7

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TRANSITIONAL ROLL STRAIN

IN REENTRY WOMEN STUDENTS

by

GERALDINE M. MEN6ER, B.A.

A DISSERTATION

IN

EDUCATION

Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in

Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

the Degree of

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

Approved

Accepted

August, 1988

/

^^Copyright

by

Geraldine Hickey Menger

1987

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am very grateful to my dissertation committee

for their guidance and support of this research.

I offer sincere appreciation to ray chairman.

Dr. Thomas R. Irons, and to Drs, Gerard J. Bensberg,

Julian L. Biggers, Joe D. Cornett, and Thomas D.

McGovern.

I owe a special debt to the women who are the

subjects of this research. They trusted me with their

life experiences and I hope I have measured up to

the ir trust.

Above all, I thank my husband. Matt J. Menger.

He made my return to school a shared goal and never

failed in his support and encouragement. My doctoral

degree, and all that it represents in my life, could

not have been achieved without him.

Ill

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii

ABSTRACT vii

LIST OF TABLES viii

I. INTRODUCTION 1

Statement of the Problem 5

Definition of Terms 6

Significance of the Problem 9

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 11

Reasons for Returning 11

Reentry Women 15

Institutional Problems 18

Situational Problems 23

Personal Problems 34

III. THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTS 52

Role Theory 52

Systems Theory 55

Stress Theory 57

Ego Development Theory 59

Summary 66

IV. PROCEDURES AND METHODOLOGY 71

Research Problem 71

Research Population 72

iv

Research Design

Da ta Collect ion

Ins trumen tat ion

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale

Washington University Sentence Completion Test

Role Strain Scale

Analysis of Data

Limitat ions

V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Populat ion

Mar ital Status

Ch ildren

Roles

Employment

Family Income

Enrollment Level

Reasons for Reentry

Major Studies

Problems on Reentry

Ego Development Stage

Student Profile

Research Hypotheses

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91

Hypothesis No. 1

Hypothesis No. 2

Hypothesis No. 3

Hypothesis No. 4

Other Variables

Di scus s ion

REFERENCES

APPENDIX

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102

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VI

ABSTRACT

The problem under investigation was the analysis

of role strain experienced by married reentry women

students as they functioned in their multiple roles

of student-wife-mother-worker.

Participating in the research were 480 reentry

women enrolled in a major university and a community

college situated in West Texas. The study included a

profile of the average reentry student and analyses of

student reentry motives and problems encountered.

Significant relationships were observed between

role strain and several variables including multiple

roles, self-esteem, employment, and spouse support.

There was no significant difference in the degree of

role strain experienced by university women or

community college women, nor between graduate and

undergraduate students. Data indicate reentry

women are concerned with time management and fatigue,

and the effect of college demands on marital and family

rela t ionships.

V I 1

LIST OF TABLES

1. Age of Subjects

2. Husband's Occupation

3. Husband's Education

4. Number of Reentry Students with Children Living at Home

5. Number and Type of Roles Held by Reentry S tudents

6. Employment

7. Hours Worked per Week

8. Family Income

9. Levels of Enrollment

10. Enrolled Credit Hours

11. Reasons for Returning to College

12. Major Areas of Study

13. Problems Encountered on Reentry

14. Ego Development Stages

15. Profile of the Average Reentry Woman Student in this Study

16. Chi-Square Analysis, Role Strain and Number of Roles

17. Analysis of Variance, Role Strain by Number of Roles and Employment

18. Chi-Square Analysis, Perceived Level of Spouse Support

19. Analysis of Variance, Role Strain and Level of Spouse Support

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V I 1 1

20. Chi-Square Analysis, Role Strain and Self-Esteem 95

21. Chi-Square Analysis, Role Strain and Ego Development

22. T-test, Role Strain by Groups

23. Analysis of Variance, Role Strain and Anxiety

24. T-test, Role Conflict by Groups

25. Chi-Square Analysis, Role Conflict and Number of Roles

26. Chi-Square Analysis, Role Conflict and Anxiety

27. Chi-Square Analysis, Role Conflict and Perceived Level of Spouse Support

96

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IX

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The twentieth century may one day be characterized

by historians as a "century of change." The period

1900-1987 spanned the industrial revolution, the labor

movement, women's liberation, two world wars, the atomic

and hydrogen bombs, and lunar space flights. The

hallmark of American society during this century was

rapid technological change coupled with massive

economic, political, and social upheaval.

One of the more significant changes was in the

status of women. There were changes in beliefs about

women's traditional roles, about relationships and

marriage, about career fulfillment and self-expression

through work. With these changed attitudes came changes

in role participation, with more women participating

in more diverse roles. With the possible exception of

birth control technology, few other social phenomena

have equalled the impact of the sexual revolution.

Smith (1979:ix) offered this description:

We are undergoing a revolution—at times obvious, at times only dimly perceived—in the traditional relationship of women to work, money, marriage and family. One indicator of this revolutionary change is

that in less than a generation the size of the female labor force has more than doubled and now includes the majority of working-age women... But while the ranks of wage-earning women are highly visible, this phenomenon is not easily grasped as a whole--not in its origins, nor in the predictability of its course, nor in its consequences. This is a "subtle" revolution.

This social revolution, sometimes referred to as

the "women's movement," encompassed (1) changes in the

traditional family structure, (2) increased awareness of

the physical, mental, and emotional needs of women, and

(3) increased opportunity for their upward mobility in

the labor market. It also included the subject of this

research, namely the reentry into higher education

of women age 25 and older.

While Smith's (1979) comments were clearly in

reference to women entering the labor force, one could

substitute "women returning to school" and draw the

same conclusion of a lack of full understanding of the

origins, predictability, and consequences of this

phenomena. The growing numbers of reentry women were

widely interpreted and included the view that "we have

entered a period in which male and female roles are

being defined in a revolutionary way" (Katz, 1976,

p. 89). Katz held that "education is both a vehicle

for and an expression of the changes occurring in

society at large" (ibid.).

Women have often found themselves in fixed life

roles not by their own choice, but because they were

expected to do what all women were supposed to do i.e.,

to marry and have children. In the 1960s, for example,

women were marrying younger (median age 20.3 years) and

forsaking college for marriage and family (Astin, 1976).

In the two decades since, America experienced sweeping

changes in women's roles. As social reform and the

feminist movement's ideology impacted, the circumstances

of life shifted for many women. In 1985, 55% of married

women were employed, compared with only 23% in 1950

(U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1986). Analysts have

predicted a further rise to approximately 70% before the

end of the decade (U.S. Dept. of Labor, Women's Bureau,

1980).

America is still overwhelmingly a nation of

married people but the typical pattern of working

father, housewife mother, and two or more school-age

children is no longer the norm. Advances in science and

technology have resulted in smaller families, longer

lifespan, and increased leisure time. As children of

the postwar baby boom entered their late twenties, there

was a corresponding decline in the birthrate which

brought a shift in the demographic profile of the United

States. No longer dominated by youth, the country was

represented primarily by older adults (U.S. Bureau of

the Census, 1986). This "graying of America" affected

colleges and universities as a virtual army of older

students moved into undergraduate and graduate

educa t ion.

The phenomenon of "nontraditiona1" (over age 25)

women in higher education will confront educators for

some time to come. In 1984, a total of 2,492,000

women, age 25 and above, were enrolled in college

(National Center for Education Statistics, 1984). This

represented an increase of 60% over enrollment figures

for 1972. Conservative estimates projected 3 million

women, age 25 and above, would be enrolled in higher

education in 1987, an increase of 22% over the 1984

enrollment (National Center for Education Statistics,

1984).

Graduate school enrollments have also increased

dramatically. In 1984, women accounted for 15% of

dentistry degrees, 33% of law degrees, and 25% of

medicine degrees (National Center for Education

Statistics, 1984). The increased enrollment of women

into new fields of graduate study contributed to a

decline in programs of nursing and teacher training,

once considered the major steppingstone for women

seeking professional careers. In the last decade, women

began to move into middle-management positions. Social

and political pressure for the promotion of female

executives continued this trend.

Women who forged dual-role identities by combining

serious career commitment with marriage and family

served as role models for others. Their success

encouraged other women to enter the competitive business

world. Naisbitt's Megatrends (1982) described these

changes as the "option explosion." New life choices

drew many women into professional degree programs. In

America's colleges and universities, millions of women

sought undergraduate and graduate degrees. They

simultaneously became a social force and an economic

reality. For many institutions, they were a lucrative

market for new student enrollments (Fisher-Thompson &

Kuhn, 1981).

^ta tement o f the Problem

A review of the literature revealed that the

reentry woman student encountered a variety of problems

in college. Reentry women were a heterogeneous group

with different practical and psychological needs

(Adelstein, Sedlacek & Martinez, 1983). Their problems

were related to marital status, age of children,

employment situations, and socio-economic level.

These problems were globally classified: Institutional

(admission policies, financial aid, class schedules);

Situational (child care, family support, commuting);

Personal (role strain, self-esteem, guilt, anxiety).

This research drew on certain principles of role

theory, systems theory, and stress theory. Although the

decision to return to college may have been an

autonomous one, the woman was central to the family

system. Whatever impacted her, impacted her family.

Reentry literature suggested that the returning woman

student who did not receive instrumental and/or

emotional support from her family experienced role

strain and stress. Furthermore, socialization and

traditional attitudes toward women's roles influenced

the degree of role conflict experienced by reentry

women. To fully understand the psychosocial framework

in which the reentry woman functioned and developed,

an exploration of certain personality constructs,

specifically self-esteem and ego development, was

neces sary.

De fini t ion of Terms

Anxie ty: A dysphoric feeling state experienced in

gradations from a twinge to acute terror (Fischer,

1970). Anxiety was assumed to have subjective or

psychological components in addition to physiological,

biochemical, and behavioral dimensions in response to an

assumed threat. Anxiety was operationally defined in

this study as the score on the Taylor Manifest Anxiety

Scale .

Dual Careers : A family structure in which both

husband and wife pursue active career and family

lifestyles. The term "career" designated those

jobs which required a high degree of commitment and had

a developmental character (Rapoport & Rapoport, 1969).

Ego Development: A developmental sequence

which involved a synthesis of functions including moral

development, socialization, character structure, and

cognitive development (Loevinger, 1976). In this

research, ego development was operationally defined

as a score on the Washington University Sentence

Completion Test.

Guilt: Regretful feelings of lessened personal

worth due to the realization that one has transgressed

boundaries or roles or neglected family duties perceived

as expected by society (Emerson, 1977).

Reentry S tudent: A woman over age 25 who has

returned to school after an absence of one or more

years. She may or may not have attended college

previously. As a group, reentry women have varied

8

widely in ethnicity, marital status, social class, and

work experience (Fisher-Thompson & Kuhn, 1981). For

the purpose of this study, the term referred to married

women, 25 years of age and older, who were enrolled in

Texas Tech University or South Plains Community College

during the spring semester of 1987.

Role: The functions one performed when occupying

a particular position within a social context (Deaux &

Wrightsman, 1984). Roles are integrated sets of social

norms and one role is distinguishable from another

(Biddle & Thomas, 1966). The primary role in this

study was that of student. Additional roles included

wife, mother, and worker.

Role Conf 1 ic t; A type of stress occurring when

conflicting and competing demands or expectancies were

perceived from two or more roles enacted by an

individual (Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek & Rosenthal,

1964). Role conflict would cause the individual to

violate another's expectations either by (1) choosing

to comply fully with one set of expectations while

ignoring others, (2) by seeking a compromise and

conforming to only a part of each set of expectations,

or (3) avoiding choice by escaping from the situation

(Biddle & Thomas, 1966). Another form of role conflict

was based on external time demands rather than inherent

contraditions in expectations (Frieze, Parsons, Johnson,

Ruble & Zellman, 1978). For purposes of this study,

role conflict encompassed both forms.

Role Strain: Stress generated within a person

when one could not comply with the expectations of a

role or set of roles (Burr, Hill, Nye & Reiss, 1979).

Alternatively defined as "the felt difficulty in

fulfilling role obligations" (Goode, 1960, p. 483).

Degree of role strain was defined operationally as a

score on the role strain questionnaire.

Self-Es teem: The evaluative, judgmental,

affective component of a person's self-concept

(Rosenberg, 1965). For this study self-esteem was the

returning adult student's judgment about how worthwhile

and valuable she perceived herself to be. This was

operationally defined by the score on the Rosenberg

Self-Esteem Scale.

Signi ficance of the Problem

The investigator's interest in this research

stemmed from her studies in psychology and her personal

experiences as an adult student. To succeed

academically, the reentry woman student must balance her

social and intellectual needs with domestic and career

responsibilities. Attempting to fulfill multiple role

10

obligations simultaneously often leads to experiencing

role conf1ict.

Some investigations have focused on the problems

of reentry women students (Berkove, 1978; Carne, 1984;

Emerson, 1977; Sansing, 1983; Van Meter, 1976).

However, empirical data was lacking on the subject of

family relationships and intrapersonal conflicts

experienced by these women. The focus of this study was

the degree of role strain experienced by university and

community college women as they fulfilled their daily

responsibilities as undergraduate or graduate student,

spouse, parent, homemaker, worker. Such research had

practical application particularly in the future

development of academic programs and support services

that more adequately meet the needs of older women

s tudent s.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

The purpose of this study was to explore the

transition of women from the role of homemaker to that

of college student, with particular attention to the

experience of role strain. A review of reentry

literature provided research data, both empirical and

descriptive, on the interrelationship of roles, cultural

expectations, personality characteristics, and socio-

deraographic characteristics which comprised the life

context of the reentry woman student.

Reasons for Returning

Multiple factors accounted for the increasing

number of reentry women in higher education. Some

universities, and particularly community colleges,

actively recruited adult learners to offset declining

enrollments among younger students (Jacobi, 1984).

Federal legislation, including Title IX and the Age

Discrimination Act of 1975, brought adult women into

college programs. The feminist movement had also been

instrumental in encouraging women to seek personal

growth and career fulfillment.

11

12

In an earlier survey. Doty (1966) noted that

reentry women did not hold conventional attitudes

about appropriate female roles. Primary reasons

for returning to school were an unfilled desire for

knowledge, dissatisfaction with social or community

activities, and financial preparation for retirement.

In the 1970s, the most frequently cited reasons for

returning to higher education were personal growth and

intellectual fulfillment (Brandenburg, 1974; Geisler &

Thrush, 1975).

In this decade economic factors appeared to be

the impetus. Many women were the sole wage earners for

their families as a result of divorce or widowhood

(Van Dusen & Sheldon, 1976). Women were increasingly

more interested in training for new careers or upgrading

current employment (Adelstein et al., 1983).

Yet another factor was the greater life expectancy

of women, from an average of 48 years in the early 20th

century to 77 years today (U.S. Bureau of Census,

1986). The "empty nest syndrome" was a dramatic change

in some women's lives, comparable to occupational

retirement for men (Douvan, 1981). In both, a major

role contributing to the individual's identity was lost.

There were, however, critical differences. The average

woman retired from mothering with two-fifths of her life

13

yet to live (Livson, 1981). Furthermore, she could

expect to survive her husband and have a longer period

of widowhood (ibid.).

