younger sister ninnies" who have mishaps and need to be helped. Mothers are "forever wearing aprons" and are supportive but passive. In contrast, men assume a variety of roles; and in their portrayal as fathers, they play creatively with their children (NOW, 1972). Textbook depictions of occupations for females are more limited than in real life (Michigan Women's Commission, 1973; NOW, 1975). Older boys and girls may experience more explicit sex- typing in school. Until recently, cooking and sewing classes have been limited to girls, and woodworking and mechanics to boys. Some vocational training schools are even segregated according to curriculum (technical trade schools for boys, clerical and cosme- tology for girls). In addition to these influences, both parents and coun- selors often discourage a girl from pursuing interests in "mascu- line" courses such as math or science. Instead they often urge that she acquire a good general education and some training in such fields as teaching, nursing or clerical work, so that she can be self-supporting if necessary. Presumably she would not be tied to a career that would interfere with marital plans (Carden, 1974). Thus there is a conflict in the message that female children get in school-related areas (Donelson & Gullahorn, 1977). Though the edu- cational system supposedly prepares all students for careers, gen- erally only males receive consistent pressure to achieve scholas- tically and to plan for careers. Through their differential treatments, therefore, girls and boys learn that certain behaviors are expected of them because of their sex. "Sex—appropriate" behaviors are rewarded and hence repeated; inappropriate sex-role behavior is likely to be punished and hence diminish in strength and frequency (Mussen, 1969). These different methods of treating girls and boys also influence the development of traits considered appropriate for each sex. The existence of sex-role stereotypes is well documented (Anastasi 81 Foley, 1949; Ferberger, 1948; Komarovsky, 1950; McKee & Sherriffs, 1957; Seward, 1946; Wylie, 1961; Rosenkrantz et al., 1968; Donel- son & Gullahorn, 1977). Sherriffs and McKee (1957) describe the general favorable Characteristics of males as "straightforward, inhibited social style, rational competence and ability and action, vigor and effectiveness." Females' desirable characteristics reflect "social skills and grace, warmth, and emotional support." Furthermore, subjects of both sexes agree that a greater number of the characteristics and behaviors stereotypically associated with masculinity are more socially desirable than those associated with femininity (Rosenkrantz, Vogel, Bee, Broverman & Broverman, 1968). Thus traditional socialization practices are associated with different expected traits and adult role behaviors for each sex. Typically, women are prepared for homemaking and child care and men for responsibilities in the work force. Men are expected to achieve in the occupational sphere; women, in the domestic sphere. Unfortunately, homemaking is not highly respected (Komarovsky, 1976). Since women's special skills are not labeled as achievements, many homemakers apologetically identify them- selves as "just a housewife" (Donelson & Gullahorn, 1977). It is interesting to note that the women's movement has advocated that wives receive salaries for domestic labor, chauffeuring, child rearing, etc., in recognition of the fact that women's work is not considered "achieving" since it is unsalaried. Given the devaluation of the housewife status, it is not surprising that many college women hope for careers along with marriage (Donelson & Gullahorn, 1977). In past studies many college-educated women indicated that though they wanted careers or work outside the home, they wanted their work to be compatible with family life. Most wanted to be married by age 25 and to have chil- dren. Typically, they planned, however, to give up their "careers" when their first child was born (Empey, 1958; Scab, 1967; Koma- rovsky, 1976). In fact, women who remained single and pursued careers were considered deviant. In the late 19505, women college students reported being pressured by parents to be "feminine" and find a marriage partner by their senior year (Komarovsky, 1959). Although people now generally appear more accepting of single lifestyles (Douvan, 1977), a recent experimental study (Keisler, 1975) indicates continued expectations for women to have families. Subjects evaluated stimulus women whose number of chil- dren, age, and employment varied. Generally, married women with no Children were liked less than women with two to four children, while employment had no appreciable effect on liking. In addition, childless respondents, themselves, reported pressure from others to have children. Modeling In addition to such direct factors as tuition and rein- forcement, social models also influence sex-role learning. Chil- dren may learn certain behaviors simply by observing the actions of a model without overtly copying the response, or without any direct reinforcement (Bandura et al., 1963; Mischel & Liebert, 1966). A majority of middle class mothers present the role model of wife/ mother who stays at home and maintains the traditional female role. Identification with such a mother usually is associated with the daughter's low motivation of career achievement. Unhappy house- wives, however, may serve as negative models for daughters who later wish to avoid such a fate (Lipman-Blumen, 1972). More typi- cally, however, an occupationally achieving maternal model stimu- lates daughter's achievement motivation (Banducci, 1967; Nye 81 Hoffman, 1963; Stein & Bailey, 1973). Several studies indicate that female children of working mothers learn a favorable definition of the working mother role. Baruch (1967) found that women who successfully combined family and careers and expressed satisfaction with their lifestyle had daughters with similar lifestyle expectations. In another study, Baruch (1972) found that daughters of working mothers assessed the competence of females more highly than did daughters of non- working mothers. According to a national survey of adolescents (Douvan, 1963; Douvan & Adelson, 1966), teenage daughters of working mothers showed more independence and less traditional feminine interests than did those of nonworking mothers. With a more limited sample, Lipman-Blumen (1972) found no relation between maternal employment and young women's sex-role ideologies. Other researchers, how- ever, report that married working women are more likely to have had mothers who were also employed and who served as role models (Almquist & Angrist, 1971 Rapoport & Rapoport, 1971; White, 1967). In a survey of women doctorates, Astin (1969) found that the most productive women doctorates tended to be daughters of working mothers. Thus the modeling of an employed mother appears related to daughters' subsequent engagement in nontradi- tional sex-role behavior. Although the studies just reviewed indicate positive out- comes of maternal employment, employed mothers also may be subject to role dilemmas. Because both motherhood and employment generally require a great Commitment of time and energy, they may place incompatible demands on a woman (Kahn et al., 1964; Hall, 1971), resulting in role conflict (Komarovsky, 1946; Rapaport & Rapaport, 1969, 1972). To understand the social dynamics of such role con- flict, let us now consider some aspects of role theory. 10 Role Theory In any society every person occupies positions or statuses within a variable number of social systems. Each of these statuses has certain expectations (rights and obligations) that regulate the individual's behavior with people of other statuses. These statuses may involve relatively fixed ascribed attributes over which the individual has little control (e.g., sex, race, family background) or they may involve achieved behaviors (e.g., educa- tional attainment) that a person generally can influence to some degree. At times a person's ascribed status characteristics may limit his or her ability to achieve a particular achieved status. For instance, ideally any American citizen can become President of the United States. So far, however, only white males seem to be acceptable in terms of ascribed status characteristics. Expectations associated with each status specify the behavior which an occupant of that status may apprOpriately ini- tiate toward other individuals in other statuses, and these expec- tations also specify how others may interact with him or her. The role or behavioral aspect of statuses can be classified in three ways (Rommetviet, 1955; Thibaut & Kelley, 1959; Deutsch & Krauss, 1965). ' (a) Prescribed roles that reflect the expectations of other members of the social system. These expectations are exter- nal to the person to whom they apply. (b) Subjective roles that involve the expectations as per- ceived by the individual and recognized as applying to his or her ll behavior. With adequate communication and perception, the subjec- tive and prescribed roles should closely correspond. (c) Enacted roles that comprise the overt behavior of the occupant of a status as he or she interacts with occupants of other statuses. Ideally, the enacted, subjective, and prescribed roles should all correspond closely. Within a social system, some roles may become well defined so that there is consensus about "role-appropriate" behavior. Usually there is a broadly defined range of role behavior that is acceptable, and other people reward the role incumbent with social approval for behaving as expected. As the role incumbent moves away from the norm and outside the accepted range of role behavior, other participants in the social system may dispense negative sanctions, with the penalties becoming more severe the greater the distance from the norms. Role Conflict Each individual occupies a number of statuses, each of which involves expectations for role behaviors. Sometimes situ- ations occur in which a person confronts incompatible demands from his or her multiple role involvements. This situation is called role conflict. For instance, Killian (1958) reports on the role conflict of public servants such as police officers, fire fighters, and utility workers when faced with disasters in their own towns. These individuals are torn between their obligation as Civil Servants to maintain order and services and to save lives and 12 property and their obligation as spouses and parents to help their own families and make sure that they are safe. A role conflict may also occur when two or more positions demand more of a scarce resource, such as time or energy, than one person can give. For instance, a woman may work full time during the day, yet still be expected to have dinner prepared when her husband comes home from his job. Other role conflicts result from incompatible demands from different sets of role partners (Deutsch & Krauss, 1965). For instance, teachers expect school superintendents to secure high pay scales for them, whereas tax- payers want lower pay increases for teachers (Gross, Mason, & McEachern, 1958). Women's Family-Career Role Conflicts Contrary to myths, a large proportion of working women are self-supporting or are heads of households. Middle class married women are perceived by many as having an ideal situation; they have the option to work, but not the economic necessity to do so. Actually, even their situation is more complicated. In spite of similar education for males and females, social pressures do not favor women's career pursuits (Donelson & Gullahorn, 1977). Sex- role training leads many women to define their identity in terms of their skills and roles as wives