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.