Women often found the years after their children

had grown as empty and unfulfi11ing. At midlife they

sought new challenges. Stephenson (1976) defined middle

age as a time for high achievement when people fulfilled

themselves doing things they cared about. Sheehy (1977)

described the period between the ages of 28 and 32 as

the time of life when men and women most commonly

reappraised decisions made in their early 20s. This

reappraisal could result either in a deepened

commitment to present goals or a shift to new, more

self-directed life goals.

Letchworth (1970) was one of the first researchers

to note the large influx of women to higher education.

He suggested psychological reasons were the motivation,

specifically an identity crisis. Women who had

previously been middle class, full-time homemakers were,

in midlife, wondering who they were and what they were

going to do with the rest of their lives. Identity was

a major concern for them. Other authors also documented

identity concerns (Astin, 1976; Brandenburg, 1974;

Weathersby, 1980a).

14

Women's renewed interest in education was also

perceived as an effort to establish a new career or

life work that was appropriate to their current life

situation, something more challenging and rewarding,

both financially and intellectually (Benjamin, 1979).

O'Connor and Aasheim (1985) suggested a variety of

social and personal factors which brought women back to

college. They were:

- increased prosperity of the general population

- expanding leisure time

- civil rights issues

- women's need for education for teaching and technical jobs

- higher status of women leading to social acceptability of women enhancing their knowledge

- acceptance of modern psychological theories of self-actualization through education

- changing life patterns, particularly the higher divorce rate, and current trends of reentry into the job market

- increased emphasis on the need for continuing educa t ion

- desire for professional growth

- feelings of discontent and the need for change

- changing aspirations of women themselves

The trend of shifting personal goals was generally

attributed to the women's movement (Stephenson, 1976).

15

Women in the 80s continued to put emphasis on their

future, both personal and professional. Identity

remained a prominent issue (Adelstein et al., 1983;

Kahnweiler & Johnson, 1980). Adult women were viewed

as the largest and fastest growing advocacy group in the

academic community, primarily because education held the

promise of equal opportunity (Von der Embse & Childs,

1979). Fisher-Thompson and Kuhn (1981, p. 1) noted,

"the correlation between a good education and a good job

has not gone unnoticed by women in the work force."

Reen try Women

There were numerous studies on the type of woman

who chose to return to higher education at midlife

(Astin, 1976; Brandenburg, 1974; Brooks, 1976;

Christian & Wilson, 1985; Geisler & Thrush, 1975;

Johnson, Wallace & Sedlacek, 1979; Roach, 1976;

Wheaton & Robinson, 1983). The reentry woman was more

autonomous, achievement-oriented, introspective and

assertive than the woman who chose the traditional

role of homemaker (Glatfelter, 1982). Christian and

Wilson (1985, p. 498) profiled the reentry woman:

She is generally in her 30s, married, and the mother of two children. She is returning to college after being out of the educational system for an extended period of time. She is from a middle class home. Her reasons for returning to college include a search

16

for identity, boredom, se1f-fulfi1Iment, qualification for a first (or better) job, and motivation to obtain a degree.

A typology of the differential characteristics

of the traditional-age (18-21) college student (A) and

the mature (over age 25) adult student (M) was offered

by Kasworm (1980, p. 42):

A: Quasi-dependent being M: Independent being

A: Limited eraotional/finaneial support for significant others

M: Major emotional/finaneial support for significant others

A: Major time focus on academic and related extracurricular activities

M: Competing time focus on job, family, community, personal responsibilities, in relation to academic activities

A: High identification with student role M: Composite identification with multiple roles

A: Seeking self-identity M: Renewing se1f-identity

A: Introspective orientation M: Varied self/others orientation

A: Impulse (short term) decision making M: Capacity for delayed gratification (long term)

decision making

A: Passive learner role with unknown readiness to learn

M: Active learner role with active readiness to learn

A: Limited history of self-directed learning M: Diversified opportunities for prior

development of self-directed learning

17

A: Minimal analytica1/critical problem-solving skills

M: Developed analytical/critical problem-solving skills

A: Limited life experiences M: Varied and rich life opportunities and

expe rience s

Kasworm's typology, however, suggested coping

skills and a well-differentiated personality which

could not be generalized to all reentry women. While

society had given women permission to seek personal

fulfillment, few faced such choices and new roles

without experiencing psychological conflict.

In the college world, reentry students often

presented a paradoxical appearance (Brooks, 1976). They

had an impressive set of abilities, talents, skills, and

a history of past achievements. They possessed mature

cognitive ability and a sense of responsibility. On

reentering college, however, many experienced an acute

loss of self-confidence. The characteristics of the

housewife role created for the reentry woman a sense of

insecurity about performing in an academic setting. She

approached college with inadequate coping strategies and

a sense of helplessness (Brooks, 1976).

Nevertheless, an impressive number of reentry women

students did perform competently (Astin, 1976; Kasworm,

1980; Tittle & Denker, 1977). Grade point averages

18

equalled or exceeded those of younger students (Jacobi,

1984). Such achievements, however, were not without a

price. A variety of social and psychological forces

impacted on this student group which resulted in role

conflict and stress. Reentry women were considered high

risk for anxiety and role strain (Berkove, 1978;

Emerson, 1977; Hooper, 1979a, 1979b; Jorgensen-Funk,

1985; Sansing, 1983).

The decision to return to higher education was not

an easy one, nor was it clear, once she had made the

decision, what kind of world she would encounter on

campus. The woman who returned to college after a

prolonged hiatus was confronted with some major

problems. These were characterized as institutional,

situational, and personal (Tittle & Denker, 1977).

A review of literature suggested a possible interaction

between certain psychological, situational, and

institutional factors which impacted the social world

of the married woman student.

Ins t i tut ional Problems

The institutional response to reentry women was

ambivalent and a number of college policies have been

cited as detriments to enrollment.

19

Recruitment practices usually were directed toward

secondary school students and not adult women (Fisher-

Thompson, 1980; Hall, 1980). Women who had been out of

the academic environment for some time were often

unfamiliar with required procedures for reentry (Astin,

1976), or out of touch with the opportunities available

to them (Brooks, 1976; Fisher-Thompson, 1980).

The decision to reenter school was a difficult one

which often required support and information not

available to homemakers (Brooks, 1976; Johnson et al.,

1979). Lack of familiarity with academic procedures and

inflexibility on the part of the institution were

further deterrents to reentry. Admissions interviews

sometimes subtly discriminated against adult women

(Daniels, 1979). Non-supportive, even hostile,

attitudes by faculty or staff often discouraged

potential students (Brandenburg, 1974).

Reentry women were also confronted at times with

discriminatory admissions policies (Gilbert, Manning &

Ponder, 1982; Lance, Lourie & Mayo, 1979). Standardized

admissions tests discriminated against returning

students who had rusty academic skills (Brandenburg,

1974). Twenty year-old high school transcripts were

poor indicators of current ability, yet most colleges

required them. For those adults who had some college

20

previously, institutional transfer policies often

deprived them of earned credits, thus discouraging them

from reentering the educational system (Fisher-Thompson,

1980) .

Astin (1976) saw a need for universities and

colleges to adopt more flexible attitudes to accommodate

individual differences. She recommended a relaxation of

nonessential academic regulations and requirements that

did not apply to older women returning to higher

education. Brandenburg (1974, p. 15) believed that

women's fears about returning to school were "reinforced

by the frustrations, inappropriateness, and absurdity of

existing admissions policies." Procedures varied from

one institution to another, but all had commonalities of

bureaucracy, red tape, confusion, long lines and

inexplicable delays.

Federal guidelines, notably Title IX of the Higher

Education Amendment Act of 1972 (see the Federal

Register, June 4, 1975), barred sex discrimination in

admissions, financial aid, curriculum, and awards.

Nevertheless, college financial aid policies often did

discriminate against reentry women (Brandenburg, 1974;

Dunkle, 1980; Ekstrom, 1972; Geisler & Thrush, 1975;

Gilbert et al., 1982; Johnson et al., 1979). This

discrimination usually took one of two forms:

21

(1) financial aid was not made available to part-time

students or (2) income of the student's husband was

taken into account even if he was not contributing to

her college expenses. Women also found that

stipulations for scholarships and fellowships excluded

parttime students (Brandenburg, 1974; Tittle & Denker,

1977) .

Family or individual incomes frequently were not

sufficient to cover school-related expenses (Benjamin,

1979; Ekstrom, 1972). Smallwood (1980) found that a

need for financial and legal aid was of importance to

adult women students according to their income range,

marital status, and credit load. The need was greatest

for women in lower income brackets, particularly

separated or divorced students. Low-income women had

problems that extended beyond tuition. They required

assistance for books, transportation, and child care.

Frequently these women received less than adequate aid

because they were unfamiliar with the procedures for

obtaining it (Tittle & Denker, 1977).

Reentry women also encountered discrimination

from staff and faculty while they were initially

establishing themselves on campus (Brandenburg, 1974;

Geisler & Thrush, 1975; Gilbert et al., 1982).

Traditional students and faculty viewed them as

22

"highly exceptional intruders on the domain of youth"

(O'Connor & Aasheim, 1985, p. 1). Daniels (1979)

observed a tendency by faculty and younger students to

regard reentry women as frustrated housewives or

dilettantes. Reactions to age, exemplified in policies

expressing the belief that older women belonged at

lesser institutions and not in graduate school, were

further barriers to admission (Tittle & Denker, 1977).

Adult students did not fit easily or comfortably

into the youth-oriented college world. Support services

and orientation programs were geared to younger students

in different life situations (Benjamin, 1979). Some

reentry women increased their burdens by feeling they

should not need to ask counselors or teachers for help.

Yet others interpreted all discourtesies to be a direct

result of their age, which may have been based on

reality or may have been a projection (Brandenburg,

1974) .

Other institutional barriers included commuting and

parking problems, lack of child-care facilities, and

inaccessibility of courses (Fisher-Thompson, 1980;

Wheaton & Robinson, 1983). The delicate balancing of

home, work, and school responsibilities hindered the

academic efforts and progress of many women. Reentry

women had difficulties with time management and

23

scheduling courses (Astin, 1976; Brooks, 1976; Geisler &

Thrush, 1975; Lance et al. 1979). Some educators

suggested that colleges restructure class settings and

scheduling of classes to facilitate the merging of

academic commitments with family and work requirements

(Bernard, 1981a).

Reentry women needed assistance with study skills,

exam taking, and report writing (Geisler & Thrush,

1975; Lance et al, 1979). They needed vocational

and degree guidance (Brandenburg, 1974; Geisler &

Thrush, 1975; Johnson et al, 1979).

Overall the literature suggested that the

transition from wife-mother to wife-mother-student was

not an easy one. Success in the academic world largely

depended on how much a reentry woman was able to change

her life, rather than how much the institutions of

higher education had changed their expectations and

forma t.

Situational Problems

The adult woman student needed to coordinate family

and job responsibilities before she could feel free to

focus on academics. Only when non-college demands

were under control could she begin to worry about what

24

CO urses to take, how to study, and whether she had the

ability to succeed in college (Smallwood, 1980).

Time Management. The most frequently mentioned

problem of reentry women was time. Attending college

involved a major investment of time in classes, study,

and travel. A single three credit course could' mean as

much as twelve hours work per week; a course load of

fifteen hours was equivalent to a full-time job

(Smallwood, 1980). Effective use of time and a sharing

of responsibilities was essential.

The traditional division of labor places overall

responsibility for household and family affairs on the

woman. Huston-Hoburg and Strange (1986) conducted a

comparison of reentry problems experienced by both male

and female adult students. Their survey indicated that

tasks were maintained along traditional lines for men as

well as for women. They suggested that successful

resolution of the time management problem might come

down to the proverbial question of "Who takes out the

garbage?" (Huston-Hoburg & Strange, 1986, p. 393).

If the female student was to succeed in college,

she needed to delegate some household responsibilities

to husband, children, other family members, hired help,

or day-care centers. Setting priorities was essential.

Generally reentry women attempted to cope by curtailing

25

their social life, cancelling church and organizational

activities, and visiting less with friends. The

resultant feeling of social isolation was exacerbated

by a lack of casual time on campus. Reentry women found

it difficult to forge new friendships because of time

pressures. Social contact with peers was a primary need

of reentry women (Tittle & Denker, 1977).

Despite the growing numbers of women in the work

force, controversy persists over the longterm effect of

maternal employment on young children (Lundgren, 1983).

Reentry women found that spending less time with

their families had a harmful effect on relationships

(Astin, 1976; Roach, 1976). To offset diminished

rapport, some women combined "mothering" with other

roles. They visited with children while doing

housework, shared chores, and took the children with

them when shopping. Reentry women became skillful at

balancing domestic tasks and academic demands.

Intervals of piecemeal study were fitted into busy

schedules. Despite such efforts, many students were

obliged to lengthen their day and sacrifice needed

sleep (Tittle & Denker, 1977).

Child Care. The lack of college day-care

facilities was a barrier to reentry for many women

(Astin, 1976; Brandenburg, 1974; Tittle & Denker, 1977).

26

Some students banded together and formed day-care

centers of their own (Brandenburg, 1974).

There were also emotional issues related to the

child-care problem. Mothers suffered when they left

their children with others, feeling they were missing

out on important new experiences (Lundgren, 1983). Many

expressed feelings of guilt about not spending

sufficient time with their children (Emerson, 1977).

Family Support. The reentry woman's return to

school signaled a role shift which impacted the family

unit. The married reentry student functioned within a

family system and was not free to act independently.

Researchers held that if the reentry woman was to be

effective in handling her multiple roles, support and

cooperation from husband and children were critical

variables in determining ultimate success or failure in

school (Roach, 1976).

The pursuit of autonomy and a more independent self

implied some dislocation in the woman's relationships

with her family. She was less available to serve their

needs. More importantly, she became psychologically

less available as she invested herself in her own

personal development. Douvan (1981) defined this as

the woman's emotional cathexis being redistributed with

a greater share centering on self.

27

This shift of attention and emotional investment

reverberated throughout the family. Socialization has

placed women in highly-specialized roles where they have

been valued for their nurturance, dependence, and home

orientation (Alders, 1985). They are cherished in these

roles. Thus, husband and children often chafed at the

disruption of reassuring family patterns. Reactions

varied from erratic support to open hostility

(Brandenburg, 1974). Most families needed time to

adjust to the shift, to find other ways to meet some of

the needs formerly satisfied by the wife-mother (Douvan,

1981).

In this complex process of shifting personal

relationships, Galliano and Gildea offered the concept

of an "assumptive world" (1982, p. 5 ) . They described a

process by which each individual developed unique

perceptions based upon individual experiences. These

assumptions were formed about one's role in relation to

the expectations of others. The assumptive model guided

the reentry woman in structuring her behavior which, in

turn, guided and reinforced the expectations and

behavior of significant others. At this point everyone

within the woman's life space was functioning on a set

of mutual assumptions.

28

When the woman returned to college, profound

alterations were made within the functional structure of

the family's world. At this point, problems arose.

