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In this article, I examine the distribution of time pressure associated with the roles of marital partner and parent using data from a telephone survey. Results of an analysis of open-ended responses indicate that less than a quarter of respondents are satisfied with the tune they spend with their children and spouses. Women are more likely to want to improve the quality of family time, whereas men are somewhat more likely to want more time with their spouses and children. Regression analysis indicates that social support, hours of paid labor, hours of housework, job control, and having dependent children are all associated with significant variation in family time pressures. In contrast to research on general time pressure, there are no socioeconomic differences in family time pressures, and women do not experience significantly higher family time pressures than men do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parenting strains are an important dimension of the parenting experience with significant implications for well-being. The cost-of-caring hypothesis suggests that mothers will be more adversely affected by parenting strains. In light of mixed support for the cost-of-caring hypothesis, the author argues that other social contexts may play a role in modifying the effect of parenting strains on men and women. To test this proposal, the author examines whether family labor configurations modify the relationship between parenting strains and depression among parents. Results indicate that the association between parenting Strains and depression is similar among dual-earner mothers and father, whereas among mothers working part-time, the association between depression and parenting strains is significantly greater in comparison to fathers in comparable families. These results reinforce the importance of the organization of family and paid labor for understanding how parenting stressors influence the well-being of mothers and fathers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I examine the association between subjective time pressure and depression and consider whether time pressure mediates the relationship between roles and depression, whether social and economic resources moderate the association between time pressure and depression, and whether time pressure explains gender differences in depression. Results of a telephone survey of 790 respondents indicate that time pressure is significantly associated with distress for men and women, and that subjective time pressure accounts for the significantly higher depression of employed women. Time pressure mediates the impact of housework and the volunteer role among women and it partially explains the differential depression of divorced men. Several resources moderate the impact of time pressure on depression: income among both men and women and perceived co-worker social support among men. Results suggest that the subjective experience of time pressure can be thought of as a potentially important mechanism by which lived experience is transformed into depression. However, in spite of the ubiquity of time pressure in the North American context, the depressing consequences of this subjective experience are not distributed equitably, suggesting that the capacity to manage time pressure and avoid depression may be another benefit associated with strategically advantageous social locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A unique feature of diabetes is the extent to which individuals must engage in self-management in order to successfully cope with their condition. Because of the role of self-regulation in diabetic care, subjective sense of control may be a particularly salient psycho-social resource among diabetic people. We examine the influence on distress of mastery, and the subjective experience of diabetes, measured as interference, dissatisfaction, and embarrassment. We also examine gender differences in the influence of these subjective experiences on diabetic people's distress. We find that gender differences in distress are explained by the greater salience for women's distress of role-related sense of control, measured as how much diabetes interferes with the performance of roles, and general sense of control, measured as mastery. Results are discussed in terms of gender differences in the experience of roles, and in terms of the implications of results for the management of chronic conditions requiring self-care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines gender differences in the influence of parenthood and social support on job satisfaction. This is important because there is ample evidence that work and family roles are managed and coordinated differently by men and women and therefore that home roles influence men's and women's job satisfaction differentially. Using a large random sample of the Toronto metropolitan area, gender differences in the impact of parenthood and social support from partners and coworkers on job satisfaction, controlling for job demands, are examined. Results indicate that mothers have higher job satisfaction than fathers and nonmothers. Coworker support is more important for men's job satisfaction than partner support. Partner support is highly significant for women's job satisfaction, whereas the influence of coworker support varies as a function of partner support. Implications for an understanding of gender differences in job satisfaction and in the experience of dual roles are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existence regarding women's differential exposure to job stressors has accumulated; however, there is also evidence that women are more vulnerable to stressors. Using a sample of 994 employed Canadians, a job stress model that evaluates the differential exposure and vulnerability of men and women to job stressors is tested. The analysis considers the direct and moderating effects of occupational self-direction, job demands, and co-worker social support on distress. Results provide support for the conditional effects of job demands. Two dimensions of occupational self-direction, substantive complexity and routinization, interact with one measure of job demands. Although women are exposed to lower substantive complexity and lower job control, the effect of these dimensions of occupational self-direction are similar for men and women, suggesting that differential exposure to job stressors does not account for women's higher distress. Results indicate that, controlling for exposure, marital status, and income, women are more vulnerable to the negative effect of job routinization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research regarding the effect of children on mental health is mixed, with some studies suggesting that mothers are more depressed than their childless counterparts, and others finding no difference. Using a sample of 500 Canadian women, I test how resources and demands in the primary roles of parent, worker, and partner account for variation in the mental health of employed women. Demands are measured as job demands and as chronic strains in home roles. Resources are measured as job control and as partner support. Results indicate that when partner support and job control are high or avenge, employed mothers are significantly less distressed than employed nonmothers. Conversely, when role demands are high and resources are low, mothers are significantly more distressed than nonmothers. These results are discussed with respect to the interrelationships between social roles, resources, and mental health, and in terms of directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]