The proposed short-term longitudinal interview study of 300 employed men ages 25 to 40 and their employed wives/live-in partners, focuses on the relationship between work-related and family role stress and mental-health outcomes. Building on the investigators' prior research on stress and well-being in women and men, the study extends our understanding of stressors in men's lives to include occupancy of family roles and quality of experience in occupational and family roles--spouse/partner and father. Quality of experience in a role refers to the balance between its rewarding and distressing attribute, and is measured by scales developed previously by the investigators. Family roles, especially their stressful aspects, have been neglected in the study of men; social changes with respect to men's and women's roles make this area of men's lives particularly deserving of attention. Outcome measures focus on psychological distress (e.g., anxiety, role strain, depression); psychological well-being (self- esteem, positive affect) and self-reports of health behaviors (e.g., substance abuse.) Data from the women will be analyzed so as to illuminate: (a) reciprocal effects of partner variables; (b) gender differences; and (c) couples' issues. 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 two communities in the Boston SMSA, selected on the basis of broad SES distribution and presence of minorities. All subjects will be married or living with a partner; 60% of subjects will be parents at the time of the first wave. Blacks will be included in the sample in proportion to their numbers in the population. Causal analytic techniques, including LISREL, will be used to evaluate specific hypotheses concerning the effects on levels of psychological stress and well-being of job conditions, occupancy of the parent role, and quality of experience in roles. In addition, we will examine the interaction of occupational and family role variables and the moderator effects of such variables as anger and social support. A major focus of the analyses will be to assess gender differences in the models of well-being and distress.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01MH043222-01A1
Application #
3382578
Study Section
Life Course and Prevention Research Review Committee (LCR)
Project Start
1988-09-01
Project End
1992-12-31
Budget Start
1988-09-01
Budget End
1989-12-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1988
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Wellesley College
Department
Type
Organized Research Units
DUNS #
City
Wellesley
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02481
Barnett, R C; Brennan, R T (1998) Change in job conditions and change in psychological distress within couples: a study of crossover effects. Womens Health 4:313-39
Brennan, R T; Barnett, R C (1998) Negative affectivity: how serious a threat to self-report studies of psychological distress? Womens Health 4:369-83
Ozer, E M; Barnett, R C; Brennan, R T et al. (1998) Does child care involvement increase or decrease distress among dual-earner couples? Womens Health 4:285-311
James, J B; Barnett, R C; Brennan, R T (1998) The psychological effects of work experiences and disagreements about gender role beliefs in dual-earner couples: a longitudinal study. Womens Health 4:341-68
Marshall, N L; Barnett, R C; Sayer, A (1997) The changing workforce, job stress, and psychological distress. J Occup Health Psychol 2:99-107
Barnett, R C; Raudenbush, S W; Brennan, R T et al. (1995) Change in job and marital experiences and change in psychological distress: a longitudinal study of dual-earner couples. J Pers Soc Psychol 69:839-50
Barnett, R C; Marshall, N L (1993) Men, family-role quality, job-role quality, and physical health. Health Psychol 12:48-55
Barnett, R C; Marshall, N L; Raudenbush, S W et al. (1993) Gender and the relationship between job experiences and psychological distress: a study of dual-earner couples. J Pers Soc Psychol 64:794-806
Barnett, R C; Marshall, N L; Sayer, A (1992) Positive-spillover effects from job to home: a closer look. Women Health 19:13-41