AN EXPLORATION OF GENDER-ROLE EXPECTATIONS AND CONFLICT AMONG WOMEN RUGBY PLAYERS

Gender-role conflict theory has suggested that women athletes will experience role conflict because they are attempting to enact both feminine and masculine gender roles, yet research findings have shown mixed support for this notion. The purpose of this study was to explore how women rugby players negotiate gender-role expectations and conflict as women participating in a traditionally masculine sport. Eleven Caucasian women, noncollege rugby players between the ages of 25 and 38 were interviewed. The results indicated that women rugby players perceived numerous discrepant gender-role expectations. In addition, three different types of gender-role conflict emerged; however, similar to previous findings, participants perceived conflicting expectations for their gender-role behavior more than they seemed to experience conflict about those expectations. Participants actively employed various strategies to resolve or avoid experiencing gender-role conflict. The resiliency displayed by the women athletes in coping with discrepant gender-role messages provides new considerations for gender-role conflict theory.     

The meaning of treatments for infertility: cognitive determinants and structure

Infertility is a life crisis for which modern technologies suggest solutions that themselves are stressful. The purpose of the present study was to determine how treatments for infertility are perceived, and the cognitive structure underlying their perception. Fifty women undergoing in vitro fertilization and 50 fertile women recorded their perceptions of 10 infertility treatments on 15 dimensions. Intergroup comparisons showed that patients generally perceived the treatments more positively than nonpatients, and differences in perceptions focused on female-centered treatments rather than on male-centered and donor-involved treatments. Fertile women tended to be more concerned with the risks to the fetus, whereas infertile patients tended to be more concerned with the social exposure of the treatments. Cluster analysis revealed that patients' conceptions of infertility treatments were organized according to the most salient features of the procedures being applied, whereas fertile women's were organized according to the cause of infertility. The significance of these findings for providing care for infertile couples is discussed.     

An Investigation of the Effects of Protégé Gender on Responses to Mentoring

Review of the literature on mentoring at work reveals a paucity of studies investigating gender differences in responses to mentoring. Relations of mentoring status and protégé gender to organizational commitment, job satisfaction, career progress expectations, perceived employment alternatives, role conflict, and role ambiguity are reported for a sample of 254 managers. Results indicate that having a mentor may be associated with a more positive job experience and the perception of more employment alternatives elsewhere. Implications for future research are discussed.     

The Influence of Occupational Status on Role Conflict in Women

Questionnaires on eight role-conflict categories (time management, relations with husband, household management, financial, child care, expectations for self, expectations of others, and guilt) were administered to 518 women. A role-conflict hierarchy was established, those areas centering around the woman's view of herself being the most stressful. Level of occupational status was found to be a significant variable in six of the categories. Professional women and housewives tended to give similar responses and to demonstrate the least amount of role conflict. Implications of this study for counselors were discussed.     

Father Identity,Involvement and Work–Family Balance: An In‐depth Interview Study

Work and family roles have changed considerably in the past number of decades. Fathers are now expected to fulfil the role of ‘new father’ that involves actively caring and sharing in child rearing and, at the same time, maintain commitment to their occupational role. As a consequence, men are subject to the same pressure that women were when they initially entered the workplace decades ago and indeed still are today. This study aims to explore the meanings fathers attach to their life roles, how these meanings influence behaviour within these roles and how they negotiate the demands of these roles. In‐depth interviews were carried out with 15 fathers, and the results were analysed adhering to the principles of grounded theory. The findings show the variability among fathers in both their commitment to fathering and the meanings they attach to that role. A significant tension between new fatherhood ideals and actual fathering practices is also apparent. These findings are discussed drawing upon traditional definitions of masculinity and wider occupational and cultural influences. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Utilization of Prayer and Clergy Counseling by Infertile US Women Desiring Pregnancy

Religion can have a significant influence on the experience of infertility. However, it is unclear how many US women turn to religion when facing infertility. Here, we examine the utilization of prayer and clergy counsel among a nationally representative sample of 1062 infertile US women. Prayer was used by 74.8% of the participants, and clergy counsel was the most common formal support system utilized. Both prayer and clergy counsel were significantly more common among black and Hispanic women. Healthcare providers should acknowledge the spiritual needs of their infertile patients and ally with clergy when possible to provide maximally effective care.     

