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Author: Stevens, Karen A.
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Stevens, Karen A.
Resources and Stress: The Experiences of Middle-Aged Women
Ph.D. Dissertation, Catholic University of America, 1990
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning
Keyword(s): Education; Health/Health Status/SF-12 Scale; Labor Force Participation; Locus of Control (see Rotter Scale); Marital Disruption; Marital Status; Racial Differences; Rotter Scale (see Locus of Control); Simultaneity

Investigation of the resources which might promote the adjustment of middle-aged women to potentially stressful events has received little research attention. This study investigates resources affecting the adjustment of middle-aged women to three events which are often accompanied by stress: decrease in income, change in marital status, and change in labor force participation. Incorporation of concepts from stress research into a resource/adjustment model allows for creation of a research framework for predicting stress. The research model consists of: baseline measures of adjustment (measured before the event, Time One), exposure to the identified stressor event, resources that may modify the effects of stress (measured at a time approximate to the stressor, Time Two), as well as outcome measures of adjustment (measured approximately two years after the event, Time Three). Resource measures include social (age, race, education, occupational status/income, socialization, and social contact), psychological (locus of control, gender attitude, and emotional affect), and health (physical status) variables. Simultaneous responsibilities as well as exposure to concurrent stressors are taken into account since these, as well as resources, influence adjustment. Adjustment outcome measures include social, psychological, and physical health variables. Data come from the NLS of Mature Women, a national representative probability sample of middle-aged women from which three separate samples of women, each of which is exposed to one of the stressor events, is drawn. Structural equation models (path analysis) allows for determination of direct and indirect pathways between baseline adjustment, resources, and outcome measures. In general, distinct, different resources are important for each type of adjustment (social, psychological, and health adjustment). Particularly important for overall adjustment to all three events, is education. Also important are social contact, positive emotional affect, liberal gender attitudes, internal locus of control, as well as good physical health. Of the stressor events studied, change in marital status appeared to be the most difficult, whereas change in labor force participation the easiest. It is evident that resources, in general, play a crucial role in aiding adjustment to events involving considerable stress for a good number of middle-aged women experiencing them. [UMI ADG90-27655]
Bibliography Citation
Stevens, Karen A. Resources and Stress: The Experiences of Middle-Aged Women. Ph.D. Dissertation, Catholic University of America, 1990.