Autonomy in mothers with careers

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Women's Studies

Background:

• The societal expectation for women to balance career, marriage, and motherhood is prevalent.
• Psychoanalyst Dr. Elizabeth Zetzel posited that healthy women can integrate these roles.
• High autonomy may enable women to construct non-traditional roles effectively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the degree of autonomy among mothers with careers.
• To determine if combining career and family correlates with high maternal autonomy.

Main Methods:

• Questionnaires were administered to 23 mothers with careers.
• Participants were rated on a scale measuring their degree of autonomy.
• Autonomy ratings were categorized from least autonomous (1) to most autonomous (4).

Main Results:

• A significant majority of mothers with careers reported lower levels of autonomy.
• Only 4% of participants received the highest autonomy rating (4).
• 26% reported the least autonomy (1), 39% a rating of 2, and 22% a rating of 3.

Conclusions:

• The study's findings did not support the hypothesis that combining career and family guarantees high autonomy.
• Women who are highly autonomous and construct non-traditional roles appear to be in the minority.
• Further research is needed to understand the factors influencing autonomy in working mothers.