Comparison of women engineers who persist in or depart from engineering

The current research examined differences between women engineers who persisted in an engineering career versus those who left engineering using a combination of two prominent theories of career change: social cognitive career theory (SCCT, Lent, Brown & Hackett, 1994; 2002) and integrated model of career change (Rhodes & Doering, 1983). The two groups of women did not differ in three domains of self-confidence or outcome expectations (engineering tasks, navigating organizational climate, or multiple roles), in vocational interests, or in workplace barriers. Women who continue in engineering do differ from those who leave in their experience of workplace supports and their levels of occupational commitment. Engineering turnover intentions and occupational commitment emerged as the two key variables that explained 33.4% of the variance in persistence in engineering careers. We discuss the implications of the results in terms of theoretical development and practical implications for organizations.     

The impact of role stress on workers' behaviour through job satisfaction and organizational commitment

Dysfunctions in role performance have been associated with a large number of consequences, almost always negative, which affect the well-being of workers and the functioning of organizations. An individual's experience of receiving incompatible or conflicting requests (role conflict) and/or the lack of enough information to carry out his/her job (role ambiguity) are causes of role stress. According to previous theory, role ambiguity and conflict decrease workers' performance and are positively related to the probability of workers leaving the organization. Job satisfaction refers to a positive evaluation of a job, while organizational commitment refers to an employee's attachment to the organization. The affective dimensions of organizational commitment and job satisfaction are considered to be important predictors of turnover intention, absenteeism, and job performance. In the literature, role conflict and ambiguity have been proposed as determining factors of workers' job satisfaction and their commitment towards the organization. The role of job satisfaction and organizational commitment were analysed as variables that should mediate between role ambiguity and conflict and employees' behaviour. The hypotheses were confirmed by means of path analysis carried out with data obtained from a sample of Spanish blue-collar workers employed by a bus company and a water supply company. Role stressors were negatively related to affective commitment mediated through job satisfaction. Affective commitment to the organization exerted a positive influence on performance and reduces the withdrawal behaviour analysed— intention to leave and absenteeism—although the strongest predictor of intention to leave was, in this study, job satisfaction.     

Commitment in romantic relationships as a function of partners’ encoding of important couple-related memories

The purpose of the present study was to investigate how significant couple-related events are encoded in the episodic memory of each partner of a romantic relationship and how they relate to each of these partners’ level of commitment in an independent and additive fashion. Each partner of a couple reported a significant couple-related memory and rated their level of need satisfaction experienced during the event of the memory. In addition, each partner was shown his/her partner’s memory and also rated their own level of need satisfaction for this event. Results showed that partners need satisfaction ratings of their own memory positively predicted their own commitment to the relationship directly (for women) as well as through their need satisfaction generally experienced in the relationship (for men). In addition, men’s need satisfaction ratings of their own memory were associated with women’s commitment while controlling for women’s need satisfaction ratings of men’s memory, but no such cross-partner effects were found for women. Overall, the findings shed light on an initial understanding of how a person’s own memory of an event can impact another person’s attitudes even when taking into account this other person’s memory encoding of that same event.     

Some Effects of Role Conflict Source on the Experience of Role Conflict

A group of 176 undergraduates participated in a role-playing laboratory experiment that explored the effects of intersender and intrasender role conflict on experienced role stress. Each role sender's power (control over valued resources and outcomes) and importance (desire to meet the sender's expectations) were measured. For intrasender conflict only, role sender power was positively associated with upset over the conflict, whereas role sender importance was negatively associated with upset.     

