Role Quality, Multiple Role Involvement, and Psychological Well-Being in Midlife Women

Women's occupancy of the social roles of paid worker, wife, and mother, and the quality of their experience in these three roles, were examined in relation to psychological well-being. Data were from a disproportionate random sample ( N = 238) of Caucasian women ages 35 to 55. Well-being was measured by indices of self-esteem, depression, and pleasure; pleasure was assessed by a scale consisting of single-item measures of happiness, satisfaction, and optimism. Role quality was measured by scales developed for this study that assessed the balance between the positive and negative attributes women perceived in their roles. Hierarchical regression analyses controlling for age, education, and income indicated that role occupancy per se was unrelated to well-being with one exception: occupying the role of paid worker significantly predicted self-esteem. In contrast, the three role quality variables were significant predictors of the well-being indices, with one exception: quality of experience in the role of mother did not predict pleasure. Overall, the findings suggest the importance of qualitative rather than quantitative aspects of role involvement and the need to examine different dimensions of well-being in relation to social roles.