PYC4805_ Assignment 06 2021.

PYC4805_ Assignment 06 2021. PYC4805 - Developmental Psychology. Impact on psychological well-being of mothers Women who work full time experience less anxiety and depression than full time homemakers. Mothers with jobs tend to be healthier and happier than those mothers who stay at home during their children’s infancy and pre-school years, according to a study published by the American Psychological Association. For example, mothers employed part time reported better overall health and fewer symptoms of depression than stay-at-home moms, while there were no reported differences in general health or depressive symptoms between moms employed part time and those who worked full time, the study revealed. () When mothers have normal or high control over their occupational demands and male partners offer help and reduce the workload on mothers, employed mothers are less troubled than employed non-mothers or mothers without help. Dual income families are associated with two main psychological advantages. Firstly, their identity is to a degree rooted in their occupation and profession, they may avoid the loss of self esteem and pride when they do not leave their working life behind. (Luckwaldt, J.H 2019). Levels of self-worth are found to be higher among parents that work outside the home. (Breiner, H. et al., 2016). Secondly combining roles of work and family is generally conductive to wellbeing. Having responsibilities outside the household, parents tend to experience more 3 PYC4805 Assignment 06 healthy stimulation and fulfilment with other adults, this acts as a buffer against stress and anxiety that results from caring for children all day. (Luckwaldt, J.H. 2019). There is also a negative impact on psychological well being associated with dualearner families. According to Cox & Demmit (2014) research indicates that many working parents experience a guilt complex due to the fact that they miss witnessing milestones. Dependant on the conditions, family members may have higher levels of stress and get less rest in the absence of a caregiver to hold down the fort. (Luckwaldt, J.H.,2019). Another factor to consider is the impact that he role society accepts as ‘normal’ for mothers and wife are contradictory to that of a working mother and wife. The concept of the working father never took hold largely due to the general notion that its men belong in the workplace. The idea of the working mother persists which indicates that society still has certain expectations of what working mothers should be doing, there are still stereotypical, societal expectations from mothers. (Edwards, M.R. 2012). These stereotypes form a preceding concept because women are exposed to these ideas even before they start motherhood and employment. There are clear cultural beliefs and views about what women is supposed to be doing in their twenties and thirties. These views become manifested in stereotypes about women’s responsibilities and roles. The objection is not necessarily due to the mother that is working but more the fact that the mother is absent from home according Kelley, Kelley, Evans, & Kelley, (2009). As cited in Edwards (2012). It appears that these deeply held cultural beliefs of society are hard to change. (Cavanaugh, Blanchard-Fields 2019). first, parents do not have to sacrifice the pursuit of their passions and 2.2 Financial impact Families need the dual income to pay their bills and maintain moderate standard of living. Dual earner families are less economically vulnerable than single earner families. Research has shown that dual-income families tend to create better educational opportunities for their children, have better housing, take vacations, and produce healthier children compared to those household with a single income. (Cox 4 PYC4805 Assignment 06 & Demmit 2014). If partners adopt a wise spending practices, they can have more secure financial future. The other side of the coin is that childcare is expensive, according to my wage website childcare salaries can range from R3 066,86 to R13 315,18 per month. () This will constitute more than half of most women’s salaries, raising the question if it is financially worth it for the mothers to work. 2.3 Impact on marital relationship Cox and Demmit, (2014) states that there are two sides to the effect dual-earner families have on marital relationships. The advantages that are associated with higher marital satisfaction are that a second income can possibly relief pressure of the single earner to work more or overtime in order to pay the bills. This gives him more time to participate in childcare. Couples who share the household chores and responsibilities equally, shows higher levels of marital satisfaction according to Cox and Demmit (2014). A second income also provides the family with more financial resources to spend time together during vacations, go out for dinner and seek out resources like counselling if needed. Lewis et al, (1991) states that these abovementioned factors are crucial for higher quality intimate relationship. The hierarchy in the relationship are also more equal in dual-earner families and partners might be more open to discuss financial concerns and how to deal with it. (Luckwaldt, 2019). Research has also argued the other side of the impact dual-earning families have on marital relationship, in particular lower levels of marital happiness. Husbands seems to be more dissatisfied with their wives if they are working away from home, by taking on more responsibilities in the household husband are effectively choosing a role that is lower in status. Full time working wife’s may also not be able to provide the same amount of emotional, physical, and social support as the full-time mother and wife can. (Cox and Demmit, 2014). “Edwards (2006) found that husbands’ support of their employed wives was significantly and negatively associated with wives’ experience of work–family conflict, stress, and the perception of inequity in the division of household and childcare labour. Edwards (2007) examined employed mothers’ work–family narratives and found that women's experience of work–family conflict, stress, and inequity in household labour was negatively associated with their perceptions of their husbands’ 5 PYC4805 Assignment 06 support.” Women who received positive expressed support from their husbands experienced these challenges a lot less than those women who did not receive and support from their husbands for their career or their concerns regarding work and family balance. (Edwards 2012). 