and mothers. Thus some believe that it is "unfeminine" to want to work. An additional deterrent to women's employment is the fact that jobs considered appropriate for women tend to have low status l3 and to be low pay. A woman therefore may find it very stressful to seek or maintain a high status, high paying job. There she may be regarded at best as an oddity, and more likely as a social deviant. As a consequence, many educated women are in a role con- flict situation. Their educational background stresses competi- tion and achievement, but their social environment stresses noncompetition, especially with men who may be viewed as potential mates. Komarovsky (1946) concludes that there is a serious con- tradiction between the two roles present in the social environment of college women: the "feminine role," characterized as not so dominant or aggressive as the masculine role, versus the "modern role,“ which is basically a non-sex-typed role. Komarovsky claims the two roles are mutually exclusive in calling for differ- ent personality traits so that the assets for one role are liabilities for the other. In fact, she claims that is it pre- cisely those most successful in the modern role who have trouble in the feminine role. This conflict may continue into adult life. A career role usually requires many hours on the job and personal commitment to it. A traditional family role is also full time, requiring many hours in the home for Child care, cleaning, cooking, etc. Although a career role may offer prestige and creative or intellectual stimulation, it is not sanctioned by society as a worthy substitute for the maternal or feminine role. In fact, since career involvement is viewed as detracting from fulfilling 14 the more important maternal role, many working mothers experience guilt feelings. For example, one woman described her conflicts between career and work roles as follows: . the degree of conflicts have not been constant, but keep changing depending upon changing ages of children (should I, shouldn't I wait for career). However, the conflict remains: Am I being fair to my children, involved so much in architecture? The strains are enor- mous as a result of conflict (I don't want to give childcare to others) (Hall, 1972). Unfortunately, although society expects women to accept the traditional feminine role, it actually offers few rewards in terms of prestige, social status, and social stimulation. These conflicts may well influence many women's decisions to be family oriented rather than career oriented. However, most women in a recent survey of college women in an introductory psy- chology course did not intend to give up working entirely (Katz, 1972). Almost all of the respondents indicated that they intended to work immediately after college, but a large majority intended to quit working when they had children and then return to work when their children were older (see Appendix A, Table A-l). These intentions mirror labor force data. Females show two major peaks in employment--before and a short time after marriage, and then during the 15 years from their early forties to middle fifties. Withdrawal and re-entry many years later has been a common female work pattern in the United States (Rossi, 1964). Thus many women apparently resolve the conflict between occupational involvement and family responsibilities by leaving their jobs and returning home when the cross pressure of child care 15 increases. As indicated by recent data, 72% of childless young women (16-24 years old) are employed, in contrast to only 31% of women with children under three years of age (see Appendix A, Table A-2). The percentage of women working gradually increases, however, to 43% as the children grow older. Realistically, the question for many women is not so much whether they should return to work, but when would be the best time. I Unfortunately, in many work pursuits, the longer one is away the harder it is to return. For instance, a bookkeeper may encounter problems returning since new machines and other techno- logical advances are continuously being developed. If she stays away for a long period of time, she may require retraining. She may also have difficulty obtaining recommendations if her most recent job experience was a number of years in the past. Continu- ous career involvement is even more essential in professional pur- suits. Not working for a few years could seriously jeopardize a woman's career if her absence kept her from keeping up with research developments, pursuing her own research program, and interacting with professional peers. Whenever a married woman decides to enter, continue, or re-enter the work force, she potentially faces a practical problem of "work overload." As one woman noted in summarizing her prob- lems, she experienced ". . . conflict of time between children and husband . . . tired after my day at work . . . didn't feel like making dinner . . . pressures of completing job in any role" 16 (Hall, 1972). Dual-career couples still have to perform adequately all of the tasks in the domestic environment as well as maintain two careers (Rapoport & Rapoport, 1969; Holstom, 1972). While egalitarian ideology would prescribe that husbands and wives split domestic tasks, in most cases wives do most of the domestic tasks in addition to their employment obligations (Hoffman, 1960). Thus most married women who work are not substituting one kind of job for another; rather, they are still responsible for homemaking and child care. Although some women may be able to afford household help, many still feel it is their responsibility to maintain a smoothly running household. The amount of stress from this added responsi- bility varies, however. Poloma and Garland (1970) state: While role conflict exists on an intergroup level, it is not seriously problematic on the individual level . . . it is usually "managed" by the married professional woman without becoming internalized. However, the fact that women "manage" to cope with their role con- flicts doesn't necessarily mean that they don't exist. Even in Poloma and Garland's study, the wives made the compromise, not their husbands. AS one woman physician commented: I bend over backwards not to have to make demands on him. He does not like to shOp, for example, so I do not ask him to do so. Sometimes I forgo doing things profes- sionally that I might enjoy (such as attending a lecture) to keep from inconveniencing him. In addition, most compromises were made in favor of home roles rather than professional demands. 17 In addition to household maintenance responsibilities, some working women encounter problems with husbands who perceive a loss of some of their authority and resent being expected to help around the home (Hoffman, 1960). Some husbands may complain about the quality of their home lives, and some may feel threatened by their wives' independence and try to derogate or challenge their compe- tence. These husbands also may make excessive demands that conflict with their wives' jobs. Under such Circumstances of a deteriorating marital relationship, a woman may have to decide between marriage and career. Other marital problems a working wife might experience involve other aspects of career development. Holmstrom (1972) in her study of the two-career family found that professional women generally fare less well than their husbands. Even though the partners regard both careers as important, typically, the man's career is considered more important. If ambition and plans were altered, typically, the wife makes the larger sacrifice. Similarly, in a study of microbiologists, 93% of the mar- ried women doctorates stated that they would move to a better position only_if their husbands obtained a satisfactory position before moving. In contrast, 83% of the men doctorates indicated that they would move whether or not their professional wives had satisfactory prospects for employment (Kashket, Robbins, Levie & Huang, 1975). Astin (1969) found that one-fourth of the married women doctorates she surveyed considered their husbands' job l8 mobility a hindrance to their careers. Involvement in work and home roles and coordination with their husbands' career pursuits thus pose many problems for working mothers. Let us examine how they might resolve role competition dilemmas. _Cgping With Family-Career Role Conflict On the basis of other treatises regarding role conflict resolution (Hall, 1971; Toby, 1952), I have classified four cate- gories of coping behavior for homemaking-career role dilemmas: (a) Structural role redefinition: The woman alters the structurally imposed expectations held by others regarding appro- priate behavior. For example, the woman shares the household tasks with her husband, children or outsiders; or she bargains with her employer in order to get home from work at 3:00 P.M. (b) Personal role redefinition: The woman changes her personal concept of role demands. She could do this by setting up a priority system that states which tasks get performed before the others--e.g., the needs of children come before dusting; or a busi- ness meeting comes before a social engagement. (c) Fluid personal role: The woman tends to vacillate in determining which role is most important and thus has a tendency to try to accomplish everything by herself. For example, though working full time she may volunteer to be a room mother at her children's school and thus spend much time making party favors, organizing birthday parties, etc. 19 (d) Rejection of role: The woman tends to renounce one of the two roles. For example, she may become ill and have to quit work, or she may decide to relinquish her domestic activities and leave home. Structural role redefinition appears to be the most effec- tive way of handling a family-career role conflict. By delegating tasks to other people, women reduce their workload from two full- time jobs to a manageable entity which enables them to function well in both home and work environments. Despite these advantages, women who use structural role redefinition may face social censure because of normative expectations about home and family obligations. Hiring others or making one's husband do housework makes it obvious that a woman is not fulfilling her traditional roles. Furthermore, sometimes it takes more resolution to delegate tasks to others than to avoid doing them. Still another problem concerns feelings about family independence. Many people feel that the family should be self-sustainihg and not rely on others for help. Thus while struc- tural role redefinition seems particularly efficient, some women feel there are cOgent reasons favoring personal role redefinition. Though it is not so obvious that women using personal role redefinition are avoiding some of their traditional role tasks, there still are social and personal costs associated with this method of role conflict resolution. The women themselves, as well as their family, friends, and neighbors "really know" that they are neglecting part of their role obligations. While the nonconformity 20 may not be so Obvious as in structural role redefinition, it may seem devious. Furthermore, some women may be concerned that their homes aren't as kept up, they don't entertain as frequently or as smartly as others, their meals are unexciting, etc. In contrast to the methods just considered, the women who choose the fluid personal role method do not neglect any of their traditional role obligations if humanly possible; thus they avoid the criticism leveled at women using structural or personal role redefinition. They can prove that they are still good wives and mothers even though they are employed. Sometimes it seems as if women using the fluid personal role method do more than other women in the family role as well. For instance, one woman "man- ages to get to PTA meetings, serve as den mother and get stuck with car pool duty every Monday even though she works full time" (Ben- jamin, 1966). Women who use this method are impressive enough to earn the title "Supermom." Obviously, this method is ineffective for reducing work strain, but it does have the advantage that the women are fulfilling all Of their traditional home obligations. Nonetheless, since social pressures still exist against all work- ing women, even those who fulfill all of their traditional role obligations are still breaking tradition by working and are thus subject to criticism. Thus rejection of the work role is probably the easiest method to choose for those who value societal conformity. The women who reject the career role to be full-time home- makers essentially go back to the traditional role for women. 