530 Women’s Health Psychology
contradictory “ndings, likely representing the current clash
between more traditional views that multiple roles have a
negative impact on a woman•s health and relatively recent
“ndings that suggest multiple roles can result in positive
health effects.
The two primary theories that serve as a basis for a great
majority of the research examining multiple roles are the
scarcity hypothesis(Goode, 1960) and theenhancementor
expansion hypothesis(Marks, 1977; Sieber, 1974). Whereas
the scarcity hypothesis suggests that the more roles occupied
by a woman, the more likely she is to deplete her limited
resources, resulting in negative consequences for her health
and well-being (Goode, 1960), the enhancement hypothesis
suggests that multiple roles result in greater access to re-
sources (i.e., social support, “nancial rewards) and increased
likelihood for role balance (Marks, 1977; Sieber, 1974).
These two main theories differ in their perspective on the
relationship between multiple roles and women•s health:
The scarcity hypothesis portends that multiple roles produce
deleterious mental and physical health effects, stress, and
cause con”ict in balancing roles related to work and family,
while the enhancement hypothesis suggests that engaging in
multiple roles is protective and provides positive physical
and psychological health bene“ts for many women. To
illustrate the opposing views offered by these two theories,
we present a summary of empirical research relevant to
women•s roles as employee and caregiver, and the respec-
tive health advantages and disadvantages associated with
each.
The Employment Role
Approximately half of the current U.S. labor force consists of
women, and although not equally represented in top-level
and more traditional male positions, women hold a wide
range of jobs that expose them to stress and health risks
(Bond, Galinsky, & Swanberg, 1998). Burke (1988) identi-
“ed long work hours, stressful job conditions, high work de-
mands, the number and ages of children at home, and lack of
social support as factors that contribute to the strain women
experience with work-family con”icts. Likely the most re-
searched and notable cause of this strain is that women con-
tinue to take on the primary responsibilities for household
chores and childcare, even though the majority also are
employed outside the home (Marshall & Barnett, 1995).
Furthermore, the contributions of men tend to include tasks
such as playing with the children while women tend to as-
sume more time-pressured tasks, such as housecleaning,
preparing meals, and driving children to appointments
(Thompson & Walker, 1989).
Women seem to experience work-family con”ict dif fer-
ently than men do, not only because of the nature of women•s
roles, but also because of the attitude with which they view
the roles. Gunter and Gunter (1990) examined gender differ-
ences in perceptions of domestic, household chores (i.e.,
cleaning, cooking, taking care of children) and found that
women view these chores as a personal responsibility,
whereas men tend to view such tasks as •helping out.Ž Along
these lines, men and women have different attitudes regard-
ing what is the most important resource to provide to the
family. Men feel that providing “nancially for their family
is the single most important responsibility, while women feel
it is equally important to provide childcare and complete
household-related chores in addition to contributing to family
“nancial resources (Perry-Jenkins, 1993; Perry-Jenkins &
Crouter, 1990). Women, therefore, have added pressure and
time constraints because of a sense of personal responsibility
to complete the bulk of household chores and childcare,
in addition to attending to their role as a caregiver, spouse,
or partner, and meeting the actual and self-imposed demands
of their role as an employee.
Work-related challenges, such as work-family con”ict,
limited coworker support, gender bias, and restricted oppor-
tunity for career advancement, have not only direct “nancial
and occupational consequences for women, but also impact
on women•s stress levels. In a study by Northwestern
National Life (1992), employed women reported nearly
double the levels of stress-related illnesses and job burnout
than employed men. Another study found 60% of female
workers reported job stress as their primary problem
(Reich & Nussbaum, 1994). Although women are gaining
representation in all “elds, the majority of female-dominated
occupations (e.g., those involving customer service and the
provision of care) are associated with such common stressors
as lack of job security, poor relationships with co-workers
and supervisors, and monotonous tasks (Hurrell & Murphy,
1992). Stressors are not limited to women working in less
prestigious, lower paying jobs. Women in professional occu-
pations also combat stress as their competency may pose a
threat to men„both in the professional and personal envi-
ronment. For example, single women may feel that a suc-
cessful career may jeopardize their prospects for marriage
(Post, 1987). Professional women in particular may experi-
ence dif“culty forming interdependent, intimate relationships
because reliance on independence and self-suf“ciency serve
as key components in their achievement of professional suc-
cess (Post, 1982).
Although employment for women has been seen as
imposing demands on personal and social resources con-
tributing to the challenge of balancing work and family life,