Perceptions of informal sanctioning and the stigma of involuntary childlessness

This study systematically examines the role of informal social response in the emergence of involuntary childlessness or infertility as a stigmatizing attribute. Seventy‐one involuntarily childless women provide detailed instances of perceived informal social sanctions related to their infertility. Subjects perceive that normals consider infertility to be caused by psychological or sexual malfunctioning, or by the woman in the dyad. Infertility is also seen by some to act as a master status. Subjects categorize other infertile individuals in terms of stigma and consider male infertility to be more stigmatizing than female infertility. Social sanctions and social control are shown to be relevant to an understanding of the experience of involuntary childlessness.     

The psychological reactions to infertility: Sex roles and coping styles

The purpose of this study was to determine if sex roles would predict the extent to which people experience problems in coping with infertility. Based on questionnaire responses of 164 medical patients, it was found that patients scoring higher in masculinity or androgyny reported fewer problems in coping with infertility, as measured by self-esteem and body image. It was also found that groups of infertile, formerly infertile, and fertile patients were no different in levels of coping. It was suggested that physicians might be able to identify patients at risk for poorer coping with infertility by screening new referrals for self-esteem and historical-background variables.     

Effects of the Interaction Between Reaction Component of Personal Need for Structure and Role Perceptions on Employee Attitudes in Long‐Term Care for Elderly People1

This study examined the interaction of reaction component of personal need for structure (reaction to lack of structure, RLS) and role perceptions in predicting job satisfaction, job involvement, affective commitment, and occupational identity among employees working in long‐term care for elderly people. High‐RLS employees experienced more role conflict, had less job satisfaction, and experienced lower levels of occupational identity than did low‐RLS employees. We found individual differences in how problems in roles affected employees' job attitudes. High‐RLS employees experienced lower levels of job satisfaction, job involvement, and affective commitment, irrespective of role‐conflict levels. Low‐RLS employees experienced detrimental job attitudes only if role‐conflict levels were high. Our results suggest that high‐RLS people benefit less from low levels of experienced role conflicts.     

The effects of anxiety and depression on in vitro fertilisation outcomes of infertile Chinese women

The object was to assess anxiety and depression during in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment and determine IVF-related psychological factors in infertile Chinese women. The self-rating anxiety scale (SAS) and self-rating depression scale (SDS) were used to evaluate anxiety and depression among 842 patients, respectively. A univariate analysis was used to compare variables among three SAS groups and three SDS groups. Anxiety and depression were both represented in 21.3% of the cases. Patients <35 years tended to be more anxious. In women <35 years, the SDS scores were higher with lower educational backgrounds and female or couple’s infertility, while the SAS scores were higher in female or couple’s infertility. In older ones, the SDS scores were higher in those with lower educational backgrounds and longer time for infertility, while the SAS scores were higher in those with lower educational backgrounds. In SAS groups 1–3, the embryo availability was 5.0 (3.0–8.0), 5.0 (3.0–8.0), and 3.0 (2.0–4.5) (p = .013); and the fertilisation rate was 91.9, 90.4, and 81.8% (p < .001), respectively. We concluded that infertile women experience anxiety and depression during IVF treatment, especially in women <35 years. Younger women with female infertility would be more anxious and depressive while higher education can protect them from depression. In older ones, they would experience more depressive with longer time for infertility and be less anxious and depressive with higher education. Anxiety affects the fertilisation rate and embryo availability.     

Examining congruence between partners' perceived infertility-related stress and its relationship to marital adjustment and depression in infertile couples

Because studies examining the emotional impact of infertility-related stress generally focus on individuals, there has been little research examining how relationship and individual variables are linked. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of congruence (e.g., agreement) between partner's perceived infertility-related stress and its effects on depression and marital adjustment in infertile men and women. Couples referred for infertility treatments at a University-affiliated teaching hospital completed the Fertility Problem Inventory (FPI), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) 3 months prior to their first treatment cycle. Study findings show that men and women in couples who perceived equal levels of social infertility stress reported higher levels of marital adjustment when compared to men and women in couples who perceived the stress differently. In addition, women in couples who felt a similar need for parenthood reported significantly higher levels of marital satisfaction when compared to women in couples where the males reported a greater need for parenthood. While couple incongruence was unrelated to depression in males, incongruence over relationship concerns and the need for parenthood was related to female depression. These findings provide initial support for the theory that high levels of agreement between partners related to the stresses they experience help them successfully manage the impact of these stressful life events. Possibilities for future research examining the construct of couple congruence are discussed.     