21 Thus they avoid criticism and in fact may receive special treatment as the "stray sheep" that has returned. Rejecting their family role is still so stigmatized for women that it is extremely rare. Rejecting either the work or the family role, of course, is not a coping method for combining family and career. However, this option may be chosen in the family-career role conflict when demands from the two roles are seen as irreconcilable. As already suggested, these four methods of role conflict resolution vary in terms of coping effectiveness, with structural role redefinition being the most efficient, personal role redefini- tion the next, fluid personal role the third, and rejection of role the least. Unfortunately, for women facing family-career role con- flicts, however, the degree of effectiveness of a coping method correlates positively with the amount of societal force against choosing that method. Thus, although structural role redefinition is the most effective coping method, it has the most social pres- sure against using it; and while rejection of career role is the least efficient, it has the least amount of social pressure against using it. Therefore, although structural role redefini- tion might be a woman's first choice in terms of effectiveness, in terms of guilt and societal pressures it might be the least pre- ferred. Assessment of such social costs and benefits, however, probably depends on certain socialization antecedents. 22 Antecedents of Role Conflict CopingiBehavior In discussing antecedents of coping strategies, I Shall assume that economic considerations are not crucial factors in the women's decision to work. In fact, the present investigation of family-career role conflict specifically involved middle class married women whose husbands' incomes more than adequately met family needs. As discussed previously, the modeling provided by a girl's mother and the degree of sex-typing she experiences during social- ization can significantly affect her occupational achievement aspirations. I believe these factors are also important antecedent influences on women's Choice Of a CDping response to family-career role conflicts. Women whose mothers worked have observed a significant role model managing two full-time roles. Daughters of working mothers may not necessarily copy their mothers' behaviors, but they can observe and learn ways to manage. They may actually figure out a more efficient method of coping with problems than did their role models. But without the opportunity to observe and think about better ways to handle their mothers' "problem," they might have a more difficult time in coping with family-career conflicts. Thus women whose mothers worked are more likely to consider such options as delegating homemaking tasks or leaving some tasks undone. They may also find it easier to deal with the problem of child care and "substitute mothering." I therefore hypothesize: 23 H]: To resolve role conflicts, employed mothers whose own 11:21?$21133slhiletlfiie"§¥$.{lllg 332.139.3125 (structural or personal role redefinition? than will those whose mothers did not work. Although maternal modeling is expected to influence a woman's choice of one of the two more effective coping styles, the modeling alone is not expected to lead necessarily to her choice of the most effective coping style. Rather, a combination of modeling and nontraditional child rearing by a woman's mother seems necessary as an antecedent to her Choice of structural role redefinition for resolving family-career role conflicts. The expectation is that there is less sex-typing in nontraditional than in traditional child rearing-~little girls would be encouraged to play "boys' games" and would not be expected to concentrate on household tasks just because they were girls. Boys would not be expected to be so aggressive and "manly," and might be expected to do some household tasks. Achievement, including the need for career training, would be stressed for females as well as males.‘ In the nontraditional family women with such a nontraditional socialization experience are likely to have different values and different subjective role prescriptions from those held by women who were rewarded for "lady- like" behavior. Thus daughters whose employed mothers raised them nontraditionally are unlikely to believe that homemaking is pri- marily their responsibility, and they should feel more at ease than women with traditional backgrounds in delegating these tasks to others either within or outside the family. 24 The situation is likely to be different for women whose mothers worked but nonetheless emphasized the traditional role for women. Although such women have had an example of how to manage both career and homemaking, they were still socialized to believe that mothers have primary responsibility for domestic chores. Thus in acknowledging that they cannot work and do all the necessary household tasks in the available time, they are likely to eliminate some of the tasks rather than delegate them to others. These women's upbringing does not allow them to relinquish domestic responsibilities; thus they are likely to scale down homemaking tasks in order to maintain control. Thus I hypothesize: H2: Among employed mothers whose own mothers worked when they were young, those who had a nontrad1t1onal upbringing will be more likely to resolve role con- flicts through a structural role redefinition than will those who had a traditional upbringing. As noted previously, women whose mothers did not work are likely to find it more difficult to learn an effective method of coping behavior. However, if these women were raised nontradition- ally, they are more likely than traditionally'raised women to aspire to career goals as well as to value homemaking, as modeled by their mothers. In combining family and career roles, there- fore, such women are likely to feel adequate only if they are doing as much as their mothers in the homemaking area and handling a job as well. In contrast, women who were raised in a traditional manner by unemployed mothers have not observed a model fulfilling two 25 roles and have not been subject to occupational achievement expec- tations. Thus in confronting family-career conflicts such women are not likely to feel much commitment to work pursuits and are likely to justify leaving their work roles as not worth the effort and interference with their more highly valued family Obligations. Thus I hypothesize: H3: Among employed women whose own mothers did not work when they were young, those who had a nontraditional upbringing will be more likely to use a fluid per- sonal role conflict resolution method than will those who had a traditional role training. In addition to the influence of previous socialization factors, the current expectations of a woman's husband are likely to influence her resolution of family-career role dilemmas. Hus- bands' views, in turn, are likely to be influenced by their experiences with an employed or unemployed mother and by the tradi- tional or nontraditional manner of their own upbringing. Men whose mothers worked may be more willing to cooperate and accept their wives' using the more effective structural or personal role redefi- nition coping methods. Men whose mothers did not work, however, may find it harder to accept such methods since their expectations of what their wives should do for them and their family are likely to differ. Similarly, sons of working mothers who used nontraditional child-rearing practices should be more likely to accept their wives' using a strUctural role redefinition. They would feel less of a role identity conflict in doing domestic activities and would 26 be less likely to feel that their wives are responsible for doing "womanly tasks." Thus they would be willing to assume some domes- tic responsibilities and/or allow them to be delegated to nonfamily members. Men whose mothers worked but still emphasized the tradi- tional masculine and feminine roles are less likely to be willing to share "feminine" domestic tasks nor are they likely to encourage their wives to delegate these tasks to others. Like women with such a background, they are likely to see women's fulfillment of family needs as paramount and thus would most likely encourage per- sonal role redefinition. Men whose mothers did not work are least likely to perceive and understand the rewards and difficulties experienced by their working wives. They probably have had no close observational model. However, if a nontraditional child-rearing approach was used, espe- cially if the parents emphasized that girls should have career training, these men still may be willing to encourage their wives to keep working as long as all their tasks in the home are done. Thus men as well as women with nontraditional training from unem- ployed mothers should prefer fluid personal role behavior. Men whose mothers did not work and emphasized the tradi- tional roles are unlikely to encourage their wives to work and may prefer that they reject the work role if it interfered with family responsibilities. Thus if Spouses have had similar socialization experiences, husbands and wives are likely to favor the same coping methods for 27 family-work role dilemmas. This overall consonance should be reflected in a correspondence between wives' preferred coping methods (elicited in response to projective situations) and their actual coping strategies. Thus I hypothesize: H4: Women's preferred and actual behavior in role con- f11ct $1tuat10ns will be SImIlar 1f they and the1r husbands have the same background experience in material work involvement and in sex-role training. If spouses agree on coping strategies, they are unlikely to express general dissatisfaction with each other. However, if the wife prefers an effective coping style while her husband pre- fers one of the others, then controversy and dissatisfaction are likely. If the wives insist on maintaining their preferred coping method, their husband may object, claiming that the wives are not fulfilling their part of the marriage "contract." But if the wives compromise to a less effective coping style, such as the fluid personal role, they might feel that they are bogged down with overowrk in the home, that their husbands don't do their fair share, etc. Thus I hypothesize: H5: There will be more marital and personal dissatis- faction when women's preferred and actual behavior in role conflicts differs. CHAPTER II METHOD Subjects Subjects were 121 married working women with children. They were selected from two subpopulations: (a) women married to either faculty or administrative personnel at a large midwestern state university; (b) women married to teachers or administrative personnel in the public school system of the metropolitan area surrounding