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Title: Causal Models of Stability and Change in Women's Work: Relevant Attitudes and Employment Behavior
Resulting in 1 citation.
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Ferree, Myra M. |
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Causal Models of Stability and Change in Women's Work: Relevant Attitudes and Employment Behavior Presented: Toronto, Canada, American Sociological Association Annual Meetings, 1981 Cohort(s): Mature Women Publisher: American Sociological Association Keyword(s): Attitudes; Behavior; Employment; Husbands, Influence; Simultaneity Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. Data from the NLS of Mature Women indicate that normative attitudes toward employment underwent considerable real change in the period 1967-1972 even when allowances are made for the inevitable measurement error in the variables. The model of attitudes that was constructed from the three items available longitudinally had two distinct work-relevant dimensions. The major factor was a general orientation toward working for its own sake; the second factor reflected the relative importance of the individual's own preferences as compared to her husband's and was termed "independence." The relationship between attitudes and employment was found to be complex and mutually reinforcing. The longitudinal model, which provided the best fit to the data, showed the general attitude toward employment having a substantial impact on subsequent employment while both this general attitude and independence were somewhat affected by prior employment. In this longitudinal model, attitude clearly had more effect upon employment than the reverse. An analysis of reciprocal causation for the simultaneous relationships, however, showed the predominant direction of causation running from employment to attitude. This relationship was substantial when only prior employment was controlled (as in 1967), but persisted even when both prior employment and prior attitude were controlled (as in 1972). Those women who were employed in the period 1968-1971, in particular, were more likely to develop more favorable attitudes toward employment in 1972. While the effects of employment on attitudes are not as great as some previous studies have suggested, it does appear that attitudes are influenced by employment as well as having an impact on attachment to the labor force. |
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Bibliography Citation
Ferree, Myra M. "Causal Models of Stability and Change in Women's Work: Relevant Attitudes and Employment Behavior." Presented: Toronto, Canada, American Sociological Association Annual Meetings, 1981. |