Centrality of women's multiple roles: beneficial and detrimental consequences for psychological well-being

Theorists have proposed that greater centrality (personal importance) of a social role is associated with better psychological well-being but that role centrality exacerbates the negative effects of stress in that same social role on well-being. The present study found evidence to support both hypotheses in a sample of 296 women who simultaneously occupied the roles of parent care provider, mother, wife, and employee. Greater centrality of all four roles was related to better psychological well-being. As predicted, wife centrality exacerbated the effects of wife stress on life satisfaction, and employee centrality exacerbated the effects of employee stress on depressive symptoms. Contrary to prediction, centrality of the mother role buffered women from the negative effects of mother stress on depressive symptoms. These findings point to an aspect of role identity that can benefit well-being but that has complex effects in the context of role stress.     

Beliefs about rape and women's social roles: A Turkish replication

Various researchers on feminist issues have argued that rape against women is supported by beliefs encouraging socioeconomic domination of women and that acceptance of ‘rape myths’ foster those beliefs. If this is true, acceptance of such myths should be correlated with restrictive beliefs about women's social roles. Two previous studies, carried out in England, Israel, United States, and West Germany, confirmed that hypothesis (Costin, 1985; Costin and Schwarz, 1987). The replication of those investigations in Turkey adds further support for the hypothesis.     

Work-family conflict, work- and family-role salience, and women's well-being

The author considered both the direct effect and the moderator effect of role salience in the stress-strain relationship. In contrast to previous studies that have examined the effects of salience on well-being within specific social roles, the present study focused on the work-family interface. From a sample of 147 employed English women with children, the present results of the regression analyses showed that both effects are possible, depending on the outcome measures used. The author observed a direct effect of role salience in the prediction of job satisfaction; work salience was positively related to job satisfaction, over and above the main-effect terms of work-interfering-with-family (WIF) conflict and family-interfering-with-work (FIW) conflict. In contrast, the author found a moderator effect of role salience and conflict for symptoms of psychological distress. However, contrary to predictions, the author found that work salience exacerbated the negative impact of WIF conflict, rather than FIW conflict, on well-being. The author discussed these results in relation to the literature on work-family conflict, role salience, and the issue of stress-strain specificity.     

Job-role quality and women's psychological well-being: Locus of control and social support as moderators

Despite the recognition that the stress-buffering effect of social support may in part be due to its relation to locus of control, no study on women's roles to date has considered both locus of control and social support in the prediction of psychological functioning. The present study was intended to test the three-way interaction between job-role quality, locus of control and support in relation to two measures of women's psychological well-being (happiness and symptoms of distress). This study was based on cross-sectional data. In the English sample of 109 employed women, the results provided evidence of the threee-way interaction between job challenge, locus of control and work support in predicting happiness. Neither locus of control nor work support independently moderated the effects of job challenge. However, locus of control and work support combined interactively to moderate the impact of job challenge on happiness. As predicted, support interacted with job challenge only for internals; no such interaction effect was observed for externals. For distress, no significant interaction was found.     

Acculturation, social connectedness, and subjective well-being

This study examined social connectedness in mainstream society as a mediator between acculturation and subjective well-being (SWB), and social connectedness in the ethnic community as a mediator between enculturation and SWB. Survey data from 188 Korean immigrants in the Midwest were subject to path analyses. Results partially supported the study hypotheses. Social connectedness in mainstream society tended to partially mediate the relationship between acculturation and SWB although the standardized mediating effect did not reach statistical significance. Social connectedness in the ethnic community fully mediated the relationship between enculturation and SWB. About 49% of the variance in SWB was explained by acculturation, social connectedness in the ethnic community, and social connectedness in mainstream society, in a descending order of their unique contribution. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.     

Self,social identity and psychological well-being

Self and social identity are key elements in the understanding of a person’s strivings for health and well-being. This review (i) examines the concepts of self, social identity, and psychological well-being; (ii) integrates empirical evidence that relates various self-aspects or social identities to psychological well-being; (iii) analyzes within a stress and coping framework the well-being consequences of socially devalued self or threatened identities, perceived discriminations, challenges of acculturation and identity management; and (iv) delineates the role of self, social identity and related psycho-social variables as moderators and mediators in pathways leading to psychological well-being. Besides listing some methodological issues and empirical deficits, major concerns for future research are also identified. An explicit self and social identity perspective of this research synthesis brings personal and social aspects together, and this interface offers exciting opportunities for research advancement.     

Self-objectification and well-being in women's daily lives

Laboratory experiments and surveys show that self-objectification increases body shame, disrupts attention, and negatively predicts well-being. Using experience sampling methodology, the authors investigated self-objectification in the daily lives of 49 female college students. Building on the predictions of objectification theory, they examined associations between internalizing an observer's perspective on the self and psychological well-being, and examined the moderating roles of trait self-esteem and appearance-contingent self-worth. Within-person increases in self-objectification predicted decreased well-being, but this association was moderated by trait self-esteem and trait appearance-contingent self-worth; high self-esteem, highly appearance-contingent participants reported increased well-being when they self-objectified. Furthermore, perceived unattractiveness partially mediated the main effect and the three-way interaction: high self-esteem, highly contingent participants experienced smaller drops in well-being when they self-objectified, in part because they felt less unattractive. These results suggest that in daily life, some women receive a boost from self-objectification, although most women experience decreases in well-being when self-objectifying.     