the university. Selecting women whose husbands occu- pied upper middle class statuses made it likely that a full range of alternatives for coping with role conflict was economically feasible for all members of the sample. For example, hiring domes- tic help should have been feasible for all participants in this study. Potential subjects were identified by randomly selecting names from the telephone directories of both the university and public school systems. Each family that was so selected was tele- phoned and asked about the wife's working status and if there were children in the family. If the wife was working and if there was also at least one child in the family, then the woman was informed that this was a study concerned with women's roles in society. She was asked if she would be willing to participate by allowing 28 29 an interview to take place at her convenience. She was also informed that the interview would last approximately an hour and would be confidential. If she agreed to participate, she was told that she would be contacted in approximately three weeks to arrange a time and place for the interview. In case of difficulty in reaching the selected participant by telephone at home, she was called five times during various times of the day. If she still could not be reached, her husband was telephoned at the office listed in the telephone directory, and he was asked how we could reach his wife. If she still was unavail- able she was eliminated from the study. In the university sample over 90% of the women contacted agreed to participate in this study. The women from the public school sample were less receptive, with only one-third willing to participate. Most of those who refused claimed they were too busy to participate. Unfortunately, no data are available concerning characteristics of those who refused. Procedure The data-gathering interview took place at a time and place selected by the respondent. Most respondents were inter- viewed in their homes during weekday evenings; however, a small number were interviewed at their offices during the day. Most interviews lasted 45 minutes, though the actual time ranged from 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. All interviews were completed between April and June, 1974. 30 In addition to the author, there were six other female interviewers who were university undergraduates recruited from an advanced course in psychology. They were trained by the author in interviewing techniques and in coding the hypothetical role con- flict situations included in the survey. Interviewers wrote down all answers directly on coding sheets. Data from all interviewers were pooled because there were no differences in the data each collected. Survey Instrument The survey questionnaire consisted of 137 questions (see Appendix 8). Most of the questions used a Likert scale format or were background questions for which all appropriate answers could be easily coded. One section of the questionnaire involved the sex-role training scale consisting of five questions concerning the expectations of the women's parents regarding sex role. It included such items as "What kind of education did your mother/ father stress for you?" "Were you encouraged to be a 'little lady' when young (i.e., not be aggressive, not play games like climbing trees, football, baseball, but rather play dolls)?" Scale scores could range of O to 4 with 0 indicating traditional and 4, non- traditional. Another questionnaire scale was the Task Analysis Scale which inquired about who performed each of 25 domestic chores. There were seven possible choices, including "I do it most of the time," "husband does it most of the time," “children do it most 31 of the time,“ “employ help," "don't do it." The chores consisted of items such as cleaning the bathroom, everyday cooking, dusting, taking out garbage, and child care. Allocation of family responsibilities was also assessed with the role conflict scale that asked the respondent what she would do in 13 different role conflicts involving family and career considerations. For example, one of the situations presented the following dilemma: Suppose your youngest child who is nine years old has the lead male part in the school production of Oklahoma! Since you own your own business as a fashion designer, he volunteered your services to design and sew all the cos- tumes for the school play. You know that it is quite a few hours of sewing. He says you do it for others, why not him? What would you do? In the scenarios, the ages of the children varied from 2 through 14. The role dilemmas varied along dimensions of time con- flict, dissatisfaction of husband, dissatisfaction of child(ren), and guilt. For each situation the women described their recom- mended solution in their own words. The interviews recorded a summary of each subject's response and then coded the answer into one of the four CDping strategies (structural role redefinition, personal role redefinition, fluid personal role, and role rejection). Four additional scales dealt with sources of satisfaction or stress. One of these concerned arguments (e.g., “How frequently do you and your husband have arguments about the children?" "How frequently do you and your husband have arguments about money?") 32 Another scale dealt with health (e.g., "For the most part, do you feel healthy enough to carry out the things you would like to do?" "Do you feel you are bothered by all sorts of pains and ailments in your body?") The third scale dealt with considerations of divorce (e.g., "Have you ever considered divorce?" "How often have you considered divorce?") The fourth scale concerned respondents' feelings about their children (e.g., "I would have preferred post- poning our children"; "I would like to have more children"). CHAPTER III RESULTS Comparison of University and Public School Samples Some background data regarding respondents appear in Appendix A--Table A-3 summarizes demographic characteristics of participants in this study, and Table A-4 summarizes comparisons between the university and public school samples. Not surpris- ingly, the level of educational attainment was significantly higher for husbands associated with the university than for those employed in the public school system (x2 = 11.6, g:_= 4, p.< .05). Univer- sity men's average income also was significantly higher (x2 = 15.4, gf_= 4, E.< .005). Women married to university men also were more likely to have a higher level of education than women married to men in the public school system (x2 = 19.6, gf.= 4, E.< .001). Despite differences in educational attainment, however, women in the two samples did not differ significantly in occupation (x2 = 8.31, g = 5, p > .05), nor in income (x2 = 2.0, fi= 3, p > .05). For both groups, respondents' average earned income was under $10,000. On other variables pertinent to the present study, there were no significant differences between the two samples regarding mother's employment (x2 = .09, g:_= l, p_> .05), husband's sex- role training (x2 = 1.3, gj.= l, £_> .05), method of coping with 33 34 role conflict (x2 = 3.0, g:_= 3, p_> .05), and division of house- hold tasks (x2 = 2.57, gf_= 3, p_> .05). Because of the apparent similarity of the two samples on these items of interest to this study, data for the two groups were combined. Impact of Mother's Employment Most women (58%) stated that their mothers did not work full-cn'part-time before they were 18 years old. Under 20% indi- cated that their mothers worked either full- or part-time when they were less than a year old (see Appendix A, Table A-5). To assess the impact of maternal employment on women's role conflict resolu- tion strategies, coders analyzed respondents' choices for the hypothetical role dilemmas, achieving a reliability of .94. Though scores on coping styles could range from 1 to 4 (1 being structural role redefinition; 2, personal role redefinition; 3, fluid personal role; and 4, role rejection), the actual range was 1.00 to 2.54. This small range indicates that no individual used fluid personal role or role rejection for all answers, while some women always answered with a structural role redefinition method (see Appendix A, Table A-6). Contrary to Hypothesis 1, the chi-square analysis summa- rized in Table 1 revealed no significant relationship between mother's employment and a respondent's method of cOping with role conflict (x2 = 1.64, g:_= 3, p_> .05). This relationship remained nonsignificant even when the possible moderating impact of mother's 35 Table 1 Relationship Between Own Mother's Employment and Coping Style Number of women who Number of women who Mother worked used structural and used fluid personal when respondent n personal role role and role - was under 18 years redefinition rejection Full-time 21 12 33 Part-time 13 2 15 Never i7. _1_2 _62 81 33 114 x2 = 1-64. g:_= 3. p_> .05. satisfaction with homemaking or with her job was controlled (see Table 2). Sex-Role Training and Coping Style Respondents were almost equally divided in terms of the tra- ditionality of their upbringing (46% traditional; 54% nontradi- tional). Actual scores on the sex-role training scale ranged from 1.33 to 3.83, with higher scores indicating a nontraditional upbringing. As shown in Table 3, there was a significant relation- ship between sex-role training and coping method (x2 = 7.67, gf_= 3, p_= .05). Women with nontraditional upbringing tended to use the more effective coping methods--75% used a structural or personal role redefinition, compared with 60% of the women with a traditional upbringing. 36 Table 2 Impact of Own Mother's Homemaking or Employment Satisfaction Mother worked Method of coping when respondent n_ was under 18 years Structural Personal Fluid Rejection A. Mother enjoyed homemaking Full-time 4 12 6 2 24 Part-time 5 4 l 1 11 Never u A _a _7 .2 23 39 15 10 87 x2 = 4.4. d_f= 6, p> .05. B. Mother did not enjoy homemaking Full-time 2 1 2 O 5 Part-time 1 l O O 2 Never _2 _9 _L _2 _3 3 2 3 2 10 x2 = 8--28. fl = 6. P. > .05. C. Mother enjoyed working Full-time 6 ll 6 3 26 Part-time ___§ _5_ _Q __1_ _]_1_ 11 16 6 4 37 X2 = 3.86, g:,= 3, p_> .05. 0. Mother did not enjoy working Full-time 0 2 2 -- 4 Part-time __1 _J_ __0 _-_-_ _g 1 3 2 -- 6 x2 = 3.0. gfi= 2. p_> .05. 37 Table 3 Relationship Between Sex-Role Training and Coping Style Sex-role training Coping style 9_ Traditional Nontraditional Structural 9 14 23 Personal 18 25 43 Fluid 13 4 l7 Rejection __;§ __31 _14 45 52 97 Table 4 summarizes the analyses testing Hypotheses 2 and 3 Contrary to predictions, among daughters of employed mothers, thos with a nontraditional sex-role training did not use a structural role redefinition strategy more often than did those with a tradi- tional upbringing (x2 = 1.9, gf_= 3, p_> .05). Furthermore, among daughers of nonemployed mothers, those with a nontraditional sex- role training did not choose the fluid personal role more often than did those with a traditional upbringing (x2 = 4.78, g:_= 3, p.