Working status and stress of middle class women of Calcutta

In India an increase in female employment outside the home has occurred during the last few decades, especially in urban areas. A working woman may face difficulties in attempting to fulfil the demands of both worlds, at home and outside, while a housewife may feel tired and irritated with her household chores and financial dependence. All these may cause stress for these groups of women. The present study compares a group of working mothers with their non-working counterparts with respect to: (a) stress level, measured in terms of their anxiety score; and (b) certain general indicators of health including a broad measure of stress. The results show that anxiety and health scores of the two groups of women are similar. Further, the health score and anxiety score seem to be correlated, more clearly among the working mothers.