Subjective well-being,social interpretation,and relationship thriving

Social interactions are open to a range of interpretations. We examine the associations among subjective well-being, social interpretations, and social thriving. In Study 1 (N = 276) positive affect (PA) was associated with positive interpretations of neutral faces. In Studies 2 and 3 (Ns = 295, 298) PA and life satisfaction were associated with positive interpretations of ambiguous and positive, but not negative, social interaction vignettes. In Study 4 (N = 501) there were indirect relationships of PA and life satisfaction on social thriving through interpretations. Subjective well-being’s association with social interpretations provides a critical base of support for conclusions from previous methodologically limited mood and social interpretation studies. This work also provides initial evidence for a role of social interpretation tendencies in social thriving.     

Some demographic,personality, and role variables as correlates of women's well-being

This study examined the contributions of some demographic (age and education), personality (extraversion and neuroticism), and role variables (role occupancy and role quality) as predictors of happiness and symptoms of psychological distress in a sample of employed and non-employed English women (N= 145). Using multiple regression analysis, the results showed that personality variables accounted for the largest proportion of explained variance in the well-being measures. The results, however, did not support the predictions made by the transactional model of stress and that the three sets of predictor variables (demographic, personality and roles) combined additively in their effects on women's psychological well-being. Finally, the results showed that happiness and distress, though related, had different correlates. These findings are discussed in relation to current issues within the literature on women's work and family roles in relation to their well-being.     

Sex roles,social roles,and clinical judgments of mental health

This study examined whether clinical psychologists expect similar behavior from males and females in contexts that are traditionally male vs. female. In a modification of the task by Broverman et al. (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1970, 34, 1–7), practicing psychologists (N=104) rated the appropriate behavior of a mature, healthy, socially competent man in the home environment, man in the work environment, woman in the home environment, or woman in the work environment. There was a significant effect of environment, with ratings closer to the pole traditionally labeled masculine in the work environment (p<.001). However, clinicians did not assign significantly different ratings to men vs. women. These data call into question the continued use of feminine and masculine to describe behavior, and emphasize the need to specify the environmental context in research on sex role stereotypes.This report is based on an undergraduate honors thesis conducted by the second author under the sponsorship of the first. Order of authorship is alphabetical.     

Loneliness, social interaction, and sex roles

Forty-three male and 53 female college seniors maintained the Rochester Interaction Record for 2 weeks, providing information about every social interaction of 10 minutes or more. Subjects then completed the revised UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Loneliness Scale and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire, measuring sex-role orientation. For both sexes, loneliness was negatively related to the amount of time spent with females and to the meaningfulness of interaction with males and females. However, meaningfulness with males was more important than meaningfulness with females. Femininity was negatively related to loneliness for both sexes and partially mediated the above relationships. There were sex differences, however, in the extent to which variables overlapped in predicting loneliness. For example, a large group of nonlonely males was characterized both by having meaningful relationships with males and by spending time with females, whereas a second group of nonlonely males was characterized simply by having meaningful relationships with males. The largest group of nonlonely females was characterized simply by having meaningful relationships with males, but another sizable group was characterized simply by spending time with females. Females doing both accounted for very little of the variance.     

Culture, trust, and social networks

Although the role of trust in group processes has been well established, less is known about the role of trust in social network processes. Trust, conceptualized to have generalized and particularistic aspects, was measured by generalized trust (people can be trusted in general) and relationism (people can be trusted if one has relationships), and their relations with social network characteristics of network homogeneity (extent to which one has a number of friends with similar attitudes) and network closure (extent to which one's social network is closed) were examined in three Western (Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom) and two East Asian countries (Japan and Korea). Although generalized trust was shown to be positively related to network closure across the five countries, generalized trust and relationism had different relations with network homogeneity in different cultures. The results were interpreted in terms of social institutional and cultural differences.     

Work-family conflict,locus of control,and women's well-being: tests of alternative pathways

The author tested for the 3 possible pathways (i.e., direct, moderator, and mediator effects) in which locus of control can influence the relationship between work-family conflict and well-being. The author predicted that work-family conflict would be negatively correlated with well-being. In a sample of 310 Malaysian employed women with families, work-family conflict was a significant predictor of both job satisfaction and distress--negatively related to job satisfaction and positively related to symptoms of distress. More important, the results provided support for the effects of all 3 pathways of control on the relationship between work-family conflict and well-being, depending on the outcome measure: For job satisfaction, locus of control had direct effects, acted as a partial mediator, and played a significant moderating role. In contrast, only the direct effect of locus of control predicted distress. The author discusses those findings with reference to the literature on work-family conflict, locus of control, and the issue of stress-distress specificity.     