> .05). Husband's Influence on Respondent's Choice of Coping Methods Hypothesis 4 predicted that women's preferred coping style in the hypothetical situations and their report of actual behavior e 38 Table 4 Relationship Between Maternal Employment, Sex-Role Training, and Choice of CDping Style Sex-role training Coping style g_ Traditional Nontraditional A. Employed mother Structural 4 5 9 Personal 6 10 16 Fluid 5 2 Rejection _;;l __2_ ____ 16 19 35 X2 = 1 9, gj_= 3, p_> .05. B. Nonemployed mother Structural 5 7 12 Personal 12 8 20 Fluid 1 8 Rejection __4 __5 _g 28 21 49 x2 = 4.78, g: = 3, p_ > .05. on the Task Analysis Scale would be similar if they and their hus- bands had experienced the same maternal modeling and sex-role upbringing. As indicated in Table 5, this hypothesis was not con- firmed (x2 = 2.97, gf_= 2, p_> .05). Actually, as shown in Table 6, respondents were relatively consistent in their choice of the more effective structural or personal role redefinition strategies. More- over, contrary to expectations, there was no relationship between 39 Table 5 Impact of Similarity in Spouses' Maternal Modeling and Sex-Role Training on Respondents' Coping Strategies in Actual and Hypothetical Situations Coping strategies in actual and hypothetical situations |3 Similar Dissimilar Similar experiences in both modeling and 5 16 21 sex-role upbringing Similar experiences either in modeling or 23 29 52 sex-role upbringing Dissimilar experiences in both modeling and 14 28 42 sex-role upbringing 42 73 115 x2 = 2.97, df = 2, 2.> .05. Table 6 Relationship Between Coping Methods in Actual and Hypothetical Situations Hypothetical Actual situations . n s1tuations Structural Personal Fluid Rejection '— Structural 5 17 3 5 30 Personal 5 29 8 9 51 Fluid 2 8 5 3 18 Rejection _l __8 __4 __3 __l_§ 13 62 20 20 115 x2 = 4.4, df = 9, p > .05. 40 husbands' background experiences with maternal employment or sex- role upbringing and respondents' CDping strategies (see Table 7). Satisfaction Of the four satisfaction indices used in this study, only frequency of arguments showed some relationship with role conflict coping strategies, being associated in this case with less effective Table 7 Relationship Between Husband's Background and Respondent's Coping Strategy Respondent's strategy Structural Personal Fluid Role .5 role role personal re'ection redefinition redefinition role 3 A. Maternal modeling Husband's mother worked Yes 10 20 9 8 47 No .29 _2_§ __8. __7 _Ea 3O 48 17 15 100 X2 = 2-5. g:_= 3, p_> .05. B. Sex-role training Husband's sex-role training Traditional 6 12 6 2 26 Nontraditional _jj_ .-QU3 ____ __31 _151 17 3O 12 7 66 X2 =1-039 9:: 39 R) .05. 41 COping methods (see Table 8). Contrary to Hypothesis 5, there was no relationship between measures of satisfaction and agreement between preferred and actual behavior in response to role conflict situations (see Table 9). Further analysis revealed varying degrees of relationship among the four satisfaction indices themselves (see Appendix A, Table A-7). Multiple Regression Analysis As a further exploration of the data in this study, a mul- tiple regression analysis was performed to relate variables con- cerning maternal employment and sex-role training to role conflict coping behavior (see Table 10). This analysis indicated that some of the measures of maternal modeling and sex-role training were related to coping strategies, but none achieved statistical significance. 42 Table 8 Relationship Between Satisfaction and Coping Style Measures . . Contingency 2 Sat1sfact1on scale coefficient x gf_ .E Arguments .336 4.45 3 > .05 Divorce .186 1.25 3 > .05 Health .185 3.98 3 > .05 Relationship with children .131 1.99 3 > .05 Table 9 Correlations Between Satisfaction Measures and Similarities of Preferred and Actual Coping Behavior Satisfaction scale Pearson _R_ Arguments .107 Divorce .107 Health .130 Relationship with children .136 43 Table 10 Multiple Regression Data Relating Family Background Antecedents and Coping Method . Mult. 2 R2 Simple VarIable Hypothesis R R Change R F* 1. Type of career Sex-role pref. of parents training '162 ‘025 '026 '16 '78 2. Mother worked, women under 18 Modeling .211 .045 .018 .15 154 years old 3. Mother worked, women in Modeling .278 .077 .032 .ll .95 senior high 4. Parents have Sex-role career pref. training .289 .083 .006 .02 .18 5. Mother worked, women in pre- Modeling .303 .091 .008 .13 .23 school 6. Mother worked, women under Modeling .328 .117 .015 .06 .42 1 year 7. Mother worked, women in ele- Modeling .342 .117 .009 -.01 .24 mentary school 8. Mother's beliefs about women Sex role .349 .122 .003 .10 .06 9. Allowed to play with boys Sex role .352 .124 .002 .03 .06 10. Little lady Sex role .355 .126 .002 .10 .04 11. Help household tasks Sex role .355 .126 .002 .10 .04 fp.> .05. Some variables not included in the equation: Partial r Education -.21 Occupation -.14 Mother enjoy working .11 Husband's income .04 Family income .06 CHAPTER IV DISCUSSION The present investigation explored the role conflict coping strategies selected by a sample of 121 middle class, relatively well- educated employed married women with children. All respondents were in intact marriages at the time of the study and their husbands were employed either in a large midwestern university or in a public school system. Although husbands and wives in the university group tended to have higher levels of educational attainment than those in the school system sample, only the husbands' incomes were related to their educational achievement. Regardless of amount of school- ing, the wives in both groups were in similar low paying jobs, averaging less than $10,000 yearly. This finding is consonant with current labor statistics showing that even college-educated women tend to hold low prestige and low paying jobs, averaging only 60% of the income earned by men graduates (Gullahorn, 1977). This study did not explore the women's satisfaction with their work and their aspirations regarding advancement, but such data would be of interest in future investigations of role conflict resolution. Whether responding to hypothetical role dilemmas or report- ing on their actual practices, over two-thirds of the women in this study chose what are considered more effective coping strategies 44 45 and very few selected the "super-mom" or role rejection option. In general, personal redefinition of role obligations was the most popular option selected by 44% for the hypothetical situations and 54% for the actual role dilemmas (compared with 26% and 11%, respectively, for the structural role redefinition option). Unlike structural role redefinition, personal role definition does not require delegating responsibilities to others and negotiating regard- ing task allocation; thus the relative frequency of this choice may reflect these women's reluctance to engage in bargaining types of interactions. Some of the gaming literature reveals sex differences regarding bargaining; therefore future investigations might explore what facets of each coping strategy are attractive or repulsive to respondents, focusing particularly on the bargaining issue. In exploring antecedents to role conflict resolution strate- gies, this study focused on the impact of maternal role modeling and sex-role training. Over two-fifths of the women (42%) reported that their mothers worked either full- or part-time when the respondents were under 18 years of age. Interestingly, a similar percentage (43%) of their husbands' mothers worked when the men were under 18. These data accord with other statistics indicating the increasing workforce involvement of married women with Children prior to the current women's movement (Donelson & Gullahorn, 1977). Extrapolating from other studies indicating the positive impact of mothers' employment on daughters' occupational aspira- tions, I had expected daughters of employed mothers to select the 46 more effective coping strategies more frequently than daughters of unemployed mothers. While a multiple regression analysis indicated some relationship between such background experience (particularly if mothers worked when their daughters were in elementary school), there was no significant association between these variables. In addition, the employment history of the husbands' mothers was not related to their wives' coping strategies. Perhaps with the increasing numbers of employed mothers and the dissemination of information about managing multiple role involvements, the early role modeling of an employed mother is becoming less salient. Other hypotheses regarding the interaction between maternal employment and sex-role training in influencing coping strategies also were not confirmed. However, early sex-role training was, in itself, related to modes of role conflict resolution. Respondents were almost equally divided in terms of the traditionality of their upbringing (46% traditional; 54% nontraditional). Those who experi- enced a nontraditional sex-role training that stressed different lifestyle options for women tended to choose the more effective coping strategies. In fact, among the women choosing structural role redefinition, over three-fifths had experienced a nontradi- tional upbringing. For example, one woman professional in this group went back to work three weeks after each of her children was born. She hired a nurse to take care of the children and employed house- hold help for all the homemaking tasks. In contrast, three-fifths of the women who reported tradi- tional upbringings chose the less effective methods of handling role 47 conflicts. Among those opting for the fluid, "super-mom“ strategy, 76% had traditional upbringings. These women tended to view working as something they could do only if it did not interfere with their relatively traditional family life patterns. For example, as I was interviewing one woman in her home, she was baking fresh bread for her family. During the interview her teenage children interrupted several times. Rather than put them Off, she attended to their con- cerns immediately, even leaving the room at one point to go identify a weed in the vegetable garden. The interview visit took twice the usual amount of time. Another woman with a traditional background seemed to transfer her super-mom strategies to her work situation. During the interview at her office where She was a head sales repre- sentative, she, too, responded tO constant interruptions, never delegating respOnsibility to the others in the office and undertaking even apparently trivial tasks herself. Early sex-role training thus appears to be an important pre- dictor of women's role conflict coping strategies. It might also be related to husbands' supportiveness regarding wives' occupational involvements, as suggested by the fact that 61% of the respondents reported that their husbands had experienced nontraditional sex-role training. I have no data from stay-at-home mothers drawn from the same population as respondents in the current study, but I would expect a greater proportion of such control group husbands to be recreating in their own families the traditional patterns they, themselves, experienced. Although there was no overall relationship 48 between husbands' sex-role training and wife's CDping strategy, it is interesting to note that among the women Choosing structural role redefinition, 65% reported their husbands had nontraditional upbringings. This finding makes sense inasmuch as a nontraditional husband would be more likely to share in household and Child care responsibilities without feeling that his "masculinity" was threatened. Since the major focus of this study was on antecedents in the family of orientation, relatively little attention was given to current functioning in the family of procreation. The survey items concerning satisfaction with various aspects of family life were not sufficiently sensitive to provide much information; however, it did appear that frequency of argments was related to use of the less effective coping strategies. Further exploration of this finding would be interesting. Does it mean that arguments about task alloca- tion and unsuccessful attempts at role restructuring lead to less effective coping strategies? Or does the association reflect the irritability of a hassled super-mom who is trying to do everything herself? And what is the impact of the traditionality of the hus- bands' and the wives' upbringing? This investigation has identified