SILENCING THE SELF

Silencing the self theory (Jack, 1991) holds that women's depression is closely related to experiences in close relationships, especially if women conform with societal norms for feminine relationship roles. In conforming, Jack believes that women develop relationship schema that heighten vulnerability to loss of self-esteem and depressive symptomatology. An exploratory study addressed relationships among self-report measures of silencing the self, dyadic adjustment, demographic variables, and depressive symptomatology in a community sample of 155 cohabiting women and men, including 37 heterosexual couples from which both partners provided data. Although relationship adjustment was no more closely associated with depressive symptomatology for women than for men, silencing the self was. Demographic variables (number of children, employment status, and income) accounted for a significant proportion of variance in depressive symptomatology for men but not for women. Women's self-reported silencing was related to both their own and their partner's relationship adjustment.     

PARTNER LOSS IN LATER LIFE: GENDER DIFFERENCES IN COPING SHORTLY AFTER BEREAVEMENT

This longitudinal study aimed to explain coping responses of older women (n = 60)and men (n = 43) at about 1 year following partner loss using a general theory of coping. The theory of mental incongruity predicts that behavioral and mental coping are responses to experienced loneliness and that they are facilitated by actual and perceived opportunities or resources. Results show that the availability of social relationships and better general health encourage coping responses among the bereaved, as well as, unexpectedly, higher social anxiety and financial stress. Results reveal opposite effects for women and men. As time elapses since the death of the partner, men more often share their emotions with others than women. Also, the results suggest that resources play different roles in coping responses of recently bereaved women and men. Among widowers financial stress may impede emotional coping responses, while among widows higher education and having a best female friend seem to function as riskfactors in coping with loss. Relative health, or the feeling one is better off than comparable others, may protect against the negative effects of partner death, particularly among recently bereaved women. It is concluded that the proposed theory offers useful concepts in understanding how recently bereaved individuals cope with partner death; however,it is not helpful in explaining the gender differences found in the present study. Further, the findings question the supposed less favorable health position of older widows and the more favorable social position of older widows and socioeconomic position of older widowers.     

Empty nest,cohort, and employment in the well-being of midlife women

Whether the empty-nest experience has positive or negative consequences for women's well-being at midlife may depend on their historical cohort membership and employment status. In this study, it was posited that the empty nest was likely to be a negative experience among the particular cohort of women (Cohort II) who reached adulthood during the period of strong societal emphasis on women's maternal role known as the feminine mystique, would be experienced positively among the earlier cohort (Cohort I) who as young adults were encouraged to enter the labor force during World War II. Analyses of covariance tested the relationships among empty-nest status, cohort membership, and employment status, and three measures of psychological well-being, adjusted for age, education, and marital status. The results of this study show that cohort and employment each have important independent associations with women's well-being at midlife, but that the experience of the empty nest depends on these two factors, especially cohort experiences.The authors wish to thank Joseph Veroff, Elizabeth Douvan, and Richard Kulka for the use of the data from The Study of Modern Living, and Joseph Veroff for comments on an earlier version of this paper.     

Coping and anxiety in women recalled for additional diagnostic procedures following an abnormal screening mammogram.

This study characterized women's concurrent and subsequent levels of emotional distress associated with a questionable mammogram screening and relationships between women's coping and psychosocial adjustment. State anxiety was assessed in 98 women 1 day after receiving a mammogram screening (Time 1), after notification of a questionable screening result that necessitated additional testing (Time 2), and after being informed of their breast-cancer-free status (Time 3). Key findings include (a) women reported a significant increase in anxiety following notification of the need to return for follow-up testing; (b) significant and positive associations were found between anxiety and behavioral approach, behavioral avoidance, cognitive approach, and cognitive avoidance coping in cross-sectional analyses; and (c) cognitive avoidance coping was a strong predictor of final levels of state anxiety in women. Findings suggest that cognitive avoidance coping plays an important role in reducing anxiety in women recalled to clarify an initially ambiguous screening procedure.     

Sex roles and fertility in college women

A study was conducted to examine the relationship of sex-role acceptance to actual and desired fertility. Two samples of women (105 undergraduates and 40 members of a women's organization) were administered the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and a questionnaire which assessed the women's behavioral acceptance of traditional female sex roles. The behavioral measures were sex-typed college major for the undergraduates and employment status for the women's organization sample. In addition, vocational interests were measured and related to fertility for the women's organization sample. Multiple regression analyses indicated that behavioral measures of sex-role acceptance accounted for more variance in predicting desired and actual fertility than did the Bem Sex-Role Inventory.     

