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Influence of women's work status on the well-being of Indian couples
C Andrade1, K Postma, K Abraham
1Department of Psychopharmacology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.
Background:
In urban India, working women are expected to continue to discharge their traditional domestic duties; the likely result is compromised well-being due to role strain. Husbands of working women may also experience pressures and hence poorer well-being. Well-being in working couples, particularly husbands, is little researched in developing countries.
Method:
The Subjective Well-Being Inventory was administered to 46 'one-working, (only husband employed) and 51 'both-working' (both spouses employed) randomly selected urban, middle-class couples.
Results:
In one-working as well as both-working families, wives experienced less well-being than their husbands. Working wives experienced more confidence in coping than non-working wives. Husbands in both-working families experienced better social support but less social contact, less mental mastery, and poorer perceived health than husbands in one-working families. Few or no sociodemographic variables were associated with well-being.
Conclusions:
Employment may benefit women but stress their husbands.