several variables for fur- ther exploration in studies of role conflict resolution. Early sex- role training appears particularly salient. What about current challenges to traditional ideology? In view of the efforts of the women's movement to make available more information about role 49 models and different lifestyle options, future studies of role con- flict resolution should consider the impact of such models and information in addition to the antecedent factors already discussed. Also, rather than relying on wives' perceptions regarding their hus- bands' backgrounds and attitudes, future researchers should gather data directly from the husbands. Also, as more couples share parenting, investigating fathers' as well as mothers' role dilemmas would be useful. More data regarding current family functioning would also contribute to a more family system-oriented analysis of different patterns of spouses' family and occupational involvements. APPENDICES 50 APPENDIX A SUPPLEMENTARY DATA 51 Table A-1 College Women's Anticipated Employment According to the Age of Their Expected Children Age of children Percentage of women planning to work 0-1 1-5 6-10 11-18 31% 41 73 88 SOURCE: M. Katz, A preliminary report on women's employment (col- lege students' projected future plans), unpublished study, 1972. Table A-2 Labor Force Status of Married Women, Husband Present, by Age and Presence of Children, 1974 Age of women, presence Population 16 Labor Labor force par- & age of children years & older force ticipation rate Total 47,324 20,367 43.0% No children under 18 21,804 9,365 43.0 Women 16 to 24 2,613 1,889 72.3 25 to 34 1,710 1,329 77.7 35 & over 17,481 6,147 35.2 Children under 18 25,520 11,002 43.1 Children under 3 7,225 2,243 31.0 Children 3 to 5 5,037 1,967 39.1 (none under 3) Children 6 to 17 13,268 6.972 51.2 SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor, 1975; Special Labor Force 173; Marital and family characteristics of labor force. 52 Report, 53 Table A-3 Some Demographic Data About Women in This Sample Number of women Aggof children Under 1 year 4 Preschool 22 Elementary school age 36 Junior high school age 18 Senior high school age 16 College 24 Women's education (schooling_completed) Some high school 2 High school graduate 11 College 29 College graduate 39 Post-graduate 40 Women's income Under $10,000 82 $10.000-$15,000 24 $15,000-$20,000 7 $20.000-$50,000 1 $50,000 and over 0 Women's occupational classification Laborer 4 White collar 34 Supervisor 11 Professional 67 Student 1 Homemaker 4* Unemployed O *Some women insisted upon labeling themselves as homemakers rather than giving an occupation even though they were employed. 54 Table A-4 Comparison of University and Public School Samples Average score of sample University Public school Husband's level of education 4.7 4.0 4 = college graduate 5 = post-graduate Husband's income 3.0 2.5 2 = $10,000 - $15,000 3 = $15,000 - $20,000 Women's level of education, 4.2 3.4 3 = college 4 = college graduate 5 = post-graduate Women's occupation ' 3.3 3.4 3 = supervisor 4 = professional Women's income 1.3 1.2 1 = under $10,000 2 = $10,000 ' $159000 55 Table A-5 Respondents' Age-Related Experiences With Working Mothers Age when mother worked Number of Women Under 18 years Full-time 35 Part-time 18 Never 67 120 Senior high age Full-time 26 Part-time 16 Junior high age Full-time 26 Part-time 12 Elementary school age Full-time 23 Part-time 6 Preschool age Full-time 9 Part-time 6 Under 1 year Full-time 6 Part-time 4 56 Table A-6 Distribution of Coping Strategy Scores for Hypothetical Role Dilemmas Coping method Number of scores in each Structural Personal Fluid Role category redeIIAItion redefgigtion pergngal rejection 0 0 13 26 39 l O 28 39 32 2 O 29 31 29 3 l 26 15 ll 4 5 16 7 7 5 15 6 2 3 6 16 3 1 O 7 18 O O O 8 21 O O O 9 20 O O O 10 16 O O O 11 4 O O O 12 2 O O O 13 3 O O O 57 Table A-7 Correlations Among Satisfaction Scales Arguments Health Relationship with children Divorce Relationship Arguments “93‘1“ with children .06 .17 .20 -.44 .06 .30 Divorce APPENDIX B SURVEY FOR STUDY OF WORKING WOMEN - 1974 58 SURVEY FOR STUDY OF WORKING‘WOMEN - 1974 Code # of respondent Interviewer I am from Michigan State University and we are performing a study about working women. I spoke to you on the telephone previously. Wbuld you mind giving me some background information. 1. were you raised by your natural mother? (00 To 4) (CONTINUE) Yes.........1 No...‘......2 2. Who were your raised by? 3. How old were you when you left your natural mother? (NOTE TO INTERVIEWERS: IF RAISED BY SOMEONE OTHER THAN NATURAL MOTHER, SUBSTITUE PROPER PERSON.) 4, was your mother ever employed I full time before you were 18 years old? (CONTINUE) YGSoooooooooool (GO TO 10) Mooooooooooooz (GO TO L0) Don't Know...,8 5. ..,under a year old? yesooooooooool No...........2 Don't know...8 6. ...when you were a preschooler? YeSOOOOOOOCOOI NO...........2 mn't know...8 7. ...when you were in elementary school? Yes.........1 NOOOOOOOOOOOZ Don't know..8 8. ..,when you were in Junior High school? YBSOOOOOOOOOI mOOOIIOOOOOZ Don't know,,8 59 9. ..,when you were in High School? Yesoooooooooool NOOCOOCCOCOOOOZ Don't “Owes-.8 10. was your mother ever employed part time before you were 18 years old? (CONTINUE) Yes..........1 (GOTO16) NOOOOOOOOOOOOZ (GO TO 16) Don't know...8 11. ...under a year old? Yesoooooooool NOOOOOOOOOOOZ Don't know..8 12. ...when you were a preschooler? YGSOOOOOOOOI mOOOOCOOOOZ Don't know.8 14. ..,when you were in elementary school? YeSOOOOOOOCOI mOOOCOOOOOOZ Don't know..8 15. when you were in Junior High School? yesoooooooocl MOOOOOOOOOOZ Don't know..8 16. ...when you were in High School? Yesoooooooool MOOOCOOOOOOZ Don't know..8 1. (ASK QUESTION 17 a 18 To THOSE WHO ANSWERED YES T0 4 OR 10) IF NO, GO TO NEXT RAGE. “' What was her occupation? ' (WRITE IN) 17. 18. Did your mother usually enjoy working? Yes, a great deal.,......l Yes, somewhat.....,......2 Neutral..................3 MOOOOOOOOOOO0.0.0.000...“ No, she disliked it a great deal..............5 19. 20. 21. 22, 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 60 Did your mother enjoy homemaking? Yes, a great deal........l yeSDOI......OOOOOOOI...O.2 Neutral.’00.00.00.00000003 m0.......OOOOOOOOOOIOOOOu No, she disliked it a I great deal.........-...5 was your husband's mother ever employed full or part time before he was 18 years old? (CONTINIIE) Yesopoooooocol (GOTO 28) m000000000002 (GO TO 28) Don't know...8 ... when he was under a year old? YQSooooooooool mOIOOOOOIO-OOZ Don’t know...8 ... when he was a preschooler? YesOOOOOOOOOOI NOOOCOOOOOOOOZ Don't know...8 ... when he was in elementary school? yeSOOOOOOOOOOI MOOOOOOOOCOOZ Don’t kUOW..o3 ... when he was in Junior High School? YesOIOOOOOOOOI mOOOOOOOOOOOZ Don’t knOW...8 ... when he was in High School? Yes...........1 m000000000002 Don't know...8 What was her occupation? (WRITE IN) Did your mother-in-law enjoy her work? yesoooooooool mOOOOOOOOOOz Don't know..8 28. Did your mother-in—law enjoy homemaking? YOSCOOCCOOOOOUI mOOOOOOOOOOOOz Don't kDOW...o8 29. Was your maternal grandmother (mother's mother) ever employed? (CONTINUE) (GO TO 34) (GO TO 34) yeSOOOOOOOCCOOO NCO-0.0.0.000002 DOD't knowooooos 30. ...when your mother was a preschooler? Yes-000.00.000.01 No.0000000000.002 Don't know......3 31. ...when your mother was in elementary school? Yesoooooooooocol MOOOOOOOOOOOOOZ Don‘t knOW.....8 32. ...when your mother was in JUnior or Senior High School? yeSOOCOCOCOCOCCCI mOOOOOOCOOOOOOOz mn’t knOWOOOOOOB 33. What was her occupation? _(IIRITE IN) 34. Was your paternal grandmother (father's mother) ever employed? (CONTINUE) the ........1 (GO TO NEXT PAGE) lb..........2 (GO TO NEXT RAGE). Don't koov..8 35. ... when your father was in preschool? Yesoooooooooool MOOOOOOIOOOOOZ Don't know....8 36. ...when your father was in elementary school? YGBOOOOOOOOOOOI mOOOOCCOOCOOOZ Don't know....8 37. ...when your father was in Junior or Senior High School? Yes...........1 mOOOOOOOOOOOOZ Don't know....8 38, What is the highest education you have received? some high Beh0010000000000001 high school graduate........2 some COIIGge...............o3 COllege graduate.........o..u post graduate work..........5 39. What is your occupation? one or more 01:).- . . laborer.......OOOOOOOOOO...1 white COIlar0000000000000002 supervisor.................3 PrOfGSSionalococoa-0.000000“ student.............o...o.o5 homemaker..................6 unemployed..............o..7 40. time? Do you work full time or part (PART TIME MEANS LESS THAN 30 HOURS PER.WEEK). 41. full timeooooool Part timeoocoooz What is your mother's educational level? some high school,..,.......,.1 high SChOOI graduate......... some COIIegeooocooooooooooooo 2 3 COllege graduateoooooooooooooa 5 POSt graduate workOOOOOOOOOOO 42. Whom did you admire more through- out most of your childhood, your mother or your father? mtherOOOOOOOOCOOOOIOOI Father00000000000000002 43. ASK THE FOLLOWING QUESTION USING MOST ADMIRED PARENT ( 42) What kind of education did your (mother/father) stress for you? You may answer more than one. high SChOOIOOOIOOOOOIOOOOOl Jr. College...............2 technical training (secretarial, hairdresser, x-ray teChniCian)ooooo0.0000000000000003 a year COIICgeoooooooooooou professional training (med school,1aw school, Ph.D.....S didn't stress educationooooooo0.0060000000000006 61 44. Did your parents have any preference for career preparation for your? yeSOOOOOO......OOOOOOOOOOI No, had not preference...2 No, didn’t want me to have career preparation..3 IF YES TO 44, CONTINUE. IF NO SKIP TO “6. ‘ 45. What kind of preference? (WRITE IN) 46. Were you encouraged to help your mother with household tasks? encouraged a great deal......... somewhat encouraged............. 47. somewhat discouraged............ 1 2 “entraIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO00......3 u discouraged a great deal....,...5 When you were young (under 10) were you allowed to play with groups of boys? yeSOOOOOOCOOCOOCIOI NOCOOOOOCOOCOOOOOOZ Don’t kDOW........3 48. Which was most true of your mother? She believed women belong in the home....................o.1 She believed that women could have a career if it didn't interfere with her family.....2 She believed that women should have a career if she wanted it, no matter what.....3 She believed all women should have careers..................4 49. Were you encouraged to be a "little lady" when young (i.e, not be aggressive, not play games like climbing trees, football, baseball, but rather play with dolls? Yea, a great dealoeococoooooool YGSOO.....OOOCOOOCOOOOOOOOOOO 2 NeutrEICOOI00.00.00.00000000003 No, somewhat encouraged to be one of the boys............4 No, greatly encouraged to be tomboyish, aggressive....5 mn't knowOOOOOOOOOOOOODOIOOOB 50. new many brothers and sisters do you have? (GO To NEXT PAGE) (CONTINUE) (CONTINUE) (CONTINUE) (CONTINUE) none.........1 ODBQoooooooooz two00000000003 three-0......“ four or more.5 51. How many sisters? (so To 53) (CONTINUE) (CONTINUE) (CONTINUE) (CONTINUE) “oneooooooooool one...........2 twooooooooooooa threeooooooooou four or more..5 52. new many sisters are older than you? “oneOOOOOOOOOOO oneOOOOOOOCCCOO threeOOOOOOOOOO 1 2 two............3 it four or more...5 53, HOw many brothers? (GO To NEXT PAGE) (CONTINUE) (CONTINUE) (CONTINUE) (CONTINUE) Noneoeoooooooool one...........-2 twoooooooooooooa three.......uou four or more...5 54. wa many brothers are older than you? noneccoooooooool oneooooooooooooz two............ 3 three..........4 four or more...5 62 55. Did your mother or father stress the need of education for you as well as for your brothers? much 1838 than brOther(8)oooooo less than brother(s)........... equal to brother(8)............ more than brotherCs)........... much more than brother(s)...... \n-PuNI-D 56. Were your brother(s) encouraged to help with household tasks? encouraged a great deal........1 some encouragement.............2 “anti-81.0......C.’..OOO.OOO.O..3 somewhat discouraged...........4 discouraged a great deal.......5 57. were you encouraged to help your mother with household tasks more than your brother(s)? a great deal more than brother(s)..1 somewhat more than brother(s),....2 abOUt the same.oooooooooooooooooooa somewhat less than brother(s).....4 a great deal less than brother(s).5 Now let's talk about your husband's family background. 58. What is the highest education your husband has received? some high school............l high school graduate........2 some college................3 college graduate............9 post graduate...............5 59. What is your husband's occupatdn? laborer.0.0000000000000001 White COllarooooooooooooo supervisor............... PrOfeSSionaloooooooooooon Student.0.000000000000000 unemployed............... ONU‘IFOON 60. Was your husband encouraged to help with household tasks? Yes’ a great deal-......OOIOOOOI YeSIOOOOOOOOOOO0.00.00.00.00002 Neutra1.......................3 Discouraged somewhat.....,....4 Discouraged a great deal......5 mn‘t knowOOOOOOOOOIOOIQOOOOOOB 61. When your husband was young (under 10) was he allowed to play with groups of girls? Y88000000000000000001 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOZ 8 Don't know.......... 62. Was your husband encouraged to be a "little man" when he was young (i.e. engage in sports, play cowboys and indians, not play with dolls, not cry etc.) YeSOOOQOOOOOOOOOOIOOOOI No/OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOZ Don’t knowooooooooooooa 63. Does your husband have any sise sisters? (CONTINUE) “ Yes.........1 (GO TO NEXT PAGE) NO..........2 (30 TO NEXT RAGE) Don't know..8 64. Did your husband's parents stress the need for education for his sisters as well as for him? much less for sisters.....,.,.l somewhat less for sister(s)...2 equal to 313ter(3)ooooooooocooa more than sister(s)...........4 much more than sister(s)......5 don't knOWCOOOOOOOOCOOCCOOCCOOB 65. What kind of education did your in-laws stress for his sister(s) (you may answer more than one)? high 8Ch001.00000000000000001 Junior College..............2 technical training......,...3 4 year college..............4 professional training.......5 they didn't stress educ....66 don’t MOW.oooooooooooooooooa 66. Did your in-laws have any preference for career preparation for his sister(s)? yeSOOCOI......OOOOOOOOOOOOOI No, no preference.......,,.2 No, they did want his sister(s) to have any career preparation.......3 Don't kOOW.................8 IF YES TO 66, CONTINUE IF NO SKIP T0 68. What kind of preference? (WRITE IN) 68. was his sister(s) encouraged to help his mother with household tasks? Yes, a great deal.........1 Yes...OOOOOOOOOIOOOOOOOOOIZ Neutral.‘00.000.000.0009003 Nb, somewhat discouraged..4 No, discouraged a great deal-....OOCOOOOOOOOOOOS Don’t knOWOIOOOOIOOOOCOIOOB 69, Was your husband encouraged to help his mother with household tasks more than his sister(s)? Yes, a great deal more.......1 YeSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO00.0.02 NeUtralo0.0.0.0000000000000003 No, somewhat less than sister(s)..4 No, great deal less than sister(s).5 mutt know......OOOOOOCIOOOOOOOOOOB 64 For each of the following items, indicate the category that best describes who does each of the following activities. (READ THE CATEGORIES QUICKLY, BUT LET THE RESPONDENTS ANSWER IN THEIR OWN WORDS). You do it most of the time......l Husband does it most of the tiROOOIIOOOOOOOIOO04.00.00.002 You and husband do it togetherOOOOOOOOOO.00......00.3 One or more of the children do it most of the time..,.....4 One or more of the children and you or husband do it togetherOOOOOOQOIOO......OODOCS Employ help.....................6 mn't do itOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO7 NOE applicableoeoocooooooooooooog 70. Shop for food 71. Shop for clothes 72. Everyday cooking 73. Special cooking 74. wash dishes or stack in dishwasher 75. Empty garbage 76. wash clothes 77. wash windows 78. Straighten up 79. Dust 80. Clean bathroom 81. Clean kitchen 82. Clean floors 83. Make beds 84. Clean oven 85. Polish furniture 86. Decorating 87. ‘Minor repairs 88. major repairs 89. Budgeting 90. Arrange social activites 91. Entertaining 92, Child care, general 93. Help with homework 94. Bedtime activites 65 READ EACH HYPOTHETICAL CONFLICT TO EACH RESPONDENT. GIVE THEM THE APPROPRIATE INDEX CARD (WITH.SITUATION ON IT) TO FOLLOW ALONG. LET THEM.ANSWER WITHOUT PROMPTING IF POSSIBLE. HOWEVER IF THEY "BLANK.OUT" SAY} . . . . HERE ARE FOUR POSSIBLE SOLUTION THAT PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY GIVEN . . . THESE MIGHT HELP YOU THINK OF A SOLUTION. Now I am going to present a series of hypotethical situations. Some of these situations may be close to your own real life experience. However others might be quite distant. In either case, try to place yourself in that situation and decide how you would act and how you might expect others to act. In other words, how would you solve the problem. Do not state what you think is ideal, but what you believe you would really do. 95. Suppose your oldest child who is 14 years old got sick this week-end. The doctor said that it is the flu, and he will probably have to stay in' bed about three (3) days. All your other children are in school during the day and both you and your husband work from 9-5. What would you do? ( ) MARK HERE IF NEED PROPMTING CATEGORY OF COPING RESPONSE 1. You would have someone (relative, neighbor for free or pay, or sitter or professional take care of your sick son while you're at work. 2. Take sick leave or vacation time to stay home from work and care for him. 3. You stay home but bring much of your work home. You decide you can do it while he is resting or at least at night. 4. You decide that you should be home while you’re children are still at home and you quit work until your children are older. RECORD THEIR ANSWER HERE: 66 96. Suppose you have just received a promotion in your position at work and it's taking a great deal more work than you originally thought. You've had to put ina great deal of overtime to learn your new job and you are tired in the evenings. When you come home from work your husband and children are waiting for supper. Also the house is getting very messy. What would you do? ( )HARK HERE IF NEED PROMPTING CATEGORY OF COPING RESPONSE 1. You tell your children that until work eases up, they have certain tasks like cleaning their rooms, setting the table. You ask your husband to cook dinner for himself and the children. You'll eat out or grab a bite to eat when you get home. He also should help by cleaning up somewhat. 2. You know that it's a temporary situation so you decide to let the house be messy for a few"weeks. This week-end you'll have some free time to straighten up somewhat. Dinners will have to be casseroles made the night before or cold cuts. 3. You make dishes that you can cook before hand such as casseroles and put them up as soon as you get in the door. After dinner you clean up the house, at least vacuum and dust. Or you may get up earlier in the morning to do it. 4. You decide the new position isn't worth the extra money and try to get back to your old position. If you can't demote yourself, you'll have to quit. RECORD THEIR ANSWERS HERE: 67 97. Suppose you're youngest child who is nine (9) year old has the lead male part in the school production of Oklahoma. Since you own you're own business as a fashion designer, he volunteered your services to design and sew all the costumes for the school play. You know that it is quite a few hours of sewing. He says that you do it for others, why not him. What would you do? ( )MARK HERE IF NEEDED PROMPTING CATEGORY OF COPING RESBONSE 1. You send one of your employees to school to do the fittings and find out a description of the part they're playing. You then design all the costumes and call a meeting of the parents to have a sewing party using your equipment. You and one employee supervise very carefully. 2. You decide that your child's feelings would be devasted if you didn't do his request. So you give all the students a fitting at school and spend a few hours each day on their costumes. Usually some work is done during business hours and some at night when housecleaning is usually done. 3. You give the students a fitting during one of the school days and get up two (2) hours earlier every morning to do some sewing. 4. You realize that his committing you to such an unreasonable amount of work is a cry for attention. You really have been neglecting him. So you decide to quit working. RECORD THEIR RESPONSE HERE: 68 98. Suppose when you come home from work at 5:30 you're children (ages 2 and 5) are all hungry and hyperactive. The babysitter for the 2 year old leaves when you arrive home. Your husband and you can not stand their crying and screaming until dinner is ready (approximately 8 hour on good days.) What would you do? ( ) MARK HERE IF NEEDED PROMPTING RECORD THEIR COPING CATEGORY _L 1. You tell the babysitter to start dinner before she leaves or to start warming up the dinner you prepared the night before. This cuts the waiting period down. You also get your husband to play wild games with the children for 15 minutes while you finish dinner. 2. You give each of the children a special treat as soon as you get home and play with them as you cook dinner. Once their nervous energy dwindles, you can complete dinner without them in the way. 3. You have a cold first course prepared in advance for the children while you give your husband a drink. While they are having their appetizers you can prepare a nice dinner. They're not that hungry and can wait a while. 4. You realize that the nervous energy of the children exists because they miss you very much. You decide to give up your job for their sakes until they get older. RECORD THEIR RESPONSE HERE: 69 99. Suppose that you live 1% miles from your children's school and there is no school bus. Both you and your husband and your children have to be at work or school by 8:30. The problem is that it takes you and your husband 30 minutes to get to work, while it only takes 5 minutes for your children. What would you do? ( ) MARK.HERE IF NEEDED PROMPTING CATEGORY OF COPING RESPONSE 1. Arrange with a neighbor to take your children to school. 2. You drive your children to school a few minutes early and start work a femeinutes late. 3. You decide the aggravation is not worth it and you quit your job. 70 L9Qppose that you can your husband are both successful architects in different firms. You are both extremely happy with the arrangement but one of your children (age 6) is beginning to show severe disturbances (e.g. stammering, school retardation, bedwetting). What would you do? ( ) MARK HERE IF PROEPTING IS NEEDED RECORD THEIR COPING CATEGORY 1. You decide he needs professional help 2. You decide to work less: hours and spend more time with your child. 3. YOu decide to work the same number of hours but many more of them will be at home so you can spend time with your child. 4. You quit your job to give your child the attention he needs. RECORD THEIR RESPONSE HERE: 101. Suppose that you are now working part time (9-12) in an internist's office as an assistant to the nurse. The doctor has decided that you are very competant and he would like to promote you. However he would like you to work full time and have alot more responsibility. Your husband work late (6 pm( but your children come home at 3 pm. Their ages are 10 and 12 years old. What would you do? ( ) MARK HERE IF NEEDED PROMPTING RECORD CATEGORY OF COPING HERE L. You say yes, 'you're oldest never comes home from school until dinner time anyway. And you’re youngest can play over a neighbor’s hourse until you come home. 2. You say no, that your children come first, and that you must be home when they come home. 3. You say yes, however on days whenayour children don;t have after.school activites they will come to the office. 