Each family member responded to the shift as it impacted

his/her individual assumptions. The returning student

initially attempted to maintain the assumptive status

quo, but soon discovered this to be impossible. There

was little time for recreation. Household chores

conflicted with studies. The husband, claiming career

obligations of his own, resented taking on his wife's

household responsibilities. The functional structure

collapsed and the family was in a state of conflict.

From such disharmony had to come the rearrangement

of each member's assumptive world. Otherwise the wife-

mother felt censured by all in her immediate life

space. If she and the family could not rearrange this

assumptive world to fit the new reality, researchers

felt she would not be able to continue in college

(Galliano & Gildea, 1982).

Roach (1976) offered Newcomb's Balance Theory as a

means of predicting strain in the reentry woman's

interpersonal relationships. In balance theory, person

(A) communicates with person (B) about something (X).

The relationship between A and B is "balanced" when

their attitudes toward that something (X) are similar.

29

Change in one part of the system puts the relationship

into imbalance, causing tension.

Applying this concept to the reentry woman student,

the family initially was in a state of balance with

high levels of support, encouragement, sharing, and

satisfaction for all. The woman's self-image was

defined and enhanced by her traditional role as wife and

mother. A return to the classroom was viewed as a

rejection of this traditional role. As the woman

assimilated new perceptions, her lack of confidence and

low self-expectation began to change. She perceived

herself as an individual in her own right, "unrelated to

and independent of her relationship with the family"

(Roach, 1976, p. 87). At this point, family

relationships were in a state of imbalance.

Efforts to explain her growing autonomy and

improved feelings of self-worth aggravated the strain.

Tensions mounted as the family perceived the woman's

increasing independence as a "lessening of her caring

for them" (p. 87). As family members struggled to

integrate these changing concepts and to redefine roles,

the woman was bewildered by their negative behavior and

lack of support. As she rejected her former role, the

family valued her ever more highly in that role.

30

A critical player in the family system was the

spouse. It has been suggested that behind every

successful woman there was a man who offered advice,

encouragement, and cooperation (Rapoport & Rapoport,

1969). Generally there was agreement with Bernard's

finding (1981a, p. 269) that "the basic factor in the

success of the married career women was the support and

cooperation of her husband."

In a study of both male and female adult students,

Huston-Hoburg and Strange (1986) found that wives were

more supportive of their husband's return to formal

education than husbands were of their wife's return.

The women students perceived their spouses to be more

traditional in their views particularly with respect to

child care and household responsibilities.

Significant sex differences were also evident

concerning the emotional support reported by adult

students (Huston-Hoburg & Strange, 1986). For returning

women there was less support from their spouse than that

reported by adult men. The researchers concluded that

in terms of spouse support, the return to formal

education seemed to be more difficult for adult women

than it was for adult men. They theorized that for

m arried women, the return to school represented a more

31

direct challenge to traditional role distinctions, with

greater adjustment of family life patterns required.

A return to school could lead to serious problems

in relationships, even to the point of separation or

divorce (Brandenburg, 1974). Reentry women experienced

conflict in striving for excellence in school while

aware of their spouse's annoyance over disrupted family

routine (McGraw, 1982). Support and encouragement often

diminished as academic requirements became increasingly

demanding. Husbands' reactions ranged from cheerful

support to open hostility.

Ballmer and Cozby (1981) studied the marital

adjustment and family environment of reentry women.

They found that while a husband might admire his wife

more as an individual, he often complained that she no

longer spent enough time with him. Furthermore, he

perceived her to be less dependent upon him. Although

proud of the wife's accomplishments, some husbands felt

uncomfortable with this new autonomy.

In research by Berkove (1979), husband support was

described as attitudinal, emotional, financial, and

behavioral (p. 451). A husband's attitude toward the

traditional roles of women served as the framework for

his approval/disapproval of the wife's return to school.

Emotional support tended to be negative in the early

32

semesters but gradually shifted to positive depending on

the wife's ability to allay her husband's fears. Some

husbands withheld financial support, refusing to pay

their wife's college expenses. Wives in the Berkove

study reported husbands offered verbal and emotional

encouragement but refrained from taking on household

tasks. Except for paying the bills, few husbands took

exclusive responsibility for any chore.

Essentially the women in the Berkove research saw

themselves as married to traditional husbands who gave

emotional and financial support under the assumption—

implicit or explicit—that school would not disrupt

family lifestyle. Women reported little change in the

traditional division of labor and therefore, felt

increased stress from the added responsibility of

school. A significant finding in the Berkove study was

that a high degree of husband support correlated with

fewer expressions of stress by the women students.

Outcome Anxiety," as measured by Hooper (1979b), M,

was the extent to which husbands were anxious about the

impact of the wife s student role on the marital

relationship. A correlation existed between the

husband's anxiety score and the number of semesters the

w ife had been in school. The more semesters the wife

33

accrued, the higher the husband's anxiety. Hooper

(1979b, p. 461) noted responses such as "I'm kind of

jealous of the time I have at home and her school has

taken that away" and "If she gets a job after college,

who moves where?" One husband felt "disappointed she

had to go outside the family for fulfillment" (p. 461).

Timing was another sensitive issue. Some men resented

the wife's determination to pursue her own professional

training at a time when their careers demanded total

concentration and energy.

Both Brandenburg (1974) and Roach (1976) cautioned

that reentry women may have sensed familial resistance

where none existed. Women may have projected their own

guilt feelings onto others. Defense mechanisms

protected the woman if she was having difficulty in

college, allowing her to blame her failures on family

res is tance.

When a pivotal family member such as the wife-

mother decided to devote considerable time to something

outside the home, one could anticipate family resistance

(Karelius-Schumacher, 1977). Mogul (1979, p. 1140)

stated:

Family reactions to a woman's decreased availability are bound to be ambivalent and conflicted even in the most supportive families. Family members can be openly

34

hostile if the change is too abrupt, or angry if the woman's new role threatens the family homeostasis.

Firestein (1984) noted certain conditions which

influenced family supportiveness. They were:

1. The family would be more supportive

if the marriage were already nontraditional in role assignments.

2. The more the husband agreed with the wife's decision to return to college, the more likely he would be to share in household tasks.

Despite the difficulties confronting the reentry

woman student, there were anticipated yields which

justified the risks. The power and significance of the

college experience could not be underestimated. For

many women the return to school may have been the first

independent act taken since their decision to marry.

Women who received husband support were more likely to

remain in school and to experience fewer difficulties.

For those women who did not receive spouse support, a

lowering of marital satisfaction could be expected with

separation or divorce a possibility (Berkove, 1978).

Personal Problems

Evidence suggested that reentry women students

performed competently in college (Kasworm, 1980;

Tittle & Denker, 1977). These achievements, however,

were not without a price. Any move toward greater

35

personal autonomy could be expected to be charged with

anxiety and ambivalence (Suchinsky, 1982). Personal

concerns were:

1. Psychological needs: self-es teem.

self-confidence.

2. Role strain: role conflict, role overload.

3. Guilt and anxiety.

Self-Confidence. Self-concept was the woman's

appraisal of her appearance, background, abilities,

resources, attitudes and feelings acquired through

accumulated social contact and activities (Roehl, 1980)

The extent of success in these experiences determined

how the individual felt about herself and how positive

that sense of self was. Women with a weak self-concept

tended to lack confidence, had low expectations, little

self-esteem, and generalized feelings of inadequacy

(ibid,).

Letchworth (1970) believed shame was a factor in

the anxiety suffered by returning women students. He

viewed shame primarily as an identity concern and

defined it as "a feeling of not being able to live up

to one's own standards" (p. 105).

The returning woman student feared she was

basically inept and doomed to fail. She was hesitant

about interacting in the classroom and betraying her

36

perceived stupidity in front of the class. Frequently

she made the mistake of equating age with superiority,

expecting herself to be better informed than her

youthful colleagues. Such irrational thinking often led

to unrealistic goals such as maintaining an "A" average.

Examinations took on an "all-or-nothing" character

(Letchworth, 1970, p. 106).

Douvan (1981) concurred, noting that older women

students often felt anxious about their ability

to measure up to the performance of younger, more

practiced, students. They had a fear of failing and

worried about poor memory and rusty study skills.

Typically reentry women dreaded sitting in a classroom

surrounded by younger students. They questioned their

ability to comprehend assignments, to understand lecture

materials, to take notes. They questioned their

capacity to succeed (Douvan, 1981).

Psychological barriers to the reentry woman's

success in college included a lack of self-confidence,

inability to communicate assertively, poor decision­

making skills, low self-esteem, and dependency (Astin,

1976; Brandenburg, 1974; Brooks, 1976; Johnson et al.,

1979; Lance et al., 1979; Suchinsky, 1982). Sex role

beliefs influenced behavior, particularly for women who

37

had been socialized to be non-assertive and non­

competitive (Astin, 1976; Brandenburg, 1974; Daniels,

1979). Further, they often felt undeserving of a

college education because of the time, money, and

inconvenience this would cost the family (Jacobi, 1984).

Soc ial Isolat ion. Older students were anxious to

be accepted. The adult student wanted to be liked,

respected, and listened to, and was not at all certain

that she would be (Douvan, 1981). Many experienced

feelings of marginalism. The adult woman student

generally attended class, did her library work, then

returned home. Lacking integration with the student

body, she felt herself an "outsider." Social isolation

exacerbated the fear that youthful students saw her as

"a grandmother, not a contemporary" (Letchworth, 1970,

p. 1 0 6 ) . Reentry women wanted a women's center or

support groups more than assistance in applying for jobs

or academic advising (Badenhoop & Johansen, 1980). This

suggested a need for emotional support in making the

transition to higher education.

Self-Es teem. Certain psychological traits

characterized the average middle class housewife: lack

of confidence, pervasive depression, difficulty in

establishing a personal identity (Johnson et al., 1979).

Because of the overwhelming nature of such feelings, the

38

returning woman student had distinct psychological

needs which further distinguished her from younger

clas smates.

A woman's self-esteem was a critical factor in her

perception of herself as a student. Adelstein et al.,

(1983) found that women who scored high on self-concept

viewed themselves as decisive, independent and

disciplined. They had a realistic expectation of what

they could bring to the college experience and what they

hoped to gain from it. Women scoring low on self-

concept scales tended to be depressed, lonely, anxious,

and were unclear about their academic goals.

Maracek and Ballou (1981) found that women in the

housewife role often had a lower self-esteem than their

employed counterparts. They noted responses such as:

"I'm just a housewife" and "I don't do anything

interesting" (p. 44). The authors suggested that

society's negative attitude about the role of homemaker

may influence a woman's self-appraisal and foster

feelings of low self-esteem and depression.

The function of self-concept was reflected in goal

setting, planning, and accommodation of contending

forces (Roehl, 1980). Self-esteem appeared to be a

buffer or mediating factor in coping with stressful

life events. Carne (1984, p. 71) suggested that

39

self-esteem reflected "the bottom line faith humans had

in themselves." If one felt good about oneself, being

able to cope was a safe assumption.

Enrolling in college involved major life changes

and engendered a certain amount of anxiety and tension

(Roach, 1976; Tittle & Denker, 1977). For the reentry

woman with limited contacts and poor self-concept, the

experience could be overwhelming. Some reentry women,

for most of their adult lives, had subverted their own

needs to the needs of others. They had gone from

being dependent on their parents to being dependent

on their husband. Such dependency often led to

resentment of one's self and family, a fear of taking

risks, and depression (Brandenburg, 1974).

While problems of dependency and a lack of

self-confidence could undermine the entire educational

process, college could also provide the reentry woman

with an interest that was independent of the family

(Levine, 1976). She could gain an improved self-esteem

as academic accomplishments led to a new and growing

perception that she was indeed a worthwhile individual

(Brooks, 1976).

Role Strain. Goode (1960) defined role strain

as difficulty in meeting given role demands, with one's

total role obligations becoming overwhelming.

40

Van Meter (1976, p. 28) broadened that definition to

include "the existence of cognitive discomfort due to

incompatible expectations or to multiple role demands

which exceed one's available resources..." Women with

high role strain experienced guilt about pursuing their

education. Such feelings stemmed from role discrepancy

i.e., in not placing the family as their highest

priority (p. 80) .

Role Conf1ic t . Adult life is marked by role

changes: student, worker, spouse, parent, grandparent.

The roles we choose have certain consequences: (1) they

define the behavior expected of us by others; (2) they

are an important source of feelings about ourselves;

(3) they expose us to experiences which can affect

attitudes, feelings, and behavior (Biddle & Thomas,

1966). Although self-selected initially, roles play a

major part in shaping our subsequent experiences and

personality (Frieze et al., 1978).

The multiple positions occupied by adults each have

a set of prescriptions defining the expected behavior

(Biddle & Thomas, 1966). These role demands are exerted

by society and its norms along with associates. The

latter comprise a role set and include spouse, children,

employer, teacher, siblings, parents, friends, and

ne ighbors.

41

Some researchers (Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snoek &

Rosenthal, 1964) defined role conflict as any situation

in which incompatible expectations were placed on a

person. Others suggested that role conflict occurred

when an individual simultaneously tried to meet the

demands of disparate roles (Gilbert, Holahan & Manning,

1981).

Role conflict has been an important factor in

the lives of reentry women and a major source of stress.

Hall (1972) believed role conflict came from the woman's

multiple roles (interrole conflict) rather than from

conflicting expectations within a particular role

(intrarole conflict). The essence of role conflict

appeared to be a felt strain or conflict in meeting the

demands of numerous, perhaps disparate, roles (Goode,

1960). When competing roles were added to a woman's

role repertoire, the potential for role conflict

mounted (Frieze et al., 1978).

Multiple roles are by definition a prerequisite

of role conflict and a source of role strain (Burr,

1972; Goode, 1960; Hall, 1972). The total amount of

role activity that is prescribed in a person's life

i.e., the amount of activity across all life roles,

is probably the crucial variable influencing role strain

(Burr, 1972).

42

The reentry woman student must fulfill multiple

roles, each with varying time commitments and

obligations. There is a kinship role which requires

dedication to one's spouse and children. Sexual and

therapeutic roles are integrated into the overall role

of wife. The homemaker and maternal roles require a

life commitment to the nurturance and socialization of

her children. Passing on societal and generational

values is an integral part of the mother's self-identity

and an essential stage in her own life cycle development

(Erikson, 1982). If a woman student also happens to be

employed, she must integrate employer's demands with

family needs and college responsibilities.

The more roles one assumes, the more difficulties

that arise in regard to how one's time will be managed

(Frieze et al., 1978). Role conflict creates difficulty

because it causes one person to violate the expectations

of another. The person in conflict will either choose

one set of expectations and reject another, or attempt

to effect a compromise by partial conformance to both

sets of expectations. Another compromise is that the

individual will avoid making a choice by seeking some

means of escape from the situation (Biddle & Thomas,

1966).

43

Goode's scarcity hypothesis (1960) suggested that

human energy is a fixed and limited quantity. Because

each social role draws on this one energy pool, multiple

roles create a likelihood of stress, overload, and

conflict, with negative consequences for one's well-

being (Baruch, Biever & Barnett, 1987). Role conflict

is considered to be a stressor which can lead to guilt,

anxiety, and varied psychological and/or physiological

symptoms (Hoffman & Nye, 1974).

