Provider role attitudes, marital satisfaction, role overload, and housework: a dyadic approach.

Treating the marital dyad as the unit of analysis, this study examined the within-couple patterning of 272 dual-earner spouses' provider role attitudes and their longitudinal associations with marital satisfaction, role overload, and the division of housework. Based on the congruence of husbands' and wives' provider role attitudes, couples were classified into one of four types: (a) main-secondary, (b) coprovider, (c) ambivalent coprovider, and (d) mismatched couples. Nearly half of all spouses differed in their attitudes about breadwinning. A series of mixed model ANCOVAs revealed significant between- and within-couple differences in human capital characteristics, spouses' perceptions of marital satisfaction and role overload, and the division of housework across 3 years of measurement. Coprovider couples reported higher levels of marital satisfaction and a more equitable division of housework than the other couple groups. Wives in the ambivalent coprovider couples' group reported higher levels of role overload than their husbands to a greater extent than was found in the other couple groups. As the first study to adopt a dyadic approach that considers the meanings that both spouses in dual-earner couples ascribe to paid employment, these findings advance understanding of how dual-earner spouses' provider role attitudes serve as contexts for marital quality, behavior, and role-related stress.

Characteristics of mother-provider interactions surrounding postpartum return to work.

BACKGROUND: Many mothers with infants work full-time, yet little is known about communication between women and health care providers regarding returning to work (RTW). METHODS: Survey data were obtained from a community-based sample of mothers returning to full-time employment within 4 months postpartum. Bivariate analyses (chi(2) and independent sample t tests) and multivariate logistic regressions were specified. RESULTS: Eighty-three percent of mothers believed prenatal providers should discuss RTW, yet only 60% had such a discussion; 58% discussed RTW with their infants' provider. Black women (odds ratio, 2.6) and women in poverty (odds ratio, 3.6) more often reported having an RTW discussion with a prenatal provider whereas mothers with college degrees or higher (odds ratio, 2.7) more often had RTW discussions with their infant's provider. RTW discussions occurred < or =3 times and were felt to be only somewhat useful. RTW discussions infrequently centered on maternal health (19.5%) or infant health or development (35.5%). CONCLUSIONS: Women want providers to initiate RTW discussions. Providers should be aware that race, poverty status, and level of maternal education impact a mother's odds of having an RTW discussion. Additional research is required to further delineate the content of RTW discussions and to determine the clinical value of RTW discussions.

Associations between interparental relationships and experiences of parenting stress among mothers: the mediating role of perceived control.

The current study investigated the potential benefits of relationships between parents whose children were friends (closure relationships) within a sample of 404 mothers. Associations between closure and three domains of parenting stress were explored. Mothers' perceived control was considered as a potential mediator of closure-stress associations. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that higher mean levels of closure were associated with lower levels of parenting stress related to child problem behaviors. Perceived control mediated the association between closure and parenting stress. The benefits of cross-household parental relationships for mothers' psychological wellbeing are discussed.