| Abstract: | This study examined the additive effect of structural variables, child characteristics, and the family environment on mothers' and fathers' work/family role strain. Differences between mothers and fathers on these variables were also examined. The sample consisted of 36 dualearner families whose children had been in daycare from infancy through 4 years of age. Structural variables included work schedules and time spent with child for mothers only, fathers only, and both parents together with child. Child characteristics included temperament and health. Family environment variables included different components of the family environment (conflict, cohesion, expressiveness, organization, and control) and parenting daily hassles. Results showed that mothers' time with child and caregiving for child were greater than fathers'. Mothers reported more expressiveness in the family and more daily hassles with children than fathers. Mothers' level of role strain was also significantly higher than fathers'. For mothers, role strain was associated with hours away from home, child sociability, family conflict, and daily hassles resulting in an R2 of 0.57. Fathers' role strain was associated with family expressiveness, organization, and their wives' daily hassles resulting in an R2 of 0.37. Data suggest that mothers' and fathers' role strain may be driven by somewhat different factors. For women, aspects of the family and the child and work hours accounted for a considerable portion of the variance while for men, only aspects of the family environment were associated with their level of role strain. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