FAMILY AND WORK PREDICTORS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AMONG HISPANIC WOMEN PROFESSIONALS

This study examines the relative contributions of job- and gender-related variables to the mental health of Hispanic women professionals. Hispanic women professionals, managers and business owners ( n = 303) were surveyed using the mailing list of a Hispanic professional women's organization. Results of multiple regression analyses indicate that income and Hispanic group were consistently related to mental health measures. Spouse support and ethnicity of spouse were associated with measures of stress in balancing roles and psychological distress symptoms. Marital status was related to personal life satisfaction (married women reported more satisfaction), and having young children was negatively associated with personal and professional satisfaction. Experience of discrimination, job stress and peer support were also significantly related to mental health measures. Although preliminary, this study underscores the importance of both job- and gender-related factors in research on the effects of employment on Hispanic women's mental health.     

Unemployment among women with multiple sclerosis: the role of coping and perceived stress and support in the workplace

Unemployment is high among individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS). Certain disease variables and demographics have been found to distinguish employed and unemployed individuals. However, these variables only account for 14–20% of the variance. Other factors, such as coping, perceived stress and social support, in the workforce have been proposed, but not yet fully examined. The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the role of known factors associated with unemployment in MS, as well as coping and perceived work stress and social support. Sixty-eight women with MS were asked about their employment status and reasons for leaving. They completed a comprehensive assessment including measures of cognition, disease symptoms, psychological functioning, coping and stress. Consistent with previous findings, certain disease and demographic variables were associated with being unemployed. In particular, women who left work due to their MS were found to be older, had a longer disease duration and progressive course, reported greater disability and fatigue, and performed worse on a cognitive measure. However, we also found that coping style distinguished those who were employed from those who left work due to their MS. In particular, those who left work reported utilizing maladaptive coping mechanisms such as behavioral disengagement and substance use. With regard to perceived work stress and support, individuals who were employed reported that job security and fellow co-workers were more of an uplift than a hassle in their lives, suggesting some benefit in employment. These findings suggest that further consideration be given to role of coping and perception of the benefit of employment among individuals with MS when making recommendations regarding work decisions.     

A longitudinal examination of couples' coping strategies as predictors of adjustment to breast cancer

This study's goals were to examine coping strategies of women and their male partners as predictors of change in women's adjustment over the year following breast cancer treatment and to test whether partners' coping processes interact to predict adjustment. In a sample of women who had recently completed breast cancer treatment and were taking part in a psychoeducational intervention trial, the patients' and partners' cancer-specific coping strategies were assessed at study entry (average of 10 months after diagnosis). Assessed at study entry and 20 months after diagnosis (n = 139 couples), dependent variables were women's general (i.e., vitality, depressive symptoms, relationship satisfaction) and cancer-specific adjustment (i.e., cancer-specific distress, perceived benefits). Both patients' and partners' coping strategies at study entry predicted change in women's adjustment at 20 months. Women's use of approach-oriented coping strategies predicted improvement in their vitality and depressive symptoms, men's use of avoidant coping predicted declining marital satisfaction for wives, and men's approach-oriented strategies predicted an increase in women's perception of cancer-related benefits. Patients' and partners' coping strategies also interacted to predict adjustment, such that congruent coping strategy use generally predicted better adaptation than did dissimilar coping. Findings highlight the utility of examining patients' and partners' coping strategies simultaneously.     

Socioeconomic differences in coping with childbearing

The socioeconomic status of 200 women, who were completing a childbearing year, was found to be significantly associated with their attitudes, affective arousal and coping strategies. Differences in attitude existed toward 11 of 18 aspects of childbearing, working-class women holding more positive attitudes with the exception of their negative attitudes concerning physical problems and labor. Affective arousal, as measured by the application of 12 content analysis scales to the women's recollections, was greatest among working-class women who experienced more mutation, guilt, and total anxiety. This was associated with their tendency to avoid confrontation and be fatalistic in dealing with problems. They were less likely to exhibit instrumental coping by attending prenatal classes, seeking information, or planning. Interactions of socioeconomic status, type of problem, and coping strategy chosen occurred, as did some variations in the reactions of middle- and upper middle-class women.     

Sociodemographic characteristics and drinking status as predictors of older women's health.