Role Overload. This form of role conflict was

based on external time demands, rather than inherent

contradictions in expectations. Hall (1972) saw it not

as an issue of intrinsic incompatibility of roles, but

more a question of role overload and competition for

one's time. When a number of roles demanded extensive

commitments of time, the reentry woman would experience

the stress of role overload.

Rapoport and Rapoport (1969) held that role

overload was exacerbated by four factors: (1) having

children and family life, (2) aspiring to a high

standard of domestic living, (3) inability to

satisfactorily reapportion tasks, and (4) the sheer

physical volume of tasks compounded by psychological

conf1ic t.

44

Reentry literature highlighted the internal

conflict experienced by women as they attempted to

combine the multiple roles of student-wife-mother-worker

(Astin, 1976; Brandenburg, 1974; Frieze et al., 1978;

Gilbert et al., 1982). Since the roles of marriage,

family, and work each had extensive time demands, it was

not unexpected that role overload was a major problem

for reentry women. The more roles assumed, the greater

the logistical problems of time management and

allocation of resources. The problems could be resolved

by withdrawing from some roles or by renegotiating

expectations with one's partners. If the family took a

greater share of household tasks and assumed more

responsibility within the family system, the risk of

role overload was reduced (Bernard, 1974; Goode, 1960;

Hoffman & Nye, 1974) .

Dependable support systems, be they family members,

neighbors, housekeepers or babysitters, were essential

for the reentry woman. However, support systems are

human systems each with their own complexities. For

example, finding a good housekeeper can be difficult.

One must judge the person's qualifications, particularly

if child care is involved, and there are problems such

as salary, transportation, hours, meals. In effect, the

woman who ceded care of her children to a housekeeper or

45

babysitter took on yet another role, that of employer.

Each role, with its fragmentation of time and energy,

meant greater role strain (Douvan, 1974).

Soc ializat ion. The postponement of career

development until after the responsibilities of home and

children are lessened, or a pattern of interrupted

educational and career involvement, has been prevalent

for middle-class American women for over two decades

(Chickering & Havighurst, 1981). Bernard (1981b)

suggested that a woman's life was regulated by the

family life cycle, specifically the premenarcheal years,

the childbearing years, and the post-menopausal years.

From this pattern evolved the notion that there were two

types of women: those who married and those with

careers.

Expanding on these concepts, Bernard declared that

women had been socialized to remain in the conformist

stage of character development and cognitive style, to

be "defensive and immature, passive and dependent, and

to have a limited behavioral repertoire" (1981a,

p. 2 6 1 ) . She saw sex-role socialization as being

counter-developmental in that it had not fostered a

woman's autonomy or independence. Rather, society

emphasized achievement of identity in terms of a woman's

46

dependency--first on her family and, after marriage,

dependency on her husband.

Traditional attitudes began to crumble in the 1960s

with the women's liberation movement and the evolution

of new social values. In the early 1970s, the reason

most cited by women for returning to school was personal

growth (McCrea, 1979). In the 1980s, economic factors

impelled women to return to higher education.

The reentry woman's attempt to combine career and

family implied a psychological struggle as well as

social and economic change. Letchworth (1970) believed

identity resolution and a psychological need for

wholeness were motivating factors. He felt an identity

crisis led the reentry woman to question life's meaning,

her own abilities and limitations, as well as the

environmental structure of her world. The other side of

this psychosocial coin was an integrity crisis with the

woman seeking understanding of her world from a creative

perspective. She sought to shape a lifestyle around a

significant career that gave meaning to her life

(Letchworth, 1970).

The search for identity was not limited to the

mature woman who had completed the mothering cycle

of her life. Subsumed in the economic, social, and

psychological motives behind the reentry decision was a

47

search for autonomy and self-definition. Many women

felt a need for "some self-definition that was portable,

that they could carry within themselves irrespective of

external changes in their life situations" (Douvan,

1981, p. 199).

If a woman wanted both career and family, some

"rearrangement of the inner furniture of the mind" was

necessary (Roland & Harris, 1979, p. 49). The

psychological elements of multiple roles had to be

worked out along with an inner harmony of the emotions.

Initially, the reentry woman saw herself as a homemaker

going to school. After a few semesters, she began to

see herself as a student with home responsibilities

(Ballmer & Cozby, 1981). This change in role perception

often stimulated personal conflict, particularly if the

woman's family held traditional views contrary to her

own expectations. A woman's self-concept and sense of

purpose, together with the relationship she shared with

her husband, greatly influenced subsequent role conflict

(Van Meter, 1976) .

Society has traditionally considered the woman's

role to be that of wife-mother; the man's, that of

provider (Gilbert et al., 1982). Although some women

have achieved status in nontraditional occupations,

spouse and parental roles have yet to be redefined by

48

society. Adherence to traditional role concepts

usually prevailed even if the working woman was making a

substantial contribution to family income (Poloma &

Garland, 1971).

The addition of the student role to those of wife

and mother represented a transition for the reentry

woman and her family. Such a transition required a

redefinition of family roles and power structure.

Family response often took the form of pressure on the

woman to maintain an unvarying high level performance in

her traditional role while simultaneously trying to

maintain the student role (Burr, 1972). Failure to do

so often resulted in feelings of guilt and uncertainty.

Women attempting to function simultaneously in family

and work roles were caught in a pair of mutually-

exclusive priorities which threatened life satisfaction

and affected mental and physical health (Sekaran, 1983).

Anxiety and Guilt. Social tradition has encouraged

women to assign their highest priority to family

relationships. Westervelt (1973) suggested that women

were socialized to live in a world that no longer

existed, to give primacy to roles that had become

psychologically constricting, and to acquire behavior

that was not equal to the responsibilities they were

1 ikely to have.

49

Contemporary social changes freed women to pursue

alternative lifestyles such as entering the labor

force or returning to higher education. However, with

the loosening of traditional restraints, a woman was

forced to confront her choices. Thus the university

world could be both liberating and frightening to the

reentry student. The resultant psychological conflict

was not wholly unexpected (Westervelt, 1973).

Anxiety is manifested, in various ways. An

individual may be acutely aware of disturbing feelings

or anxiety may operate at the unconscious level.

Anxiety in the affective state can vary from a mild form

of uneasiness to generalized feelings of panic. Motor

experiences include nervous tics, physical restlessness,

muscular tension. Somatic symptoms include dizziness,

headache, sweating, rapid heartbeat. Cognitive

experiences include confusion, rapid processing of

sensory information, and disjointed thinking

(APA: DSM-III). No matter the form, anxiety is a

noxious experience which demands attention and relief.

Nacey (1981) suggested that women were more likely

to experience anxiety due to a socialized sense of

inadequacy and insecurity. A woman student coming from

the homemaker role could be unsettled by ordinary

problems such as library work, writing papers, taking

50

examinations. Anxiety often chipped away at the

resolve which originally took her out of the domestic

sett ing.

Anxiety was also expressed in feelings of guilt.

Emerson (1977) suggested that women returning to higher

education from the roles of wife and mother would

experience guilt. She defined guilt as "feelings of bad

conscience for (1) neglect of perceived duties, (2)

transgression of roles perceived as expected by society,

and (3) selfishness in meeting one's own needs and

desires" (1977, p. 1).

Guilt from selfishness was one form experienced by

reentry women students (Emerson, 1977; Van Meter, 1976).

Women often felt guilty about pursuing their education

and career goals. Role discrepancy i.e., not placing

one's family as highest priority, was the source of such

guilt (Van Meter, 1976). Letchworth (1970) believed

such feelings stemmed from a Victorian notion of

womanhood, that the woman's primary sphere was the home

and family interests must always take precedence.

The second form of guilt was from competetition and

was essentially an identity concern (Letchworth, 1970).

A reentry student may have felt in competition with her

husband as she moved from her housewife role to a new,

more all-encompassing identity. If threatened by his

51

wife's assertiveness, the husband sometimes responded by

maintaining her guilt feelings at a high level. He

would discourage her from attending school or use direct

and indirect means of fueling this guilt (Brandenburg,

1974). If a husband was supportive of his wife's return

to college, she could avoid this internal conflict.

Douvan (1981) took a different perspective. She

believed that women customarily experienced more guilt

than men whatever their life status. Reentry women

experienced guilt because they failed to make the social

process work for them. They had not learned how to

make legitimate demands on others as they sought a new

autonomy.

Taking an even more positive stance, Emerson (1977,

p. 137) drew two conclusions from her research of

reentry students:

1. All women who returned to higher education from the role of wife and mother would experience some degree of guilt.

2. The greatest amount of guilt stemmed from a perceived neglect of one's children.

Emerson (1977, p. 133) identified the sources of

this guilt as:

1. A breach of the implied marriage contract concerning traditional roles.

2. Guilt and/or shame as a reaction to criticism from others about what she was, or was not, doing.

CHAPTER III

THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTS

The theoretical principles underlying this research

were drawn from role theory, systems theory, stress

theory, and ego development theory.

Role Theory

In their description of role theory, Deaux and

Wrightsman (1984) explained behavior by reference to

roles, role expectations, role skills, and role senders

as they interact socially. A role was defined as "the

functions a person performs when occupying a position

within a particular social context" (p. 12).

Goode's (1960) theory of role strain evolved from a

sociological perspective. He defined role strain as

"the felt difficulty in fulfilling role obligations"

(p. 483). The individual's problem was how to allocate

energy and skills in order to hold role strain to a

tolerable level. The more roles one added, the less

likely one would be able to satisfactorily fulfill all

role obligations. This "scarcity hypothesis" was hased

on the assumption that individuals had a limited amount

of energy and that role receivers could be demanding.

52

53

Barnett and Baruch (1985) held that roles differed

with respect to overload, conflict, or anxiety.

Commitment to a career generated conflict for women due

to socialization and culturally-defined sex roles. They

suggested that being a mother was the most important

source of stress in a woman's life.

Hall (1972) believed women faced role conflict

daily and also experienced the simultaneous demands of

competing role senders i.e., spouse, children, employer.

In contrast, role demands on men were usually salient at

different times so they did not produce conflict by

operating simultaneously (Hall, 1972). Women were

in continual interaction with role senders and thus were

more vulnerable to role strain.

Role strain was particularly applicable to the

problems of reentry women students. The woman who held

two or more roles (wife-mother-student-worker) appeared

at risk (Hall, 1972). Home and family were demanding

and pervasive. If the woman felt unequal to the demands

of her multiple roles or perceived herself to be

unjustly pressured, there was the possibility of role

strain.

Researchers found that role conflict differed

significantly along traditional male-female sex role

patterns (Gilbert et al., 1982). Female students

54

expressed a greater degree of family difficulty over

reentry and experienced more guilt over spending family

money on their education (Lance et al., 1979).

The more a woman could choose for herself the roles

that suited her individual needs, the greater her

physical and psychological well-being (Baruch, Barnett &

Rivers, 1983). One's life role is a powerful force in

the development of the adult personality. We are

"libidinally invested" in such roles as wife, mother,

worker, student (Perlman, 1968, p. 47). The greater the

feeling about these roles, the more fully the woman's

personality is involved.

Dual Careers. The theoretical constructs of dual

careers usually pertain to the working wife who combines

a salaried job with her roles of wife and mother. In

considering reentry women students, income was not a

factor. However, there were sufficient similarities

between the problems of reentry students and dual career

families to justify a brief review of the literature.

Dual career marriages have become increasingly

common. However, there is some question whether both

spouses can prosper as career persons and as marriage

partners. Role strain has been an issue in dual career

families (Holahan & Gilbert, 1979). Working women often

perceived the satisfactory fulfillment of family

55

obligations and professional career advancement as

conflicting goals (Sekaran, 1983).

Role strain in dual career families has contributed

to certain forms of stress (Rapoport & Rapoport, 1969):

1. Role overload arising from the problem of having to perform multiple roles s imultaneously.

2. Identity conflict stemming from the socio-cultura1 definition of masculine versus feminine work.

3. Role cycling which requires successful meshing of transition points in either spouse's career e.g., job advancement, relocation, having a child.

As dual career couples endeavored to shape their

own compatible lifestyles, some disturbing implications

emerged. The masculine virtue of being a good provider

was questioned. A wife's income diluted some of the

husband's power and made her more independent. Some

couples experienced a lack of equity, with neither

spouse having his or her needs adequately met (Young &

Shoun, 1983).

Sy s tems Theory

Baruth and Huber (1984) conceptualized the marital

relationship as a system that develops from interaction

of the male and female elements. Behavior of the

partners cannot be isolated but must be viewed as

evolving in a larger context.

56

A family is a system with unique and specific

properties. It is more than a group of individuals

occupying common physical and psychological space.

There are defined roles and rules for communication so

that members can function in their shared environment.

The principle of wholeness pertains to the family's

organizational structure. In systems terms, this means

an individual's behavior cannot be fully understood

without comprehending his/her relationship to the

functioning of the overall system.

In their research on nontraditiona1 students,

Galliano and Gildea (1982) defined a process by which

each family member develops unique perceptions of life

based upon individual experiences. Assumptions are thus

formed about one's role in relation to the expectations

of others. When the wife-mother enrolled in college,

everyone within her life space was functioning on a set

of mutual assumptions. Problems arose when she tried,

but failed, to maintain the assumptive status quo.

The tension and resentment which followed forced family

members to rearrange their assumptions to fit the new

reality.

Another principle, homeostasis, described the

family system's need to maintain itself in a state of

equilibrium by keeping behavior within certain limits

57

(Baruth & Huber, 1984). Any member's deviation from

these norms would be met by feedback from others. For

example, the woman student may have perceived as

negative support her family's unwillingness to take on

added chores. Family members, however, saw their

behavior as feedback that her college work was viewed as

deviant behavior. Their negative support was an attempt

to restore homeostasis in the family system by forcing

the woman to resume her traditional role.

The principles of wholeness and homeostasis reveal

the interacting patterns of family behavior. Such

patterns evolve over the life cycle of the family. Thus

it was clear that developmental changes experienced by

the reentry woman would surely impact on the family

system of which she was a part.

Stress Theory

Stress was defined by reference to both the person

and the environment. Managing the stress experience was

conceptualized by Goldberger and Breznitz (1982, p. 22)

as two interacting processes: appraisal and coping.

Appraisal was an evaluation process that gave meaning to

a situation. It could be separated into an appraisal of

what was at stake e.g., "Am I okay or in trouble?" or

an appraisal of coping, "What can be done about the

58

situation?" The evaluation of coping options was

influenced by previous experience, belief in oneself,

the availability of social support, financial resources,

physical stamina and problem-solving skills.

Goldberger and Breznitz (1982) noted that stress

had been defined as a stimulus, a response, and an

intervening state. The word "stress" was often

connected with emotional states, appearing frequently

in discussions of anxiety. A vivid concept was put

forth by May (in Goldberger & Breznitz, 1982, p. 39):

Anxiety is how the individual relates to stress, accepts it, interprets it. Stress is a halfway station on the way to anxiety. Anxiety is how we handle stress.

