title: Role occupancy, role quality, and psychological distress in Chinese women.
abstract: This study explored the associations between role occupancy, role quality, and psychological distress in 897 Chinese women in Hong Kong. Results showed that employed as compared to nonemployed women reported a lower level of psychological distress. Never married as compared to married women, and mothers as compared to childless women, did not differ in their levels of psychological symptoms. Correlation results indicated that a net gain of rewards over concerns about social roles was negatively related to psychological distress. The number of social roles was related to the balance between rewards and concerns between social roles, but had no significant association with mental health status of women. Results of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that good mother role quality and the occupancy of the paid worker role were significant predictors of a low level of psychological distress. Findings based on a subsample of employed mothers failed to support the compensatory and spillover hypotheses. Limitations and implications for future studies were discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT. ctang@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Catherine So-kum
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Antoinette M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Taryn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Fanny M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003469:Culture; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D017533:Marital Status / Q000208:ethnology; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology*; D014478:Unemployment / Q000523:psychology; D016387:Women's Health; D014931:Women, Working / Q000523:psychology*