2.4 Impact of childcare and household responsibilities Despite all the media attention and the increased claims of partners sharing all the duties, women are still performing most of the housework regardless of her employment status. The cause of most arguments and unhappiness are this unequal division of labour between partners in dual-earner households. (Cavanaugh, Blanchard-Fields 2019). Husbands get more involve with childcare. In the past 30 years we have seen the rise of dual-earner families replacing the more tradition father-earner families as women have increasingly moved into the paid labour market. Men are increasingly expected to be more involved and nurture their children as a result of family and work changes. This greater involvement with children may also, for many men, reflect an internal value shift (Levant, 1992). In contrast with this, men’s more prominent time in full-time work decreased their cooperation in parental exercise, aggravating in child rearing inconsistencies between men and women. (Bonney, et al. 1999) According to Levant (1992), the number of hours mothers reported that they worked per week explained fathers' participation in childcare. It seems that women who work full time husbands chooses to be more involved in their children’s caretaking, because their partners have less energy and time available for childcare responsibilities. Alternatively, these fathers may not have a choice in being less involved in childcare than men whose wives stay at home or work part-time. Nevertheless, it appears that fathers take on greater childcare responsibilities and performs more child-care tasks, when their partners are employed full time. (Levant 1992). 2.5 Work-family conflict and role overload The balancing of competing demands that both full time occupations and raising children bring, causes work-family conflict. Work-family conflict is the feeling that you 6 PYC4805 Assignment 06 are being pulled in different or multiple directions by demands from your role an employee and that of mother that are not compatible. (Cavaugh, Blanchard-Fields 2019). Many women face contradictory, incompatible expectations about their success in motherhood and careers. (Martinez et al., 2011; Medved & Kirby, 2005). Cited in Edward, M. (2012). Mothers who are employed faces several challenges in their attempts to manage both their work and family goals and responsibilities. These challenges will start once the first child is born and they are already working or when they decide to pursue full-time employment once they already have children. Role identities, workfamily conflict, stress, division of household and childcare duties are all challenges common to the employed mother. These challenges have a profound impact and effect on the daily activities and difficulties employed mothers face. (Edward, M. 2012) When one conducts oneself in a manner consistent with one's imagined view of oneself, validation of role identity occurs. When a mother is working full time, she takes on the dual role identities of both mother and employee, together with both roles’ responsibilities. Thus, validation of the employed mother's role identity may involve the many responsibilities associated with these both these different domains. (Edward, M. 2012). “These role expectations and the pressures associated with them create work–family conflicts for many employed mothers (Cook & Minnotte, 2008; Kelley et al., 2009). As Edwards (2006, 2007) and others explained, work–family conflict occurs when responsibilities associated with the work and family domains are mutually incompatible”. Cited in Edwards (2012). Research on social roles suggested that having multiple roles to fill has advantages for mental and physical health, this is due to a strengthened identity. Previous research also concluded that having multiple sources for one’s identity can act as a buffer from negative spill over from one aspect of the self to the rest of the self. (Nelson-Coffey, S. & Lyubomirsky, S. 2015). The challenges of work–family conflicts and stress have an enormous impact on employed mothers. One of the main reasons for this is the unequal division of household and childcare labour that persists in many dual-income families. 7 PYC4805 Assignment 06 Especially for women who are forced into multiple roles, like, caring for family members including parents. There is unequal division of labour which causes arguments and unhappiness. When resources are increased by receiving support (e.g., carpooling help, work coverage, etc.), this increase is most likely to free up time for home and work activities, decreasing the experience of time-based conflict in both domains. Add to that emotional support that one may receive at work (e.g., through colleagues) or at home (e.g., friends) could result in the mother feeling that they are not alone in experiencing these stressors. This may reduce the degree in which experienced stress spills over to other domains. (Andreassi, J.K. 2011). Research has also shown that when employers have formal family-supportive practices in can be instrumental in reducing the negative consequences of work– family conflict, however there is recognition that many of these supportive practices, such as provision of child care, are expensive to implement and that employees tend to be reluctant to use them because of concerns about the career penalties associated with their use (Allen, 2001; Eaton, 2003; Thompson et al., 1999) cited in Ayree, S. (2013) Work and family influence each other. When things go badly at work, the family suffers and vice versa. The influence is not the same in each direction. The influence is a complex function of support resources, type of job and other issues. There is a struggle for effective time management and children often suffer. Research confirmed that work–family conflict is bidirectional in its effect, with work interfering with family and family interfering with work. (Andreassi, J.K. 2011).