Women's roles and illness episodes: a prospective study.

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Public Health
• Women's Health

Background:

• Increasing female labor force participation.
• Potential health impacts of multiple roles for women.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate the relationship between role proliferation and women's health.
• Examine if increased roles negatively affect women's well-being.

Main Methods:

• 96 women participated in a 3-week family health diary study.
• Diary included daily stress, health measures, member well-being, and illness symptoms.
• Illness episodes defined as consecutive days with recorded health complaints.

Main Results:

• Mean of 3.23 illness episodes over 3 weeks.
• Role proliferation did not significantly correlate with illness episodes (p < .132).
• Number of children and role reinforcement explained 11.3% of illness variance, with negative effects.

Conclusions:

• Illness episodes in women are influenced by role compatibility and support systems.
• The compatibility of other roles with being ill matters.
• Available support for performing roles impacts illness frequency.