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Marriage and Family Life: The ParentingYears

by this than women.In the modern two-
pay-check family,the life cycle challenges
in this stage involve satisfactory child care
and chores.
There are two clear research findings
related to parental employment and the
effects on health and cognitive outcomes
of children: poverty is harmful to children
and working parents are not (Yeung,
Linver,& Brooks-Gunn,2002;
Aughinbaugh & Gittleman,2003;
Melmed,2008).Work status is not as
important a determinant for child
development as a loving,supportive
home environment.When new mothers
need to work for financial reasons,or
even if they choose to return to work,
they may experience tremendousrole
strain.This role strain is believed to be bi-
directional.The internal conflict,which
produces guilt,can arise from the home
domain or the work domain or both
(Elgar & Chester,2007). In other words,
when mom is at work,she senses a pull to
be home,feeling guilty and neglectful as a
mother.When she is at home,she senses a
pull to work,feeling guilty and neglectful
as an employee.While maternal fatigue
plays a role in satisfaction with work and
family life,this kind of conflict is also
detrimental to a satisfactory family life.
The interface between work and family
will be discussed in greater detail in
chapter 9.

Roles

Identity transformations which occur

in the transition to parenthood are far-

reaching and potentially very stressful.At

the birth of the baby,parents must make a

number of important decisions regarding

how they will they carry out their role

responsibilities,how they will raise the

infant,what goals they have for the child,

and how will they carry out these goals.

After the birth,role strainmay exist

between the husband and wife as they

make these new decisions.Role strain

occurs when the husband or the wife has a

clear idea of what their roles and

responsibilities are,but does not have the

time or the energy to fulfill them in a

satisfactory manner.Resolution requires a

renegotiation of roles,as well as the

establishment of new roles.Who is going

After the birth of a child, couples renegotiate roles

and responsibilities which can create role strain.

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