Life strains experienced elsewhere may be expressed

or acted upon in the family. Husbands under stress at

work may bring their anger home and vent it on the

family; a child hurt by playmates runs home seeking

consolation. Home is not only the preferred place in

time of distress, but often is the only place where one

can find unconditional acceptance and support. Yet,

even as it soothes and supports, the family system also

inflicts pain and punishment.

The reentry woman's family held a central role in

the stress process. Bernard (1981b) felt that men

derive more protection from marriage because more of the

59

social support flows from women to men, than vice versa.

She believed that men lack training in supportive

functioning. In their family roles, women often give

more than they receive, resulting in a "support gap."

For the reentry student, a perceived lack of family

support could be a major cause of stress and anxiety.

Goldberger and Breznitz (1982, p. 778) suggested

that one's social resources can influence stress by:

1. Decreasing the likelihood of the occurrence of stressful events.

2. Interacting with significant others to modify or alter the perception of an event as stressful.

3. Influencing coping strategies.

4. Modifying loss of self-esteem and increasing feelings of mastery.

Ego Development Theory

During adulthood, men and women face crises, make

changes in their commitments and values, and often

believe that they have changed or "matured" in the

process. Yet we understand little of this process and

it is often difficult to define or measure the

increasing sense of personal integration that appears to

take place.

One approach to this problem has been the theory of

ego development proposed by Loevinger (1976), in which

60

she described a series of sequential stages reflecting

the frame of reference that a person has toward the self

and the world. This orientation encompassed impulse

control, character development, interpersonal

relationships, and cognitive preoccupations such as

one's self-concept.

Various theorists (Erikson, 1950; Kohlberg, 1964;

Loevinger, 1976; Piaget, 1932) used the concept of

developmental stages to explain and predict the nature

of development within individuals. They viewed this

process as orderly and sequential, moving in the

direction of greater differentiation and higher order

Integra t ion.

In Loevinger's theory (1976), one's perception of

the self, the social world, and relationships to the

feelings and thoughts of others are differentiated and

integrated in a series of nine stages. Each stage is

qualitatively distinct from the others in character

development, interpersonal relationships, traits,

cognitive preoccupations and moral judgment (Loevinger,

1976, p. 15-26).

The Presocial stage (I-l) is rarely found among

adults. This stage is divided into a presocial or

autistic phase and a symbiotic phase. Loevinger

included this period in her schema only for theoretical

61

completeness. In the Impulsive stage (1-2), the

individual manifests a growing but primitive sense of

self. The child's impulses are curbed at first by

constraint, later also by rewards and punishments. The

child's need for people is strong, but demanding and

dependent. He tends to class others as good or bad, not

as a truly moral judgment. The child is preoccupied

with bodily impulses.

This is followed by the Self-Protective (Delta)

stage in which controlling others and opportunistic

hedonism are most important. The child learns there are

rules but uses them for his own satisfaction. The Self-

Protective person externalizes blame to other people or

circumstances. Self-criticism is not characteristic.

Those at the Conformist stage (1-3) are more

conventional with a stereotypic world view. One obeys

the rules out of a fear of disapproval. The person at

this stage tends to perceive himself and others along

socially-approved norms and in stereotypic sex roles.

The Conformist values niceness and cooperation with

others, but sees behavior in terms of externals rather

than feelings. Belonging makes him feel secure.

Loevinger viewed the next stage as the modal level

for adults in our society. The Self-Aware (1-3/4) stage

is transitional with many characteristics from the

62

Conformist stage. There is an increase in self-

awareness and an appreciation of multiple possibilities

and alternatives. The growing awareness of inner life

is often expressed in terms of vague "feelings".

At the Conscientious stage (1-4), individuals are

more differentiated, self-critical and responsible.

The major elements of an adult conscience are present.

Rules are no longer absolutes, the same for everyone all

the time; rather, exceptions and contingencies are

recognized. A person at this stage is more likely to

feel guilty if what he does hurts another person, even

though it conforms to the rules. He feels responsible

for other people and has a concept of privileges, rights

and justice. Achievement is at its highest peak.

The Individualistic stage (1-4/5) is characterized

by greater tolerance and increased awareness of inner

conflict. However, the conflict, for example, over

marriage versus career for a woman, is likely to be seen

as only partly internal. If only society or one's

husband were more helpful and accommodating, there need

be no conflict (Loevinger, 1976, p, 22).

That conflict is part of the human condition is not

recognized until the Autonomous stage (1-5) where the

individual has the courage to acknowledge and deal with

conflict, rather than ignoring it or projecting it onto

63

the environment. At this stage the individual is able

to integrate ideas and there is a higher tolerance for

ambiguity. The Autonomous person takes a broad view of

life as a whole,

At the highest stage. Integrated (1-6), one gains

the greatest sense of identity and reconciliation of

inner conflicts, Loevinger (1970) believed few

individuals achieved this stage which she equated with

Maslow's concept of the self-actualized person (1970,

p. 26). Loevinger cautioned against the "end of the

rainbow effect" noting that the highest level is not the

solution to problems, but rather an openness to more

problems (1970, p. 25).

A stage may be viewed as a "mode of living" with a

characteristic way of perceiving, interpreting, and

reacting to people, objects, and events in the

environment. When the woman student reenters higher

education, a new structure (the college) impacts her

behavior. The student's moral values and cognitive

perceptions are affected as well as her character and

personality. Consequently, she may undergo a change in

ego development, regressing to an earlier stage due to

stress or crisis, or entering a transitional stage which

reflects developmental growth.

64

Loevinger considered ego to be "the master trait,"

a framework around which one's personality is formed

(1976, p. 41). Ego is "not the same as the whole

personality but closer to what the person thinks of as

his/her self" (p. 67). Loevinger traced her use of

the term "ego development" to Adler's concept of "style

of life" which he equated with self, ego, unity of

personality, and one's attitude toward life (Loevinger &

Wessler, 1970, p. 7).

Complementing Loevinger's work was research done by

Weathersby (1980a) in life cycle development. She

viewed adulthood as sequential life periods, each with

required learning tasks. Of the ten adult life cycle

stages defined by Weathersby, three were pertinent

to reentry women students:

Age 30: a transition stage marked by major psychic tasks such as a reexamination of life commitments, making desired changes to incorporate deeper strivings put aside in the 20s.

Age 40: a midlife transition stage with major tasks such as creating a better fit between one's life structure and self.

Age 50: a transition stage focusing on a need for redirection. For some reentry students, the focus is on the need to change so that long-deferred goals can still be accomplished.

Transitions through these life stages may occur by

moving through time periods in the lifespan or by

65

changing roles i.e., adopting new ones, relinquishing

old ones. Every transition is an occasion for learning.

In her extensive research of adult women students,

Weathersby (1980b) noted distinctions among the various

groups. In the age 30 group, women were intent on

finishing interrupted education and setting new life

goals, in coping with boredom, seeking se1f-identity and

personal growth. At the midlife transition in the early

40s, motives for returning to college were more related

to work, self, and changed family circumstances. At the

50s transition stage, students sought to regain

direction after personal upheaval or family crisis.

The reentry woman's reasons for enrolling in higher

education varied according to the individual's ego

development and her place in the life cycle, as well as

the developmental tasks associated with each life

period. Weathersby (1980b) warned of the potentially-

dangerous combination of new life tasks and education

stimulating ego development, as well as feelings of

disequilibrium and stress. She predicted some students

would be "at risk" (1980b, p. 73) because of these life

transitions. They could experience heightened anxiety

in the course of their studies. However, if successful,

they could emerge from the college experience with new

personality strengths forged in the educational process.

66

From Weathersby's research (1980a, 1980b), certain

generalizations about the reentry student group could be

drawn:

1. The reentry woman was in a period of introspection from which future life structure and goals would evolve.

2. She was experiencing developmental tasks which challenged psychic, emotional, and physical strength.

3, Relationships with her family were changing or being replaced by new interpersonal relationships,

4, She was at risk for heightened levels of anxiety, stress, and conflict.

The challenge to educators was to create settings

that supported individual development. According to

Weathersby, "the growth process is important for society

as well, to counteract the alienation and ambivalence

that accompany rapid social change. In other words,

transformation is a task of the culture as well as of

individuals" (1980a, p, 28).

Summary

Entry into a new role, whether forced or freely

chosen, can be crucial. The anxiety and guilt

experienced by the reentry woman depended on: (1) role

conflict stemming from traditional attitudes and

(2) the dependability of her social network. Although

society has become more tolerant of a woman's right

67

to self-actualize, the reentry woman often experienced

intensive feelings of guilt and shame when she moved

beyond her traditional roles (Brandenburg, 1974).

Since the 1950s, there has been a steady increase

in the participation of women in higher education and in

the work force (Carnegie Commission on Higher Education,

1973). Concomitant with this trend in education and

occupations has been the emergence of new career

aspirations in which both a demanding profession and

marriage-family life are assumed.

With the decline of traditional-age (18-22 years)

students, universities have opened their doors to

adult women students. They are potentially the largest

and fastest growing advocacy group in education.

Various reasons motivate a woman's return to college.

Increased career interest and economics are major

factors. Fewer children, a longer lifespan, and the

fact that the average woman will survive her husband,

force a reevaluation of one's future.

Research also suggested that women were seeking new

growth, opting for continuing development as opposed to

middle-age stagnation (Brandenburg, 1974). Erikson

(1982) theorized that an individual can experience

development at any point in the life cycle. A woman's

decision to resume her education represented a shift

68

from the traditional role of homemaker to a new, all-

encompassing identity better suited to her current self-

perception and values. Whatever their reasons--job

skills, personal fulfillment, new career--reentry women

have brought to the academic environment a challenging

set of attitudes, values, and expectations.

The pursuit of autonomy and a more independent

self implied some dislocation in family relationships.

In taking on the added role of college student, the

woman was less available to serve the needs of her

family. More importantly, she was psychologically less

available to them. This shift of attention often

resulted in tension, conflict, and power struggles.

Researchers agreed that family support was a critical

variable for the reentry woman's successful performance

in college (Berkove 1978; Bernard, 1981a; Hooper, 1979a;

Van Meter, 1976) .

Developmental theorists suggested that any move

toward greater personal autonomy would be charged with

anxiety (Letchworth, 1970). Reentry women generally

performed competently (Kasworm, 1980), but there were

personal concerns which influenced performance--lack of

self-confidence, low self-esteem, role conflict, role

overload. Problems of dependency threatened to

undermine the educational process (Brandenburg, 1974).

69

Although contemporary society has a greater

tolerance of the principle of self-actualization, the

reentry woman frequently suffered anxiety and guilt when

she tried to achieve it (Brandenburg, 1974; Emerson,

1977). The woman generally was seeking to complement

her traditional role with a new sense of identity and

integrity, qualities which would make her even more

effective as a role model to her children and a life

partner to her husband.

As the youth cohort declined and adult student

enrollments grew, American colleges and universities

were faced with a challenge to provide meaningful

educational intervention in human development.

Weathersby (1980b) believed the responsibility of

educators was to create settings that supported

individual development.

Specific objectives in this research were:

1. To investigate the experience of role strain, role conflict, and role overload.

2. To ascertain the effect that personality attributes such as self-esteem and ego development might have on role strain.

3. To assess guilt and anxiety and their interaction with role strain.

4. To assess the effects of socialization as they might influence ego development.

70

A principal objective in this research was a

greater understanding of the psychological and psycho­

social impact of a woman's return to higher education.

Researchers must explore the new standards that evolve

with changing values, attitudes, social roles. Reentry

women are confronted with difficult life choices. It

is important to have more information concerning the

blending of career and motherhood and the inherent

risks of stress and marital dysfunction. It was also

hoped this research data might contribute to a broader

basis for decision-making in relation to university

policies, counseling, curriculum, and services, as they

pertain to the reentry woman student.

CHAPTER IV

PROCEDURES AND METHODOLOGY

This chapter begins with a restatement of the

problem and a description of the setting, sample,

instruments, data collection, and research design.

Following that data is a discussion of the statistical

analysis and the limitations of the investigation.

Research Problem

The purpose of this study was to investigate role

strain as experienced by the reentry woman student and

to determine the relationship between role strain and

certain psychosocial variables, namely self-esteem and

ego development stage.

The research hypotheses examined were:

Hoi: Role strain would correlate with the number and complexity of the student's life roles (wife, mother, student, worker).

Ho2: Role strain would correlate with the student's level of self-esteem as established by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.

Ho3: Role strain would correlate with the student's ego development stage as established by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test,

Ho4: Role strain would vary in degree between university students and community college s tudent s,

71

72

In addition to testing these research hypotheses,

an evaluation was made of factors which contribute to

role strain: role conflict, role overload, guilt.

a nxiety, and subject's perception of spouse support.

Research Populat ion

Subjects participating in this study were drawn

from current enrollments at Texas Tech University and

South Plains Community College, Lubbock, Texas. The

qualifications for participation were that students be

married, age 25 years or older, and enrolled either

full-time or part-time during the 1987 spring semester.

The sample was drawn from women enrolled in graduate

and undergraduate degree programs. Listings of

students meeting these qualifications were provided by

college registrars. The sample consisted of 1100 names.

A survey packet and cover letter was mailed to each

student on the list. Completed questionnaires were

returned by 480 individuals which represented a 44%

response rate.

Re search Design

This survey was designed to provide a description

of the role strain experienced by adult women students.

The dependent variable, role strain, was derived from an

analysis of responses to questions of how the women

73

viewed their student responsibilities in relation to

other demands on their time. The independent variables

were self-esteem, anxiety, and ego development stage.

Analysis of socio-demographic data produced information

on certain independent attribute variables such as age,

marital status, number and ages of children, residency,

employment, enrollment status, academic level, reasons

for enrollment, major problems, and the educational

background, income and occupation of student's spouse.

Since the independent variables could not be

manipulated, an £x post fac to research design was used.

Weaknesses inherent in e^x post f ac to designs which

affect internal validity are the inability (1) to

control the confounding effects of self-selection;

(2) to randomly assign and manipulate the independent

variables; (3) to assume causal relationships

(Kerlinger, 1979, p. 116). An advantage in using ex

post fac to research is its high degree of external

validity e.g., the ability to generalize results from

the experimental situation to the general population.

Data Collect ion

On February 1, 1987, a survey packet (see Appendix)

was mailed to each name on the lists supplied by Texas

Tech and South Plains registrars.

74

The cover letter introduced the study, invited the

recipient to participate, and outlined instructions.

Subjects were informed that participation was voluntary

and that confidentiality would be maintained. A self-

addressed stamped envelope was enclosed for return of

the questionnaire.

Inst rumenta t ion

The survey had five sections and required twenty

minutes to complete. There were 13 questions requesting

demographic information. Next were 10 questions for

the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965),

followed by 26 questions on the Taylor Manifest

Anxiety Scale (Taylor, 1953). The role strain scale

had three sections: 20 questions related to role

conflict and role overload; 10 questions related to

guilt; 15 questions related to spouse support. The

final section was the 18-stem Washington University

Sentence Completion Test designed to measure ego

development stage (Loevinger & Wessler, 1970).