As part of a U.S. national survey of women's drinking and life experiences, the authors used responses from a subsample (n = 245) of women aged 55-90 years (M = 65.8 years) to examine the relationship of sociodemographic characteristics (income, marital status, and occupational status) and drinking status to several health outcomes (self-perceived general health, depression, sexual satisfaction, and sexual dysfunction). In all analyses, the authors controlled for respondent age. Results indicated that higher household income predicted greater lifetime and current sexual satisfaction with a partner as well as higher general health ratings. Women drinkers also reported better general health than did abstainers. An interaction between marital status (married or cohabitating vs. nonmarried) and employment status (employed vs. nonemployed) was a predictor of general health ratings. The authors found significant contrasts among the 4 groups when they controlled for age, income, and drinking status: (a) Among the employed respondents, the nonmarried women reported better general health than did the married women; and (b) among nonmarried respondents, the employed women reported better general health than did the nonemployed women.     

Women of the “Sandwich” Generation and Multiple Roles: The Case of Russian Immigrants of the 1990s in Israel

It has been suggested that adding elder care tothe list of women's multiple roles may significantlyjeopardize their well-being and mental health. Thisstudy explored the experiences with multiple roles among Jewish women who immigrated to Israelfrom the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s withtheir extended families. The thirty informants for thestudy (aged between 35 and 55) represented a variety of pre-emigration backgrounds. Their commondenominator was in multiple roles (employment andcaregiving to both children and ageing parents) coupledwith the challenges of resettlement in a country swept by the mass influx of immigrants. Facingdownward social mobility, marital distress, and problemswith adolescent children, the women of thissandwich generation also had to supporttheir uprooted parents. The growing dependency and declininghealth of the elders significantly burdened the womenand hindered their occupational upgrading and socialintegration in Israel. Exhaustion and tight time budgets led to somatization and poor self-careamong middle-aged women. Social services' role in eldercare was minimal. The informants' social networks weremainly co-ethnic, and their coping tools drew on Israeli-Russian subculture. The studyconcludes that, even in the relatively egalitarianRussian-Soviet gender system, women function asprincipal caregivers, often at the expense of other lifegoals.     

MATERNITY LEAVE, ROLE QUALITY, WORK INVOLVEMENT, AND MENTAL HEALTH ONE YEAR AFTER DELIVERY

Employment status, maternity leave, and role quality were investigated as predictors of women's mental health one year after delivery. Homemakers and part-time and full-time employees did not differ on measures of depression, anxiety, anger, or self-esteem. There were no main effects of leave length. Distress was associated with job overload, role restriction, and infant distress. Leave length interacted with the relative salience of work and family, and employment status interacted with employment preference to predict distress. Depression was greatest among women relatively high in work salience when leaves were long. Anxiety and anger were greatest among women whose employment status was not congruent with their preferences. These interactions underscore the importance of individual differences in responses to leave and work.     

PRECURSORS AND CORRELATES OF WOMEN'S VIOLENCE: CHILD ABUSE TRAUMATIZATION, VICTIMIZATION OF WOMEN, AVOIDANCE COPING, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS

Path modeling assessed (a) the influence of child abuse traumatization on women's use of violence and their experiences of being victimized, (b) the association of these three variables to depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms, and (c) the indirect pathways from women using violence and their being victimized to psychological symptoms through avoidance coping. Among 108 primarily African American women recruited from the community who used violence with a male partner, women's use of violence, but not their experiences of being victimized, was predicted by child abuse traumatization. Women's use of violence did not directly or indirectly predict symptomatology. In contrast, child abuse traumatization and women's experiences of being victimized were predictive of both depressive and posttraumatic stress symptoms, and being victimized also was related indirectly to depressive symptoms through avoidance coping.     

Money Doesn't Talk, It Swears: How Economic Stress and Resistance Resources Impact Inner-City Women's Depressive Mood

We examined the differential impact of chronic versus acute economic stress on depressive mood among a sample of 1241 low-income, single, European and African American women. Based on Hobfoll's (1988, 1989) conservation of resources (COR) theory, we predicted that acute resource loss would be more distressing than chronic economic lack. That is, although chronically impoverished conditions are stressful, the attendant resource losses created will be more distressing. We further predicted that mastery and social support would be more beneficial in offsetting the negative consequences of acute resource loss than the negative consequences of chronic economic lack, because acute loss creates identifiable demands that resources may address. Hence, we hypothesized that mastery and social support would show stress buffering effects only for material loss, not chronic lack. The findings generally supported the hypotheses, but mastery buffered only European American women's resource loss and social support buffered only African American women's resource loss. The findings are discussed in light of implications for prevention within theoretical and cultural contexts.     

