Women Work And Well-Being 1950-2000 Essay

Women, work, and well-being 1950–2000:: a review and methodological critique
Petra L. Klumb, and Thomas Lampert
Berlin University of Technology, Ernst-Reuter-Platz 1,H 8, TU, Berlin 10587, Germany

Available online 21 November 2003.

Abstract
In this research synthesis, we summarize 161 measures of the effects of women 's employment on well being reported between 1950 and 2000. Variations in the conceptualization and measurement of employment and health outcomes and the difficulty in distinguishing social selection from social causation limit the inferences that can be drawn from the evidence. Therefore, we distinguish two types of studies. Longitudinal studies measuring relevant covariates at the first measurement occasion and statistically
Conflicts between roles change over the life course, as do the underlying demands and resources. Middle-aged women, blue-collar workers and those at the lower end of the status hierarchy are thought to be most exposed to stressors while having few resources available ( [Arber, Gilbert, & Dale (1985)]). Consequently, it may be that only middle-class women experience a positive relationship between employment and well being. Alternatively, working-class women may benefit more from employment because their non-occupational environment is less favorable than that of middle-class women ( [Warr and Parry (1982a)]).
Confounded measures
If all the variables of interest are assessed via self-report, the association between predictors and criteria may be based in part on shared method variance or other biases ([Warr & Parry (1982b)]). Partialling the prior from the subsequent measure of an outcome variable has been proposed as a way of controlling for the effects of stable third variables such as negative affectivity ( [Sieber (1974)]). Another way of controlling biases is to use multiple measures of predictors or outcomes.
Causation vs.
However, the statistical associations reported in the literature (mostly based on posttest-only designs with unequivalent groups) do not allow causal inferences to be drawn because alternative explanations cannot be ruled out ( [Cook & Campbell (1979)]). Prior interindividual differences in health may lead to differential acquisition or relinquishment of roles. This phenomenon is known as reverse causation or the healthy-worker effect ( [Jennings, Mazaik, & McKinlay (1984)]; [Waldron & Herold (1986)]; [Waldron, Herold, & Dunn (1982a)]). Employment status and health may also be the result of indirect selective processes, the antecedents of which (e.g., education) may or may not have been measured. This phenomenon is referred to as gravitation or drift. Most likely, there is a reciprocal relationship, i.e., selective and causative processes operate simultaneously and interactively ( [Waldron, Herold, & Dunn (1982a)]).
The impact of employment has been investigated with many different study designs and analytical strategies. A small number of studies have employed macro-level data, i.e., data with some geopolitical entity as the unit of analysis ([Moen & Yu (1999)]). The usual design, however, is an observational study based on individuals. Observational studies may be cross-sectional or longitudinal; most take a cross-sectional approach.