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965),

a frequently employed research instrument, was used to

measure self-esteem. The instrument is a 10-item

Guttman scale that is unidimensional. Respondents were

75

ranked on a continuum from low to high. The scale's

questions measure one variable and deal openly and

directly with the subject of self-esteem which gives it

face validity. Test-retest reliability of the scale

ranges from .85 to .92 (Rosenberg, 1965).

Taylor Mani fe s t Anxie ty Scale

The Manifest Anxiety Scale was originally designed

for use in a study of experimental conditioning. Items

were drawn from the MMPI and judged for selection by

teams of clinical psychologists. Inter-rater

reliability was .80 or better. A later revision by

Taylor (1953) simplified the vocabulary and sentence

structure. The result is a revised Manifest Anxiety

Scale consisting of 26 items. The revised scale had a

Pearson-r correlation of .85 with the former version.

The MAS has had broad research applications. A

study by Lowe (1964) investigated the equivalence of

guilt and anxiety as psychological constructs. He found

a correlation of .75 between the Taylor MAS and the

guilt scale on the MMPI. Lowe concluded that the self-

report measures of anxiety and guilt comprise the same

psychological entity. In applying these findings to the

proposed study, it was anticipated that women

experiencing guilt feelings over their inability to

76

adequately fulfill multiple roles may experience high

levels of anxiety.

Washington Univers i ty Sentence Comple t ion Tes t

Loevinger used a sentence completion test to

assess level of ego development (Loevinger & Wessler,

1970). The test was based on the assumption that each

person has a characteristic I-level of ego functioning.

The I-level is determined by the distribution of ratings

of the individual's response to the incomplete sentence

stems (Loevinger & Wessler, 1970).

There are nine stages of ego development:

I-l 1-2 Delta 1-3 1-3/4 1-4 1-4/5 1-5 1-6

Pre-Soc ial/Symbiot ic Impuls ive Self-Protect ive Conformis t Self-Aware Consclent ious Individual is t ic Autonomous Integrated

The protocols were scored by the automatic protocol

rating described by Loevinger and Wessler (1970) in

their scoring manual. This automatic system provides

rules to be applied to the cumulative frequency

distribution of individual sentence stems and yields

only one possible rating for a given individual.

Loevinger's scoring manual was based on results

of her testing of over 1,200 subjects and included

77

a self-training component for scorers. Interrater

reliability coefficients on the scale were in the .90

range. Even self-trained raters obtained reliabilities

of .85 to .94.

Role Strain Scale

The role strain scale (see Appendix) had 45

statements to which the subject indicated agreement or

disagreement on a 4-point Likert scale. The scale was

divided into 20 items dealing with role conflict and

role overload; 10 items relating to guilt; and 15 items

for perceived degree of spouse support.

The items were selected to assess role strain from

different perspectives. For example, role conflict

questions pertained to time and household management,

relations with spouse and children, child care,

expectations for self, expectations of others. The

guilt scale related to feelings of perceived neglect of

husband and children. The spouse support scale dealt

with the woman's perception of the instrumental and

emotional support she was receiving from her husband.

The scale was intended to diagnose an existing state,

i.e., to assess whether a student is currently

experiencing role strain. It could not predict whether

a student might experience role strain in the future.

78

Analys is of Data

The data obtained from the questionnaire were

edited, coded and entered into the Texas Tech University

computer system. The Statist ical Package for the Social

Sc iences (Nie, Hull, Jenkins, Steinbrenner & Bent, 1975)

was used for all computer analyses.

Analyses consisted of descriptive statistics

consisting of frequency distributions and population

means, as well as tests of significance including

t-tests, ANOVA, and analyses of non-parametric data.

Limi tat ions

In applying the results of this study to other

populations or groups, certain factors should be

cons idered:

1. Causation cannot be inferred because of this study's e_x post f ac to design.

2. Generalization of the findings is limited by the one-time only sampling and by the limited response (44%) from eligible

subj ec t s.

3. Due to the elusive nature of concepts such as self-esteem, anxiety, spouse support, guilt, etc., they are difficult to measure and interpret.

4. Many items contained in the instruments requested information of a personal nature Subjects' responses may reflect bias and a desire to present themselves and their families more favorably.

CHAPTER V

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter will summarize collected data as

described in the previous methodology.

Populat ion

Two groups of subjects comprised the total

population (N=480) for this research. They were reentry

women students enrolled at Texas Tech University (n=301)

and South Plains Community College (n=179), located in

Lubbock, Texas.

At the time of the survey, subjects varied from

25 to 62 years of age, with a population mean of 34.6

years (34.1 years TTU; 35.8 years SPCC). Over 56% of

these Women were in the 25-34 years group (Table 1).

Table 1

Age of Subjects

Numbe r TTU SPCC Percentage

Age Range (n=301) (n=179) (N=480)

25-29 years 89 46 28"7T% 30-34 85 47 27.5 35-39 70 43 23.5 40-44 33 21 11.2 45-49 15 11 5.4 50-54 7 7 3.0 55-59 2 3 1.0 60-64 0 1 0.3

79

80

The number of years these subjects had been

residing in the West Texas area ranged from 1 to 60

years. The population mean was 19.9 years. A majority

(55%) of Texas Tech students averaged less than 20 years

residency. This compared with 65% of the South Plains

students who were residents of West Texas for more than

20 years .

Marital Status

All of the students (N=480) participating in this

study were married. Their husbands were employed in a

variety of occupational fields (Table 2 ) . The top

four occupations for husbands of Texas Tech students

were (1) office-sales; (2) management-supervisory;

(3) education; (4) oil-agriculture. The spouses of

the South Plains students were primarily engaged in

(1) oil-agriculture; (2) independent business, which

was generally service-related; (3) industrial;

(4) management-supervisory.

There was also a wide range in the educational

level of the subjects' husbands (Table 3 ) . Some 53%

of the spouses of South Plains subjects had a level

of high school or below, compared with 59% of the

spouses of Texas Tech subjects who held bachelor's

or graduate degrees.

Table 2

81

Occupa t ion

Husband's Occupation

Number TTU SPCC

(n=301) (n=179)

Oil-Agriculture Management-Supervisory Office-Sales Educa t ion Independent Business Indus trial Pol ice-Fire-Military Mechanical Health Care Cons t rue t ion Student Unemployed Electr ical Insurance-Banking Other

31 38 42 38 22 11 18 13 20 9 17 7 5 3

27

27 18 11 7

22 22 15 13 4 14 3 11 3 2 7

Percentage (N=480)

12.1 11.7 11 .0 9.4 9 6 6 5 5

2 9 9 4 0

4.8 4.2 3 1

7 7

1.0 7.0

Table 3

Husband's Education

Educat ional Leve 1

Number TTU SPCC

(n=301) (n=179) Percentage

(N=480)

6th grade 7-lOth grade High School Some College B.A. Degree M.A. Degree Ph.D.Degree

0 4

48 72 105 43 29

1 18 76 43 31 8 2

0 4 25 24 28 10 6

2% 6 8 0 3 6 5

82

ChiIdren

Almost 78% of the subjects had children ranging

in age from 1 to 6 years (£ < .01). The mean number

of children was 1.5 and a majority of women in

both groups (TTU 76%; SPCC 82%) had more than one child

(Table 4 ) . The ages of the children ranged from

infant to 23 years. Mean age was 9 years, with sample

means of 8.5 years for children of Texas Tech women

and 9.8 years for children of South Plains students.

Table 4

Number of Reentry Students with Children Living at Home

Number of Children

Number TTU SPCC

(n=301) (n=179)

No children 1 child 2 chiIdren 3 chiIdren 4 chiIdren 5 children 6 chiIdren

73 89 92 39 7 1 0

33 34 64 38 7 1 2

Percentage (N =

22. 25. 32, 16, 2. 0, 0.

= 480)

.1%

.6 ,5 .1 .9 .4 .4

Chi-square (6, N = 480) = 16.8 £ < .01

Roles

Each student functioned in a minimum of two roles

i.e., student-wife, with the greatest number (45%)

with four roles: student-wife-mother-worker (Table 5)

83

Roles

Table 5

Number and Type of Roles Held by Reentry Students

Numbe r TTU SPCC

(n=301) (n=179)

Student-Wife 19 Student-Wife-Mother 100 Student-Wife-Worker 55 Student-Wife-Mother-

Worker 127

6 58 27

88

Percentage (N=480)

5.3% 32.9 17.2

44.6

Employment

There was a significant distribution of subjects

in the categories of employment (Table 6). In the Texas

Tech group, 60% were employed full- or part-time as

compared with 65% in the South Plains group.

Table 6

Employment

Type of Employment

Number TTU SPCC

(n=301) (n=179) Percentage

(N=480)

Full-time Part-1 ime Unemployed

74 108 119

82 34 63

32.5% 29.6 37.9

Chi-square (3, N = 480) = 28.1 £ < .001

There was also a significant (£ <.001) distribution

in the number of hours worked per week. Reports ranged

from 3 to 50 hours, with a mean of 18 hours (Table 7).

84

Within the groups, 40% of TTU and 70% of SPCC worked

more than 31 hours per week.

Table 7

Hours Worked per Week

H<

1-11-21-31-41-

3ur s

-10 -20 -30 -40 -50

hours

N TTU

(n=181)

19 70 19 61 12

umber SPCC

(n=116)

6 18 11 76 5

Percentage (N =

8 29 10 46 5

297)

.4%

.7

.1

.1

.7

Chi-square (30, N = 297) = 66.7 £ < .001

Family Income

Family income ranged from $5,000 to over $51,000

per year. Mean income for the population was $35,000

(Table 8). South Plains students (56%) reported incomes

less than $30,000 annually; Texas Tech students (51%)

reported incomes in excess of $31,000 annually.

Table 8

Family Income

Annual Income

Numbe r TTU SPCC

(n=301) (n=179) Percentage

(N=480)

$ 5-10,000 per year 11-20,000 21-30,000 31-40,000 41-50^000 51,000 plus

16 57 75 56 44 53

19 32 49 37 30 12

7.3% 18.5 25.9 19.4 15.4 13.5

85

Enro1Iment Level

There was a significant distribution (£ < .001)

in student enrollments, ranging from undergraduate to

doctoral degrees. The mean was in the freshman-

sophomore level (Table 9).

Table 9

Levels of Enrollment

Level

Numbe r TTU SPCC

(n=301) (n=179)

Percentage (N=480)

Doctoral Degree 91 Master's Degree 43 Undergraduate Degree 167

0 0

179

19.o: 8.9

72. 1

Chi-square (5, N = 480) = 250.08 £ < .001

Student credit hours were significant (£ < .001)

with the population mean being 10.3 hours. Texas

Tech students averaged 10.8 hours per semester, and

South Plains students, 9.4 hours (Table 10).

Table 10

Enrolled Credit Hours

Hours

3-6 7-12

13-18

hours

Number TTU SPCC

(n=301) (n=179)

69 133 99

68 73 38

Percentage (N=480)

28.5% 43.0 28.5

Chi-square (21, N = 480) = 71.2 £ < .001

86

Reasons for Reentry

Adult women students offered various reasons for

reentry. The primary reasons are ranked for these

groups in Table 11 .

Table 11

Reasons for Returning to College

Reasons Number Reporting TTU SPCC

Pe rcent age (N=480)

69% 46 29 28 13 13

Personal Fulfillment Career Goals Upgrade Skills Degree Completion Boredom Certificat ion

191 132 56 93 47 23

140 90 85 40 15 38

Maj or S tudies

With the extensive curriculum offered by both

institutions, it was not unexpected that a variety of

degree programs would be represented in this population

(Table 12). The leading majors reported by Texas

Tech students were (1) education; (2) home economics;

(3) business; (4) nursing/allied health. South Plains

students reflected similar interests in their declared

majors, but with a different ranking: (1) nursing/

allied health; (2) business; (3) electronic technology;

(4) educat ion.

Table 12

Major Areas of Study

87

Major

Number TTU SPCC

(n=301) (n=179) Percentage

(N=480)

Agriculture Archi tec ture Art Arts & Science Biology Bus ine s s

2 4 11 7 4 34

0 0 2 0 0

23

0.4 % 0.8 2.7 1.4 0.8 11.9

Chemistry 1 Child Development 0 Cosmetology 0 Education 89 Electronic Tech. 1 Engineering Tech. 3

Fashion Merchandising 0 Geology 2 His tory 3 Home Economics 34 Interdisciplinary

Stud ies 6

Languages 14 Law 13 Mathematics 3 Music 2 Nursing/Allied Health 31

Petroleum Tech. Physical Education Phys ics Political Science Postal Service Mgmt. Psychology

Real Estate Sc ience Secre tarial Soc iology Technical Arts Zoology Undeclared

0 4 0 2 0 17

0 0 0 4 0 0 9

0 4 1

12 19 1

1 0 0 0

0

3 0 0 0 55

1 1 1 0 1 1

4 1 4 1 2 1

40

0 0 0 21 4 0

0 1 0 0 0 3

2 8 2 2 3 8

0.2 0.4 0.6 7.3

1.2

3.5 2.7 0.6 0.4 17.9

2 0 2 4 2 9

0.8 0.2 0.8 1.0 0.4 0.2 10.4

88

Problems on Reentry

On returning to higher education, the subjects

experienced a variety of institutional, situational,

and personal problems (Table 13). Highest ranked were

fatigue, time management, family, and financial.

Table 13

Problems Encountered on Reentry

Problem

Fa t igue Time Management Family

Financ ial Exam Anxiety Wr i t ing Papers

Studying Class Schedules Commut ing

College Bureaucracy Mo t ivat ion Spouse Support

Faculty Other

(1)

TTU Number

(n=301)

235 221 149

148 126 102

71 97 79

101 70 58

57 11

SPCC (n=179)

109 123 86

75 91 54

75 32 38

13 32 35

12 3

Percentage (N=480)

71.7 71.7 49.0

46.5 45.2 32.5

30.4 26.9 24.4

23.7 21.2 19.4

14.4 2.9

(1) Some respondents may have reported under "Family"

89

Ego Development Stage

Students' protocols were rated according to the

Loevinger and Wessler (1970) system for determining

stage or level of ego development. The greatest number

of students (47%) were rated at the 1-3/4 level which

is a transition stage from Conformist to Conscientious.

The next largest grouping (40%) was at the 1-4,

Conscientious, level (Table 14).

Table 14

Ego Development Stages

Stage

1-2 Impulsive Delta Self-Protective 1-3 Conformist 1-3/4 Self-Aware 1-4 Conscientious 1-4/5 Individualistic 1-5 Autonomous 1-6 Integrated

TTU (n=301)

2 7

21 137 128

6 0 0

SPCC (n=179)

2 7 17 88 62 3 0 0

Percentage (N=480)

0.8% 3.0 7.9

46.9 39.6 1.8 0.0 0.0

Student Profile

From the foregoing demographic information, a

profile emerged of the average reentry woman student

participating in this study (Table 15). It included

both demographic and psychosocial variables such as

self-esteem, ego development, and anxiety.