HYPERFEMININITY AND INFLUENCE

Murnen and Byrne (1991) have defined hyperfemininity as an exaggerated adherence to a feminine gender role as it relates to heterosexual relationships. Hyperfeminine women believe their success is determined by maintaining a romantic relationship with a man, and that their sexuality can be used to maintain this relationship. Extrapolating from theory concerning gender and status, including expectation states theory, it was hypothesized that a woman's expression of hyperfeminine attitudes would lead male college student participants to agree with her in response to a persuasive speech because it would indicate her compliance with women's subordinate status. It was found that men (but not women) who listened to a very hyperfeminine (high) speaker agreed with her more than did men who heard a mildly hyperfeminine (low) speaker, despite the fact that the high hyperfeminine speaker was judged less competent and knowledgeable. Implications of the results, including the idea that the sexual objectification of women perpetuates women's subordinate status, were discussed.     

DO COPING STYLES MODERATE OR MEDIATE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTERNALIZED HETEROSEXISM AND SEXUAL MINORITY WOMEN'S PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS?

The purpose of this study was to test tenets of both minority stress and lesbian feminist/sexual identity development theories by examining the potential moderating and mediating roles of individual coping styles (i.e., problem-solving and avoidant coping) in the relationship between internalized heterosexism and lesbian and bisexual (sexual minority) women's psychological distress. Participants included 323 sexual minority women who completed an Internet survey. Results revealed that avoidant coping partially mediated the relationship between internalized heterosexism and psychological distress. No support was found for the mediating role of problem-solving coping or for the moderating roles of problem-solving and avoidant coping in the link between internalized heterosexism and psychological distress. Feminist strategies that may be useful for clinicians working with clients to reduce internalized heterosexism are provided.     

The Relationships Between Childhood Tomboyism,Siblings' Activities,and Adult Gender Roles

Two studies were designed to examine whether siblings and participation in masculine activities influence tomboyism. The influence of tomboyism on adult gender roles was also examined. Study 1 utilized 193 mainly European American undergraduate women. Results indicated that participation in masculine activities was related to tomboyism. Having a brother was only marginally related to tomboyism. Study 2, a replication with 284 undergraduate women, added participants' ethnicity and employment status of mothers as variables. Slightly more than half of the women were European American, with smaller numbers of African American, Asian American, and Hispanic American women. In both studies, tomboyism was related to masculinity in adulthood. No significant relationships were found between tomboyism and ethnicity or mother's employment status.     

Through a different lens: Examining professional women's interrole coping by focus and mode

An alternative method for classifying women's interrole coping efforts is proposed based upon current stress and coping theory. This coping classification method is then used to examine the coping responses and reported satisfaction of a sample of 135 professional women employed full-time as college faculty. Distinctive patterns of coping response use emerged for this group of women when the coping response strategy was expanded to include whether the response was problem focused or emotion focused and active or passive. The women report greater use of problem-focused than emotion-focused coping responses across several different types of work role conflict situations. Differences in rated satisfaction were reported, with the highest satisfaction reported when active coping responses that involved others were used.     

Male Partners' Appraisals of Undesired Pregnancy and Abortion: Implications for Women's Adjustment to Abortion

The impact of men's attributions for pregnancy and expectations for coping with abortion on their partner's post-abortion adjustment was examined. Men's and women's attributions and coping expectations were assessed in a sample of 73 couples prior to obtaining a first-trimester abortion of an undesired pregnancy. Women's depression was assessed 30 minutes post-abortion. Partners did not differ in their coping expectations or attributions of the pregnancy to chance, situation, another person, or their own behavior, but men blamed the pregnancy more on their own character than did their partners. Male partner's coping expectancies affected women's adjustment only if the women themselves had low coping expectancies. Among women with low coping expectancies, those accompanied by partners who also had low coping expectancies were the most depressed. Men's attributions were unrelated to their partner's adjustment.     

DAILY HASSLES AND COPING STRATEGIES OF DUAL-EARNER AND NONDUAL-EARNER WOMEN

Comparisons were made of dual-earner and nondual-earner women's stress and coping strategies. A questionnaire was developed from the Hassles Scale (Kanner, Coyne, Schaefer, & Lazarus, 1981) and the Ways of Coping Checklist (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980). Dual-earner women reported significantly more hassles than nondual-earner women. However, there were no significant differences on intensity level of these hassles. Several between- and within-group differences on coping strategies were found. Both groups tended to use more problem-focused coping strategies than emotion-focused coping strategies and, contrary to expectations, both groups expressed overall satisfaction with their coping strategies.