Health,social comparisons,and psychological well-being: Their cross-time relationships

The purposes of this short-term longitudinal study were to investigate (a) stability and change in social comparisons across time; (b) the relationship between physical health and the use of social comparisons across time; (c) whether psychological well-being is best predicted by prior or concurrent social comparisons; and (d) the moderating effects of social comparisons. Community-dwelling elderly women (N=149) completed self-report instruments designed to measure social comparisons, psychological well-being, and physical health at two times, 2 years apart. Worse health at Time 1 predicted more frequent and less positive social comparisons at Time 2. Concurrent, but not prior, social comparisons contributed to a number of domains of psychological well-being. Further, the effects of prior health status on subsequent psychological functioning (Time 2) were moderated by social comparison processes. Women in poorest health who engaged in positive social comparisons showed less depression and anxiety and more positive relations with others at Time 2. Little support was found for the influence of prior psychological functioning on subsequent physical health.     

Subjective well-being,social buffering and hedonic editing in the quotidian

A previous study on the relationship between subjective well-being (SWB) and hedonic editing—the process of mentally integrating or segregating different events during decision-making—showed that happy individuals preferred the social-buffering strategy more than less happy individuals. The present study examined the relationship between SWB, social-buffering and hedonic outcomes in daily life. In Study 1, we used web-based diaries to measure the frequency with which individuals utilised social and non-social buffers as well as daily levels of happiness. Consistent with the previous finding, happy individuals utilised social buffers more frequently than less happy individuals. Interestingly, the utilisation of social buffers had a positive effect on daily happiness among all participants, regardless of individuals’ levels of SWB. In Study 2, we found that although the use of social buffers yielded similar effects across groups on online evaluations of events, happy individuals showed a positive bias in global evaluations of past events. This finding suggests that how one construes and remembers the outcomes of social buffering may shape the different hedonic editing preferences among happy and less happy individuals.     

Physical exercise, social background, and the well-being of older adult women

28 older women participating in an exercise program were compared to 30 older women not participating in an exercise program on two behavioral measures. There were no significant main effects for participation-nonparticipation in an exercise program. Significant main effects were found, however, for each of three social variables.     

Increasing emotional competence improves psychological and physical well-being, social relationships, and employability

This study builds on earlier work showing that adult emotional competencies (EC) could be improved through a relatively brief training. In a set of 2 controlled experimental studies, the authors investigated whether developing EC could lead to improved emotional functioning; long-term personality changes; and important positive implications for physical, psychological, social, and work adjustment. Results of Study 1 showed that 18 hr of training with e-mail follow-up was sufficient to significantly improve emotion regulation, emotion understanding, and overall EC. These changes led in turn to long-term significant increases in extraversion and agreeableness as well as a decrease in neuroticism. Results of Study 2 showed that the development of EC brought about positive changes in psychological well-being, subjective health, quality of social relationships, and employability. The effect sizes were sufficiently large for the changes to be considered as meaningful in people's lives.     

Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being

Human beings can be proactive and engaged or, alternatively, passive and alienated, largely as a function of the social conditions in which they develop and function. Accordingly, research guided by self-determination theory has focused on the social-contextual conditions that facilitate versus forestall the natural processes of self-motivation and healthy psychological development. Specifically, factors have been examined that enhance versus undermine intrinsic motivation, self-regulation, and well-being. The findings have led to the postulate of three innate psychological needs--competence, autonomy, and relatedness--which when satisfied yield enhanced self-motivation and mental health and when thwarted lead to diminished motivation and well-being. Also considered is the significance of these psychological needs and processes within domains such as health care, education, work, sport, religion, and psychotherapy.     

Multiple sclerosis,emotion perception and social functioning

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) can experience problems in interpreting others’ emotions from faces or voices. However, to date little is known about whether difficulties in emotion perception in MS are related to broader aspects of social functioning. Also, there are few studies reporting the effect of MS on more ecologically valid assessments of emotion perception using multimodal videos. The current study looks at (1) the effect of MS on perceiving emotions from faces, voices and multimodal videos; (2) the possible role of slowed processing and executive dysfunction in emotion perception problems in MS and (3) the relationship between emotion perception and broader social functioning in MS. 53 people with MS and 31 healthy controls completed tasks of emotion perception and cognition, and assessed their levels of social support and social participation. Participants with MS performed worse than demographically matched controls on all measures of emotion perception. Emotion perception performance was related to cognitive measures in those with MS. Also, significant associations were found between emotion perception difficulties in MS and poorer social function. In particular, people with MS who had poorer emotion perception also reported lower levels of social support from their friends, and regression analysis showed that this prediction was maintained even when disease severity and cognitive function were taken into account. These results show that problems with emotion perception in MS extend to more realistic tasks and may predict key aspects of social functioning.