90 Table 15

Profile of the Average Reentry Woman Student in this Study

Age :

Status:

Children:

Spouse :

Spouse's Education:

RoIes :

Employment:

35 years

Ma rried

1.5 children, average age 9 years

Oil and Agriculture industries

Some college

Four: Student, Wife, Mother, Worker

Parttime, average 18 hours weekly

Family Income: $35,000 per year

Re s ident:

Level:

Hours:

Reasons for Reent ry:

Problems on Reentry:

20 years in west Texas

2nd Freshman - 1st Sophomore level

10 . 3 credit hours

(1) Personal Fulfillment (2) Career

(1) Fatigue (2) Time Management (3) Family

Self-Esteem: High level

Stage of Ego Development:

Anxie ty:

Guilt:

Role Strain:

1-3/4 Transition from Conformist to Conscientious

Low degree

Low to Moderate degree

Low to Moderate degree

Role Conflict: Low to Moderate degree

Spouse Support: Low level of support

91

Research Hypotheses

The purpose of this study was to investigate role

strain as experienced by the reentry woman student and

to determine the relationship between role strain and

certain psychosocial variables, namely self-esteem and

ego development stage.

Hypothes is No . l_

Role strain would correlate with the number and complexity of the student's roles (student, wife, mother, worker).

The hypothesis was supported. Data indicated a

significant relationship between role strain and the

student's number of roles (Table 16). A majority of

subjects functioned in four roles and reported low to

moderate role strain. Women whose third role was that

of mother reported higher role strain than those whose

third role was that of worker.

Table 16

Chi-Square Analysis, Role Strain and Number of Roles

Role Strain

None Low Moderate High

Student-Wife

(n=25) 12.0 52.0 32.0 4.0

Number Student-Wife-Mother (n=158)

5.1 46.2 43.0 5.7

of Roles Student-Wife-Worker (n=82) 12.2 62.2 23.2 2.4

Student-Wi fe-Mother-Worke r (n=215)

2.3 47.2 47.2 3.3

Chi-square (12, N»480) = 27.9 £ < .01

92

To study the effect of number of roles and

employment on role strain, a one-way analysis of

variance statistical procedure was used (Table 17).

Number of roles was significant, but there was no

relationship between role strain and employment.

Table 17

Analysis of Variance, Role Strain by Number of Roles

and Employment

Source of Var iance

Number of Roles Employment

Sum of Squares

9.25 0.69

DF

4 2

Mean Square

2.31 0.35

F

5.50 0.82

*

* £ < .001

Spouse support was defined as the instrumental and

emotional support a husband provided his wife as she

functioned in her multiple roles. A majority of women

rated perceived level of spouse support as low or poor

(Table 18). Table 18

Chi-Square Analysis, Perceived Level of Spouse Support

Level of Support

TTU (n=301) (

SPCC n=179)

3.9 25.7 34.1 36.3

Good Moderate Low Poor

5.3 19.9 40.9 33.9

Chi-square (4, N = 480) = 4.34 N.S.

93

The four categories of spouse support were defined

as good, moderate, low, poor. An ANOVA indicated a

significant relationship between the student's perceived

level of spouse support and the degree of role strain

she experienced (Table 19).

Table 19

Analysis of Variance, Role Strain and Level of Spouse Support

Source of Sum of DF Mean F Var iance Square s Square

Level of Spouse Support 129.49 42 3.08 17.19 *

* £ < .001

The spouse support measure contained 15 items

assessing the subject's perception of her husband's

instrumental and emotional support. The scale tapped

issues such as helping with household chores, praise of

wife's efforts, financial support of her college

expenses, psychological support, understanding of her

problems, etc.

A factor analysis of the fifteen spouse support

items produced two factors. Factor I, which had a

final eigenvalue of 7.98 and accounted for 53% of the

explained variance, was composed of items which

reflected the spouse's lack of interest and/or support

94

of his wife's career. Two items assessing interest in

his wife's school work and understanding of her problems

in college loaded most heavily on the first factor.

Specific questions loading high on this factor were

as fo1 lows:

My husband is not interested in my school work.

My husband does not understand my difficulties and problems in school.

My husband rarely praises my accomplishments as a s tudent.

My husband does not support my efforts as a s tudent.

My husband believes his career should take precedence over mine.

My husband's support is consistent as long as my college responsibilities do not interfere with household routine.

My husband does not understand me.

Factor II, which had an eigenvalue of 1.32 and

accounted for 9% of the explained variance, consisted

of items related to marital instability. The student's

concern over the stability of her marriage and what

might happen to the marital relationship after college

loaded most heavily. Specific questions were:

The stability of our marriage has been threatened by my return to college.

I am concerned about what might happen to my relationship with my husband after I complete my education.

95

I have more conflicts with my husband since I enrolled in college.

Our sexual relationship has deteriorated since my involvement with college.

Hypothes is No . 2̂

Role strain would correlate with the student's level of self-esteem measured by the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale.

This hypothesis was supported. Data indicated

a significant relationship between role strain and

self-esteem. Approximately 91% of the subjects

reported high self-esteem and low or moderate levels of

role strain (Table 20).

Table 20

Chi-Square Analysis, Role Strain and Self-Esteem

Role Strain

Self-Esteem Low High

(n=39) (n=441)

None Low Moderate High

0.0 25.6 61.5 12.8

5.9 51.9 39.0 3.2

Chi-square (3, N = 480) = 20.15 £ < .001

Hypo the sis No . 3̂

Role strain would correlate with the student's ego development stage as established by the Washington University Sentence Completion Test.

96

This hypothesis was supported (Table 21). A

majority of subjects were in the 1-3/4 and 1-4 stages

and reported low to moderate role strain.

Table 21

Chi-Square Analysis, Role Strain and Ego Development

Role 1-2 Delta 1-3 1-3/4 1-4 1-4/5 Strain (n=4) (n=14) (n=38) (n=225) (n=190) (n=9)

None 0.0 Low 100.0 Mode rate

0.0 High 0.0

1 4 . 3 5 7 . 1

1 4 . 3 1 4 . 3

1 0 . 5 4 4 . 7

4 2 . 1 2 . 6

4 . 9 5 0 . 7

3 8 . 2 6 . 2

4 . 7 5 0 . 5

4 3 . 7 1.1

11.1 55.6

22.2 11.1

Chi-square (18, N = 480) = 29.08 £ < .05

Hypo the sis No. 4

Degree of role strain would vary between university and community college students.

The hypothesis was not supported. Data did not

indicate any significant difference in the degree of

role strain experienced by university or community

college students (Table 22).

Table 22

T-test, Role Strain by Groups

Group

TTU

SPCC

n Mean S.D. DF t value

301

179

2.47

2.36

0.63

0.69 348 1.77 N.S

97

Other Variables

Anxiety. Analysis of scores on the anxiety scale

indicated that a majority of subjects were experiencing

low to moderate anxiety. An ANOVA procedure indicated

that role strain had a significant effect on anxiety

(Table 23). Subjects reporting a moderate or high

degree of role strain also reported high levels of

anxie ty,

Table 23

Analysis of Variance, Role Strain and Anxiety

Source of Sum of DF Mean F Var iance Square s Square

Anxiety 30.86 3 10.28 27.87 *

* £ < .001

Guilt. The guilt scale assessed the student's

perception of her failure to satisfactorily fulfill role

expectations and perform to her own high standards.

Subjects in both groups (49% TTU, 47% SPCC) reported

moderate levels of guilt.

An analysis of the 10 questions on this scale

produced two factors. The first was guilt from neglect

of home and family; the second, feelings of guilt in not

fulfilling role expectations.

98

Factor I had a final eigenvalue of 3.86 and

accounted for 39% of the explained variance. Five

items loaded heaviest on this factor, all dealing with

a perceived neglect of home and family. The factor's

quest ions were:

I do not give my children enough time and attention.

I do not give my husband enough time and a t tent ion.

I feel guilty when I must tell my child that I cannot do what he/she wants because I have to study,

I ought to devote more effort to the care of my home,

I feel guilty asking my family to take on extra responsibilities since I'm in school.

The second factor had an eigenvalue of 1,04 and

accounted for 10% of the explained variance. Questions

which loaded heavy on this factor were:

I no longer entertain as much as before,

I feel guilty if I fail a test.

Family routine has been disrupted by my attending college.

Role Conflict. This variable was defined as

(1) contradictions in role expectations by associates

and (2) the pressure of conflicting demands on one's

time resulting in role overload. A t-test indicated

university students experienced greater role conflict

99

than community college students (Table 24). Because so

many factors relate to role conflict, no particular

inferences could be drawn from this finding.

Table 24

T-test, Role Conflict by Grou ps

n Mean S.D. DF t-value

TTU 301 2.81

SPCC 179 2.63

0.69

0.80 332 2.50 .05

Data did indicate a relationship between role

conflict and number of roles (Table 25). Women holding

four roles (student-wife-mother-worker), reported

moderate to high role conflict. Women whose third role

was that of mother reported higher role conflict than

women whose third role was that of worker.

Table 25

Chi-Square Analysis, Role Conflict and Number of Roles

Role Conflict

Student Wife

Number of Roles Student Wife Mo ther

Student Wife Worker

Student Wife Mo the r Worker

None Low Moderate High

8.0 36.0 48,0 8,0

4,4 28,5 51,3 15,8

6,1 52,4 35,4 6,1

2,3 24.3 56.5 16.8

Chi-square (12, N = 480) = 32.45 £ < .001

100

A relationship also existed between role conflict

and anxiety. Women reporting high anxiety experienced

moderate to high degrees of role conflict (Table 26).

Table 26

Chi-Square Analysis, Role Conflict and Anxiety

Role Conflict

Anxie ty None Low Moderate (n=135) (n=215) (n=101)

Hi (n =

0 0

46 53

gh 26)

.0

.0

.2

.8

None Low Modera te High

8.9 47.4 38.5 5.2

Chi-square (9, N = 480) =

2.4 30.7 55.3 11.6

86.9

1.0 17.8 59.4 21 .8

£ < .001

The relationship between a student's role conflict

and her perception of spouse support was significant

(Table 27). The largest group was that reporting low

spouse support and moderate role conflict.

Table 27

Chi-Square Analysis, Role Conflict and Perceived Level

of Spouse Support

Good Role Conflict (n=23)

Spouse Support Moderate Low Poor (n=106) (n=184) (n=166)

None Low Moderate High

4.4 0.0

47.8 47.8

0.0 11.3 54.7 34.0

0.5 28.8 62.0 8.7

10.3 50.6 36.1 3.0

Chi-square (9, N = 430) = 145.1 £ < .001

101

The role conflict scale was comprised of 20 items

assessing time demands, conflicting expectations, and

other ways in which a student might experience stress

due to her multiple roles.

A factor analysis of this scale produced four

factors. Factor I, which had a final eigenvalue of

7.6 and accounted for 38% of the explained variance,

was composed of five questions intended to assess

stress. Those items which' loaded most heavily on this

factor related to feelings of being under pressure and

being overburdened by the responsibilities of home-

family-work-school. The questions on this factor were:

I feel under pressure

At times I feel overburdened with home, family, work, school responsibilities.

I do not get sufficient rest and recreation.

I feel tired most of the time.

Time problems are my most frequent source of concern.

Factor II reflected the student's conflict between

her student and maternal roles. This factor, which had

a final eigenvalue of 1.4, accounted for 9% of the

the explained variance. Only two questions loaded high

on this fac tor:

I could be a better mother if my college

work were less demanding.

102

I am not able to spend enough time with my children and meet demands of my college work.

The third factor reflected conflict stemming from

the husband's lack of support and concern over the

marriage being in jeopardy. Factor III had a final

eigenvalue of 1.37 and accounted for 7% of the explained

variance. Specific questions were:

My husband's lack of support makes my college work difficult.

My marriage is jeopardized by attending college.

The last factor extracted from this analysis

related to conflict over the student's se1f-fulfi1Iment.

Factor IV had a final eigenvalue of 1.06 and accounted

for 5% of the explained value. The questions which

loaded heaviest on this factor were:

I feel conflict between my own se1f-fulfi1Iment and family duties.

I wish I had completed college before marriage and family.

Discuss ion

From this research emerged a profile of the

average reentry woman student in this population. She

was in her mid-30s, married, with more than one child

under age 10. She had been a resident of West Texas for

som e 20 years. Her husband's career was in the oil or

103

agriculture industries and his level of education was

some college.

The student's academic and career interests were

in the fields of nursing/allied health, business, or

education. Personal fulfillment was the primary reason

for returning to higher education; career interests

ranked second.

The reentry woman functioned in four roles, each

with significant responsibilities. Her two primary

roles were wife and mother; her children were still of

the age where they required nurturing and supervision.

As a college student, she carried 10 credit hours,

representing a time commitment of approximately 30 hours

per week. A majority of women in this study were also

employed. The average was 18 hours of work per week.

It was not unexpected that fatigue and time

management were primary problems. Family issues and

financial concerns were also major problems with these

students. Three factors may be interacting: the high

number of women employed; financial problems cited

as a major concern; and the fact that 35% of the

women reported their husbands did not finance their

education. No inferences could be drawn from the data.

Additional research is needed on these questions.

104

A number of students reported problems studying;

it was unclear whether that meant rusty skills, finding

a quiet place, a lack of time, or all three. Scheduling

of classes and problems with college bureaucracy were

of minor concern. Contradicting reentry literature,

faculty attitudes were not an issue.

In Loevinger's theory (1976), one's perception

of self, the social world, and relationships to the

feelings and thoughts of others are differentiated and

integrated in a series of stages. The ego stages of the

480 women in this population ranged from 1-2, Impulsive,

to 1-4/5, Individualistic. A majority (87%) were in

the 1-3/4 and 1-4 stages.

Loevinger (1976) saw the 1-3/4 transition stage

as the modal level for adults in our society. At this

stage an introspective self-consciousness emerges with

awareness of psychological causation and self-criticism.

The 1-3/4 subject tends to think about appropriate

behavior and attitudes that are right for the time,

place and situation. There is a greater awareness of

one's own feelings and those of others. Behavior is

differentiated and more complex, with an appreciation of

multiple possibilities in life situations.

At the 1-4 level, the individual is more self-

reflective and self-aware. Rules are evaluated and

105

and chosen for one's self and contextually defined.

Responsibility is felt for others and people are seen as

individuals. Guilt is more severe for hurting others

than for breaking rules. At this stage, the individual

is concerned with goals, ideals, differentiated self-

criticism, and a sense of responsibility.

Despite the individual differences between women

at all stages, returning to school was part of a process

of change for all of them. It is possible that none of

these women would have considered education had it not

been for the internal changes, largely self-esteem and

the need for independence, that resulted either from

external changes or developmental processes in their

1ives .

Self-esteem was a critical factor. Carne (1984)

viewed it as a buffer in coping with life's stressful

events. If one felt good about oneself, then being able

to cope with whatever came was a safe assumption. This

premise was reflected in the relationship between high

self-esteem and the low to moderate degree of role

reported by these subjects.

