This study describes the attitudes of Japanese housewives toward women's employment, and compares them with those of American housewives. A questionnaire was designed to assess beliefs and attitudes related to women's roles in work and family life. It was translated into Japanese for purposes of comparison. Questionnaires were administered to over…

The single most reliable finding in the literature on depression is that women are more likely than men to report and show signs of depressive symptomatology. A distribution of depression scores was analyzed for community women as a function of two factors: employment status, i.e., housewives versus employed women, and social class. The…

The last four decades have seen a dramatic increase in the number of women entering employment. This is particularly true in Europe and although more European women are working outside the home, the patterns of female employment have changed very little. An analysis of these patterns is presented. It was found that women continue to dominate…

To estimate variables describing identity change, Finnish housewives with work skills were interviewed after their children entered school. Thirty mothers who had remained at home with their preschool-age children were interviewed twice: once when their youngest child was 8 years of age and again when the child was 11. Of these mothers 15 were…

Loneliness has been viewed as a consequence of situational and/or environmental factors. Previous research has suggested that urban vs. rural people, less vs. more religiously-oriented people, and housewives not employed outside the home experience the greatest sense of isolation and loneliness. To test this hypothesis, data were collected from…

The changing role of Japanese women can be seen in the stages of a domestic labor debate which occurred at three different times in the past 30 years. The first debate began with Ayako Ishigaki's (1955) insistence that women should have a job outside the home. Wartime production helped break down traditional divisions of labor by encouraging women…

Examined were differences in satisfaction with parenthood among 125 primiparous, middle-class, working and non-working women above and below 30 years of age who completed multiple-choice questionnaires within 6 months of the birth of their child. Questions pertained to responsive attitudes toward infants, attitudes toward women's roles, and…

One- and two-career married couples, though existing on comparable total family incomes, may be experiencing very different marital situations. The marital agreements of one- and two-career couples were compared to examine the relationship between marital adjustment and the one- versus two-career situation. Married college students and their…

The relationships between life style and personality, role concept, attitudes, the influence of significant others, and personal and professional choices are examined for women pursuing various life styles. College-graduated women (N=87) between ages 30 and 58 were divided into three groups based on career-home commitment. Traditionals (N=24) left…

Occupational status is a key component of identity and self-worth for men. But little research has been done on the influence of working status on women, particularly during life cycle transitions or periods of crisis. To examine the impact of employment status on the self-esteem, psychological well-being and physical health of women at mid-life,…

A review of research suggests that female participation in the work force in the United States creates change in the socioeconomic status of women and thus in their consumer behavior. In 1950, 25 percent of married women were in the labor force; in 1975, 44 percent worked outside the home. The increasing number of married working women has led to…

Exploring possible similarities and differences between mothers who work outside the home and mothers who do not, this study provides a preliminary investigation of maternal reactions to mother-child separation when children have reached school age. A total of 41 women working outside the home and 48 mothers staying at home responded to a…

A study was conducted to test the following hypotheses concerning division of household labor (DOHL) between husbands and wives: (1) the division of household labor is somewhat affected by the availability of time, especially the wife's time; (2) there are strong effects of relative power, as measured by market-related resources, marital…

Researchers in the area of depression, aware that women are more likely than men to be depressed, have examined women's marital and employment status to explain this phenomenon. However, the meanings, perceptions, and situations encountered within marital and work roles also contribute to emotional distress. The traditional sex role explanation of…

This paper examines several recent demographic trends that furnish insights into changing views of women's roles and family arrangements among young people: (1) The rising proportion of women (especially wives with young children) in the labor force, (2) their increasing representation in traditionally "male" occupations, (3) later age at first…