The proposed short-term longitudinal interview study of women who are licensed practical nurses (n = 250) and licensed social workers (n = 250) focuses on the relationship between occupational stress and health-related outcomes in women. Building on the investigators' prior research, the study extends our understanding of occupational-based psychosocial stress to include not only job conditions and personality traits but also: (a) occupancy of non-workplace roles; (b) the quality of experience in occupational and in non-workplace roles. Quality of experience refers to the balance between rewarding and distressing attributes of a role and is measured by scales developed previously by the investigators. Two categories of outcomes are examined: (a) physical health indices, including both self-reports and actual health records; and (b) psychological distress, including role strain, anger and anxiety. During the four years of the project, data will be gathered at three points in time, one year apart. Subjects will be randomly selected from rosters of practicing LPN's and LSW's residing within a 50 mile radius of Boston. Causal analytic techniques, including LISREL, will be used to evaluate specific hypotheses concerning the effects on health and psychological distress of job conditions, occupancy of non-workplace roles, and quality of experience in roles. In addition we will examine the interactions of occupational and family role variables as these may moderate the relationship between occupational stress and health outcomes.
| Barnett, R C; Marshall, N L (1992) Worker and mother roles, spillover effects, and psychological distress. Women Health 18:9-40 |
| Marshall, N L; Barnett, R C (1991) Race, class and multiple role strains and gains among women employed in the service sector. Women Health 17:1-19 |