High self-esteem may also reflect the positive

gains of higher education. Education is a process of

transformation and each stage is an opportunity for

learning and personal growth (Weathersby, 1980b).

106

These subjects felt good about themselves and believed

in the rightness of what they were doing.

The results of the self-esteem scale were

supported by the responses on the ego development

protocols, A random sampling of protocols indicated

the following responses to pertinent sentence stems.

"I am..."

a sensitive but stubborn person that believes you get what you put into life,

proud of myself for going to school even though I have a family to attend to.

a terrific woman who has a loving husband, five great kids, a career, and have maintained my sanity,

excited about my family/career life that lies ahead.

busier than ever but also probably happier than I've ever been,

an achiever. happy to be who I am. a highly motivated woman who seeks a place

in society.

"The thing I like about myself..."

my determination to get through school. my self-confidence, determination, intelligence. my courage to try. that I set goals for myself and generally

attain them, what I'm doing with myself. I have done better in school than I thought

I would, the fact that I like myself and am proud

of myself, my family, career, and education, that I try to do my very best in everything, that I don't need other's approval to make

me feel worthwhile. I have the intelligence to do what I want

with my future.

107

Goode (1960) defined role strain as "the felt

difficulty in fulfilling role obligations" (p. 4 8 3 ) .

Van Meter (1976) broadened that definition to include

"cognitive discomfort due to incompatible expectations

or to multiple role demands which exceed one's

resources" (p. 2 8 ) . The more roles one accumulates,

the greater the probability of exhausting one's supply

of time and energy, with the consequence of role strain

and psychological distress (Goode, 1960).

A significant relationship did exist between role

strain and the number and type of roles held by a

reentry student. Approximately 45% of the women were

functioning in four roles: wife-mother-student-worker.

They reported low to moderate levels of anxiety. Those

subjects with three roles, i.e., student-wife-mother or

student-wife-worker, experienced less role strain if the

third role was that of worker. Women who combined

mothering with student-wife roles experienced greater

role strain.

In this study, the umbrella concept of role strain

was comprised of role conflict, guilt, and spouse

support. Role conflict emerged as the more powerful of

the three. Multiple roles are by definition a

prerequisite of role conflict (Burr, 1972; Goode, 1960;

Hall, 1972). They create a situation in which too many

108

role responsibilities cause overload and the risk of

burnout (Frieze et al., 1978).

Of the women functioning in four roles (student-

wife-mother-worker), 73% reported moderate and high

role conflict. Subjects experienced less role conflict

if the third role were that of worker, rather than

that of mother.

Factoring the role conflict scale lent insight

to the possible causes of role conflict. Students

complained of being under pressure, feeling tired,

and not getting sufficient rest or relaxation. Women

worried that they were not giving their children

sufficient time and attention. The ego development

protocols mirrored these role conflict problems:

"My main problem is..."

burnout. a cluttered house. not enough time for me. knowing how much I can reasonably accomplish

without too much stress, pacing myself so demands don't get too heavy, trying to take on too many things at once

and trying to be everything to everyone, coping with a strong desire to do all, be all,

for my family and succeed in college, the many roles and responsibilities, that I'm afraid I won't get through college

and let people down, managing my time to get everything done

and done we 11. time, time for me, my husband, kids, career,

and plain time to relax.

109

Reentry typically accentuates rather than changes

the strengths and weaknesses in relationships. The role

conflict scale loaded high on a factor identified as

"marital." Students expressed concern over their

spouse's lack of support and wondered if their marriage

was in jeopardy. They acknowledged increased conflict

and deterioration of their sexual relationship. They

felt keenly their husband's lack of empathy for their

college-related problems. Husbands tended to withhold

praise of the wife's efforts to attain her degree;

generally the spouse felt his career to be more

important than hers. Women in both groups worried about

the future of their marriages after college.

Students' perception of spouse support was

assessed as poor, low, moderate, or high. Some 73% of

the subjects reported their perception of spouse support

as poor or low. A significant relationship existed

between spouse support and the student's experience of

role strain, role conflict, and anxiety.

Two out of every five women in this study

believed their husband's support was consistent as long

as their college responsibilities did not disrupt family

routine. One in every three women reported her husband

did not understand her problems in school. The student

did not feel her husband "was there" when she needed

no

him. Students reported their husbands withheld praise

and generally appeared indifferent and/or remote to

their college work.

Rightly or wrongly, fair or not, these are the

perceptions of this sampling of reentry women. Such

findings are not totally unexpected, Brandenburg (1974)

believed that a return to school could lead to serious

marital problems, even the possibility of separation or

divorce. Hooper (1979b) wrote about a husband's

"outcome anxiety," his worry over what would happen

after the wife completed college, Ballmer and Cozby

(1981) found that husbands of reentry women often felt

uncomfortable with their wife's growing autonomy and

independence,

Firestein (1984) noted that a husband tended to

be more supportive if the marriage was already

nontraditional in role assignments and division of

labor. Berkove (1979) found that a husband's attitude

toward women's traditional roles served as the framework

for his approval or disapproval of the wife's return

t o school.

A sampling of responses on the ego development

protocols gave the student's perception of her husband's

social attitudes. While no inferences can be drawn, the

Ill

perceptions may clarify why some students are reporting

low and poor levels of spouse support:

"Most men think that women... II

were put on this earth to have babies and take care of their men.

are not capable of having a career, raising children, and improving themselves,

do not need advanced degrees, should do the housekeeping and child raising

regardless of whether they have a career, should not pursue their own career interests are intellectually and physically inferior, are unable to achieve a status equivalent

to the irs . are the primary caregivers and housekeepers, are subservient, are incompetent, are robot s .

"Men are lucky because II

they have women! they are encouraged to achieve. they still rule the world. they don't always have to try as hard as

women do to be accepted, our society is geared to men. they can concentrate on what they want more

than what they have to do. the majority of them still hold the highest

positions and are held in more esteem and with more respect than women,

they are not expected to fulfill all the roles women are.

An item of demographic interest, the husband's

level of education, seems pertinent at this point in

the discussion. At some future date, a gap may exist

between the educational level of the women and their

spouses, with the women more highly educated. For

example, in the South Plains group, 53% of the spouses

112

had a high school or below level of education. In the

population as a whole, only 45% of the husbands had

college degrees. About 17% of them were at the graduate

level. This compares with the women of whom 30% may

eventually hold master's or doctorate degrees.

Such data links with research findings of Ballmer

and Cozby (1981); Berkove (1979); Hooper (1979b); and

Huston-Hoburg and Strange (1986). A basic factor in the

success of married women in careers is the cooperation

and support of their husbands. If a man holds

traditional views of women's roles, and if her academic

or professional qualifications disturb his self-esteem,

then the instrumental and psychological support he can

give her may be considerably less than needed (Bernard,

1981b) .

Despite a favorable social climate and personal

motivation which provide the necessary preconditions

for a woman to return to school, the experiences of

reentry are not without psychological pressures. This

study has demonstrated with this sample that role

strain, role conflict, guilt and anxiety are factors

which impact the reentry woman's experiences in college.

A potential for role overload exists as she tries to

minimize inconvenience to the family and still perform

at a high standard in each role. Some compromise

113

in the balance of college responsibilities and family

obligations is necessary. Otherwise the reentry woman

may be confronted with a rejection of either role.

Educational administrators anticipate that

enrollments of reentry women will increase in the

coming decade. Given this fact, researchers must

continue to probe the psychosocial problems confronting

reentry students and their families. These and other

questions are subjects for future research. The

challenge to educators will be to create settings that

support individual development.

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APPENDIX

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

124

125

APPENDIX

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Fellow Student:

I am a graduate student in the Department of Educational Psychology at Texas Tech University.

Your participation in the research for my doctoral dissertation would be appreciated. The topic is role strain in women who function in multiple roles of wife, mother, student, worker, etc.

This research advocates neither a feminist nor a traditional view of women's issues. Rather we seek to determine whether or not role strain is a viable concern for local university and college women. By sharing your experiences on how role strain may (or may not) apply in your life, you will enable us to draw more reliable inferences from this research.

The enclosed survey take s about twenty minute s to comple te. Please fill yours in today and return it to me in the stamped envelope. Nothing else is needed.

Confidentiality is guaranteed. All data will be recorded by code number. At no time will your name be associated with your response. Your privacy is important to me and I will respect it.

If you have any questions, I can be reached at 797-2539. Thank you for your participation. Good luck in your studies.

Sincerely yours.

Geraldine Menger

126

BIOGRAPHICAL SURVEY

University or College Department

Hours Enrolled Age

Freshman Junior Master's Student Sophomore Senior Doctoral Student

Married Separated Divorced Widowed

Ages of children living at home

Number of years residing in West Texas

Your Current Fulltime Parttime Employment Unemployed Hours Weekly_

Husband ' s occupatio n

Husband's educa t ion

Family Income $ 5-10,000 $30-40,000 $10-20,000 $40-50,000 $20-30,000 $50,000 +

REASONS FOR RETURNING TO SCHOOL: Start a career Personal fulfillment Upgrade skills Escape boredom/routine Job certification Complete degree Employer's request Other

127

MAJOR PROBLEMS/DIFFICULTIES YOU HAVE ENCOUNTERED: Time management Family adjustments Class scheduling Husband support Learning to study Financ ial Exam anxiety Staying motivated Writing papers Commut ing College bureaucracy Fat igue Faculty attitudes Other

DIRECTIONS: Please indicate how much you AGREE/DISAGREE with these statements. Circle the answer which best describes your feelings.

1 - Strongly Agree 2 - Agree

3 - Disagree 4 - Strongly Disagree

1. On the whole, I am satisfied with myself.

2. At times I think I am no good at all.

SA

1

I

A

2

SD

4

3. I feel that I have a number of good qualities.

4. I am able to do things as well as most other people.

5. I feel that I do not have much to be proud of.

6. I certainly feel useless at t imes.

7. I feel that I'm a person of worth, at least on an equal plane with others.

8. I wish I could have more respect for myself.

128

9. All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure.

10, I take a positive attitude toward myself.

SA A

1 2

1 2

D

3

SD

4

DIRECTIONS: The following statements represent experiences,.,ways of doing things, or beliefs, or preferences,..that are true of some people but are not true of others. Read each statement and decide whether or not it is true with respect to yourself.

If it is true or mos tly true, circle "True". If it is false or mos tly false, circle the word "False".

11, I am often sick to ray storaach,

12, I am about as nervous as other people,

13, I work under a great deal of strain,

14, I blush as often as others,

15, I worry quite a bit over possible t rouble s,

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

When embarrassed, I often break out in a sweat which is very annoying.

I do not often notice ray heart pounding and I ara seldom short of breath.

At times I lose sleep over worry

True

True

True

True

True

True

True

True

My sleep is restless and disturbed. True

I often dream about things I don't like to tell other people. True

False

False

False

False

False

False

False

False

False

False

129

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

My feelings are hurt easier than most people. True

I often find myself worrying about something. True

I wish I could be as happy as others. True

I feel anxious about something or someone almost all the time. True

At times I am so restless that I cannot sit in a chair for very long. True

I have often felt that I faced so many difficulties I could not overcome them. True

At times I have been worried beyond reason about something that really did not matter. True

I do not have as many fears as my friends. True

I am more self-conscious than most people. True

I ara the kind of person who takes things hard. True

I ara a very nervous person. True

Life is often a strain for me. True

I am not at all confident of myself.True

At times I feel that I am going to crack up. True

I don't like to face a difficulty or make an important decision. True

False

False

False

False

False

False

36, I ara very confident of myself. True

False

False

False

False

False

False

False

False

False

False

130

DIRECTIONS: Please indicate how much you AGREE/DISAGREE with the following statements. Do not spend too much time on any question. There are no right or wrong answers. Just circle the answer which best describes how you feel.

1 - Disagree Strongly 2 - Disagree

3 - Agree 4 - Agree Strongly

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

I wish I had completed college before marriage and family,

I feel conflict between my own self- fulfillment and family duties.

DS

1

1

Integrating responsibilities as a wife-mother-student is difficult, 1

My husband's lack of support makes ray college work difficult. 1

If I did not attend college, I would be better able to finish household tasks. 1

D

2

A

3

AS

4

42.

43.

44.

45.

46,

47,

I do not feel that I can do everything my husband/family expects of rae, 1

At tiraes I feel pulled between the deraands of ray husband/faraily and the deraands of ray college work, 1

My college work takes too rauch tirae away frora my family, 1

My marriage is jeopardized by my attending college. 1

At times I feel overburdened with home, faraily, work and school responsibilities, 1

If my husband would help me more with the children and housework, my college work would be less of a burden. 1

131

DS AS

48.

49.

50.

51,

52,

I could be a better mother if my college work were not so demanding,

I ara not able to spend enough time with my children and also meet the demands of my college work.

My family resents the time I spend on my studies.

While at school I often worry about how well I ara caring for ray family.

At times I feel overwhelmed with responsibilities.

53. I feel under pressure.

54. Tirae probleras are ray most frequent source of concern.

55. I do not get sufficient rest or recreat ion.

56. I feel tired raost of the time.

2

2

2

2

3

3

3

3

4

4

4

4

57. I feel guilty pursuing my education.

58. I no longer entertain as much as be fore.

59. I feel guilty if I fail a test.

60. Faraily routine has been disrupted by my attending college.

61. I ought to devote more effort to the care of ray horae.

62. I feel guilty when I must tell my ch that I cannot do what he/she wants because I have to study.

63. If my family objects to my personal plans, I change them.

Id

3

3

4

4

64. I do not give my husband enough time and attention.

65. I do not give my children enough time and attention.

DS

1

D

66. I feel guilty asking my family to take on extra responsibilities since I'm in school. 1 2

132

AS

67, My husband does not support my efforts as a student. 1

68, My husband's support is consistent as long as ray college responsibilities do not interfere with household rout ine, 1

69, My husband does not finance my educat ion.

70,

71 ,

72,

73.

74.

75.

76.

77.

My husband does not understand me. 1 2

I have more conflicts with my husband since I enrolled in college. 1 2

The stability of our marriage has been threatened by my return to college. 1 2

Our sexual relationship has deteriorated since my involvement with college. 1 2

I ara concerned about what might happen to my relationship with my husband after I complete my education. 1

My husband is not helpful in sharing household chores. 1

My husband criticizes ray housekeeping. 1

I do not feel ray husband "is there" when I need him. 1

4

4

133

DS AS

78.

79.

80.

My husband is not interested in my school work.

My husband does not understand ray difficulties/problems in school.

My husband rarely praises my accomplishments as a student. 1

81. My husband believes his career should take precedence over mine. 1

DIRECTIONS: Listed below are a few incomplete sentence stems. Please finish each in your own words. Write the answer which best describes your feelings. Don't spend too rauch time on any one sentence. There are no right or wrong answers.

Raising a family

Most men think that women

Being with other people

The thing I like about myself is

What gets me into trouble

Woraen are lucky because

A wife should

134

When I ara nervous, I

Men are lucky because

I ara

A woraan feels good when

My raain problem is

The worst thing about being a woman is

When I am with a raan

If I can't get what I want

Usually she felt that sex

For a woraan a career is

A woraan should always