Women’s Sexual Compliance with Male Dating Partners: Associations with Investment in Ideal Womanhood and Romantic Well-Being

Sexual compliance involves willing acquiescence to unwanted sex for the good of the relationship. Northeastern U.S. undergraduate women in exclusive relationships (N?=?193) anonymously reported on their sexual behaviors and motives, investment in ideal womanhood, and romantic well-being. About 37% (n?=?72) reported sexual compliance. As expected, sexually compliant women reported greater investment in ideal womanhood than non-compliant women, although unexpectedly, they reported less overall satisfaction and similar commitment. Women’s compliance was motivated more by pursuing relationship enhancement than by avoiding conflict. Regardless, only avoidance motives were associated (negatively) with relationship satisfaction. Compliant women who reported more frequent compliance motivated by conflict avoidance reported particularly low satisfaction. These findings challenge conceptualizations of women’s sexual compliance as beneficial.     

The relationship between employee attitudes and conflicting expectations for lying behavior

In this study, the author explores the relationship between conflicting ethical expectations for lying behavior and employee attitudes. In a sample of 140 full-time employees, the findings indicated that as the difference between formal codes of ethics and supervisor expectations for lying behavior increases, intentions to turnover and expressed feelings of intrapersonal role conflict increase, and job and organizational satisfaction and affective commitment decrease. However, conflicting ethical expectations were not significantly associated with a commitment to continue in the job.     

Committing to your work, spouse, and children: Implications for work-family conflict

When trying to balance work and family responsibilities, many workers experience conflict between these two roles. Although role commitment has been viewed both as contributing to and alleviating conflict, this relationship has not been fully tested. Using a sample of female nurses and police officers, we examined the direct and indirect relationship of role commitment with work-spouse and work-parent conflict. Increased work-spouse conflict was associated with decreased spouse commitment. Increased work-parent conflict was associated with increased parent commitment but with decreased spouse and job commitment. Job commitment moderated the relationships between irregular work schedules and work-spouse conflict and between job control and work-spouse conflict. Parent commitment moderated the relationship between irregular work schedules and work-parent conflict. These results suggest that, depending on the role, commitment may either alleviate or exacerbate conflict.     

Psychological and relationship changes of couples undergoing an infertility investigation: Some implications for counsellors

The emotional and psychological aspects of the experience of infertility have been largely ignored by researchers. A study was accordingly undertaken of 43 infertile couples who were undergoing medical investigation of their fertility problems. Preliminary analysis of the data suggests that the infertility investigation was most stressful for the participants at the time of the initial medical interview, and that distress was greater for those who were themselves identified as having an organic fertility problem. A substantial number of the men and women involved indicated a need for the provision of psychological counselling services. The nature of the most appropriate forms of such help is explored.     

Why Expecting Conflict Is Good

To understand whether young women's expectations of marriage-career role conflict may lead to strategic plans for combining roles and more successful role combination, data were analyzed from 117 women, primarily Caucasian, completing surveys in the Women's Life Paths Study in 1967 as college seniors and again in 1981. Seniors who wanted careers but anticipated conflict more often combined marriage and full-time career in 1981 than did those who wanted careers but expected no conflict. The latter combined marriage and career even less often than did those not initially wanting careers. Those who expected conflict asserted their career intentions with spouses, postponed childbearing, and had fewer children by 1981. Women not combining roles in 1981 most often reported conflict. Women with supportive partners less often reported conflict.