4. The decision makes you reevaluate how much you enjoy your job compared to your family and you decide you're missing too much at home. So you decide to quit work and stay home. RECORD THEIR RESPONSE BELOW. 72 102. . Suppose you have decide to go back to school for your Master's Degree in Education. It's finals week and you have two papers due at the end of the week. However you have to do more library work before you can begin to write the papers/ You have 3 children (ages 11, 8, 4 ) the 4 year old is with you all day. What would you do? ( ) MARK HERE IF PROPTING IS NEEDED RECORD THEIR COPING CATEGORY 1. You're husband will watch the children two nights this week. You’ll leave after dinner and stay till the library closes at,1 am if necessary 2. Ybu take an incomplete grade in the course. The children are more important. 3. You take the children to the library to take out books and zerox the articles. Then you do the reading at home, after the children are put to bed. In this manner you do not deprive them of your time. You stay up all night to finish. 4. You can't do it, so you decide to wait a few years to finish your M.A. The children will be older and have less need of you around. RECORD THEIR RESPONSE HERE 73 103. Suppose your youngest son is not doing well in Junior High School. Your older two children both did well in school. You believe that school is important. YOu started working when you're youngest son entered nursery school (he was four years old). The older two were 8 and 11 year old when you started. Thee older two always enjoyed school studies and received A's and B's consistently. The youngest however, is more concerned with school activities, parties, dating and athletics. What would you do? ( ) MARK HERE IF PROMPTING IS NEEDED RECORD CATEGORY OF COPING RESPONSE L. You realize that he is a different person from his older brother and sister and you try to help him develop his own talents. You will get him a tutor to help him in math which he is failing. 2. You go in for a conference with the teacher during your lunch hour and find out what you can do to help. Ybu show you are very concerned and would like to help him with his homework. You explain to the teacher that you are working but you would gladly help him as much as you can, even if it means taking off from work. 3. You realize that your son is going to need a lot of extra help from you, so you decide to get extra materials and tutor him after dinner at least 2 nights a week. After his tutoring session, then you will continue the housework that needs to be done. 4. You feel that you should be able to help your own son. So you resign from your job at the end of the year. RECORD THEIR.ANBWER HERE 104. 74 Suppose you have one child. Sue. 6 yoars;old,-l who has had the same "nanny" since you started teaching (which was when she was 2 years old). She really loves this woman and has relied on her a great deal. Unfortunately she is Planning to get married and leave her position with you. What would you do? (MARK HERE IF PROMPTING ISNEEDED) RECORD THEIR CATEGORY OF COPING HERE ( ) 1. You decide since she is in school, and you don't really need a live in nanny, she can play at a nighbor's house after school. You pay the woman a little to watch, but basically the two children are friends. This way you don't have to worry about her being so attached to anyone again. 2. You don't really want another nanny, but Sue does need someone at home when she comes home from school. Since she is more important than your work, you decide to look for a part~time job that will let you be home at 3 pm. 3. After school she can come to your office, you'll have a small table ordered and she'll play quietly until you both go home. 4. Sue seems really depressed about losing her nanny. So you decide you should stay home with her. YOu quit work since you know you can always find another job when you're ready. RECORD THEIR RESPONSE HERE 75 105. Suppose you must starting working again since you're children were born. You find that you've been too busy to clean the house the way you used to. You're husband has been starting to complain about the way it looks, in quiet little quips. But you know he means it. What would you do? ( ) MARK HERE IF NEEDED PROMPTING RECORD THEIR CATEGORY RESPONSE 1. You decided to hire a housekeeper. She'll do the housecleaning. laundry. dishes, wash tte floors, marketing. 2. You analize that makes the house look messy and figure that if you cut down vacuuming, and dusting and increase straightening up the little things, the house would look much more presentable. Ybu can also 3. You decide to get up one hour earlier on weekdays and not sleep late on Saturdays. During that time you can do all your housecleaning. 4. You realize the tension you're working is causing, so before things get worse you decide to quit. RECORD THEIR RESPONSE HERE 76 106. Suppose that you've been running a small craft studio from your home. You make a small profit. YOu've found that by doing it at home you don't upset your husband and childlren. They’re ages are 10 and 12 years old. You usually spend about 20 hours a week doing the designs and production. However you are often interrupted and thus you sometimes lose an idea before you get it fully designed. A large craft firm has just made an offer to incorporate your craft shop with theirs. You would maintain your name on all your designs, but they would take care of the paperwork, display techniques and business expenses. You would be guaranteed a decent salary. However they would prefer you to work at their facilities ( which are 10 minutes from your home). There they have bigger, more efficient equipment and you would have less interruptions. ( ) MARK HERE IS PROMPTING IS NEEDED RECORD THEIR CATEGORY OFCOPING L.You accept only on the condition that you can have a flexible schedule and you can do the initial designs at home. That would mean you would spend about 5 hours a week at their office and the rest at home. 2. You decide to accept the offer as you could arrange your hours so that you would be home when the children are home from school since it is only part time. If anything was more impoftant at home, you would just change your hours for that week, 3. You accept only on the condition that you can do it entirely at home. You worked well while you were home and you have your family whom you can not neglect. 4. You say no and continue on your own. RECORD THEIR.ANSWER HERE 107 . 77 Suppose both you and your husband are successful business people. You both work long, hard hours and are often late getting home. Sometimes after 9 o clock. You have two small children (ages 7 and 9) who are well looked after by competent domestic helpers. However your husband has been feeling increasingly that he is not being looked after in the way he has wanted and expected in marriage. He has been putting considerable pressure on you to give up your professional work and be a better homemaker. What would you do? (M' 9 MARK HERE IF PROMPTINGrIS NEEDED RECORD THEIR COPING CATEGORY HERE i 1. He should reconsider his position and change! his expectations at home so you can continue working. 2. You will try to figure out the personal things that are bothering him and improve those aspects. However that will mean something else will not get done. Perhaps you will give a few less parties at home. 3. You will continue your job as is, but will spend moretime on housework. 4. You consider splitting up so you can find a more compatible marriage partner. RECORD THEIR ANSWER HERE .ASK TO.ALL, BUT DO NOT PRESSURE TO ANSWER. Now, I would like to ask some persoal questions. 108. How many children do you have? NoneOOOOOOOOOOI oneOOOOCOOOOCOZ No.00000000003 Three.........u Four or more..S 109. How old are they? (WRITE IN) 110. Where did you spend most of your childhood years? East..........1 weStOOOOOOOOOoz North0000000003 South.........4 Traveled a great deal, never felt one place to be home.......5 111. What is your religious affiliation? Catholic......1 Protestant....2 Jew...........3 Other.........4 112. Have you ever changed your religion? YeSOOOOOOOOOOOI NOOOOOOOCOOOOOZ The next questions are in terms of agreement and disagreement. 113. I would like to have more children. Agree strongly.......l Agree................2 Neutra1000000000000003 Disagree.............4 Disagree strongly....5 114. I would have preferred postponing our children. Agree strongly.......1 Agree.................2 Neutral..............3 Disagree.............4 Disagree strongly....S 115. Children require time I would like to put into other activities. .Agree strongly..........1 AgreeOOOOO....OOOOOOOOOOZ NeUtraIOO0.0.00.000000003 Disagree................u Disagree strongly.......5 116. Children make me nervous. Agree StrongIYoooooooooo AgreeOCOOOOOOIOOCCOCOOOO NeutrEIOOOOOOOOOJOOOOOOC DisagreeOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Disagree strongly.......5 #UNH 117. How frequently do you and your husband have arguments about the children? Frequently.......l Sometimes........2 Rarely...........3 NeverOOOOOOOOOOOOu 118. How frequently do you and your husband have arguments about money Frequently.......l Sometimes........2 Rarely...........3 Never000000000000u 119. How frequently do you and your husband have arguments about your working? Frequently.......1 Sometimes........2 RareIYooooooooooo3 Never............4 120. How frequently do you and your husband have arguments in general? FrequentIYooooooool Sometimes.........2 Rarely............3 NeverOOOOOCOOOOOOOu 121. Have you ever lived apart from your husband after an argument? Frequently........l Sometimes.........2 Rarelyoooooooooooo3 Nover.............4 79 122. Have you every considered divorce? 130, What is your income? (CONTINUE) Yes, seriously........l (HAND CARD WITH OPTIONS AND THEY (CONTINUE) Yea. but not GIVE YOU RESPONSE OPTION NUMBER) aetiOUSIYooooooooooz under 10,000oooooooooo1 (m To MOOOOOOOOCIOOOOOOOOOO3 IO’OOO-IS'OOOOCOOCOOCOZ 124) 15,000-20,000.........3 20,000-S0,000.........4 123. How often have you considered 50,000 and over.......5 divorce? Frequently..,,,,,,..1 131. Indicate your degree of Sometimes...........2 satisfaction or dissatisfaction in Rarely..............3 each of the following areas. Once or twice.......4 Extremely satisfied......1 124. Do you have any trouble getting Satisfied.......,........2 to sleep or Stay asleep? Neutral..................3 Nearly all the time.....1 Dissatisfied.............4 Pretty often............2 Extremely dissatisfied...5 Rarely“................3 mverooooooooooooooooooou 132. Your relationship to your husband 125. Do you feel you are bothered by all sorts of pains and ailments 133. yo“; relationship to your in your body. children Nearly all the time.....1 sometimesoooooooooooooooz 13“. Your community as a Place RareIYoooooooooooooooooo3 to live neverOIOOOOOCCOOOOOCOOOOu 135. Your daily work 126. Do you find it difficult to get uP in the morning? 136. YOur family income Frequently.............1 Sometimes..............2 RaI‘GIYooooooooooooooooo3 Mver..................u 127. For the most part, do you feel healthy enough to carry out the things you would like to do? Yes..............1 NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOZ 128. 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