Record Details

Longitudinal Study of Dual-Earner Couples, 1989-1992

Harvard Dataverse (Africa Rice Center, Bioversity International, CCAFS, CIAT, IFPRI, IRRI and WorldFish)

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Field Value
 
Title Longitudinal Study of Dual-Earner Couples, 1989-1992
 
Identifier https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/YWFANY
 
Creator Barnett, Rosalind C.
 
Publisher Harvard Dataverse
 
Description The main purposes of the study were to assess the contribution of subjective experience in three major social roles (i.e. worker, partner, and parent) to stress-related mental and physical health problems in a sample of dual-earner couples and to study the effect of gender on these relationships. This sample was chosen for study because of wide-spread concern that full-time employed dual-earner couples were under extreme stress and at risk for high levels of distress.


The sample consisted of 300 couples drawn randomly from the town lists of two communities in the greater Boston metropolitan area. These towns were selected because they were socio-economically diverse and included a large proportion of working women. Most subjects, male and female, were employed in managerial or professional occupations. Though the level of education ranged widely, most subjects had earned a college degree. The population of these towns is overwhelmingly White, as is the sample for this study.

This was a short-term longitudinal study with three data collections over a two-year period. At each data collection, subjects were interviewed separately in their homes or offices. Interviews covered many aspects of the men and women's lives, including their experiences in their job and family roles, as well as measures of psychological distress. Prior to each interview, participants completed a questionnaire which was mailed back to the researchers. Subjects also completed several handouts during the interview. The scales measured mental and physical health, as well as the rewards of or concerns about the subjects' separate roles as employee, partner, and parent. A seven-page optional questionnaire requesting follow-up information on employment, psychological, and physical health was mailed in November, 1992 and was returned by 76% of the subjects.


The Murray Archive holds additional analogue materials for this study. If you would like to access this material, please apply to use the data.
 
Subject Social Sciences
 
Relation Publications Using this Study:

Kuster, F., Orth, U., & Meier, L. L. (2013). High self-esteem prospectively predicts better work conditions and outcomes. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4, 668-675.

Erol, R. Y., and Orth, U. (2013). Actor and partner effects of self-esteem on relationship satisfaction and the mediating role of secure attachment between the partners. Journal of Research in Personality, 47, 26-35.
 
Type longitudinal