A person's sense of control over his or her life is central to psychological well-being. What shapes a person's sense of control? This research examines the ways in which employment status and job characteristics; marital status, family, and characteristics of the home, and the intersection of work and family shape the sense of control among men and women. More and more women are entering the work force. Many are both full-time employees and homemakers and mothers. This may cause role overload and conflict. Compared to men, many women work in jobs in which earnings are low relative to their level of education, and in which they have little autonomy or ability to make decisions. With the employment of wives, some husbands are taking on more responsibilities at home, especially child care responsibilities. These changing conditions at work and at home may shape people's sense of control. The sense of control over one's life, as opposed to helplessness and powerlessness, may decrease depression, anxiety, and distress, because it increases the will and ability to cope with life's problems. It is a crucial link between social conditions and psychological well-being. This study will survey a representative sample of 2,000 American adults throughout the U.S., measuring conditions of work and home, sociodemographic characteristics such as employment and marital status, socioeconomic status and age; the sense of control; and depression, anxiety, anger, and other psychological outcomes. It will assess how job conditions as well as conditions at home, affect a person's sense of control. The investigator will also examine ways in which work and family interact to shape the sense of control, and develop models of the ways in which the sense of control affects levels of depression, anxiety, malaise anger, and self esteem of women and men.
