Multiple Roles and Women's Health

Abstract

In modern societies today the most common role set for women is that of wife, mother, and employee. Two hypotheses have been advanced regarding the impact of multiple roles on women's health. The first – the multiple burden or role strain hypothesis – suggests that additional roles bring more responsibilities, leading to negative impacts on health. The second – role enhancement – suggests that multiple roles represent greater social attachment, leading to improved health. Research has generally refuted the role strain hypothesis. Whether or to what extent multiple roles have positive influences on women's health depends on the social context and the meaning of the roles to the individual.

The Experience of Healthy Pregnancy in High Parity Women: A Phenomenological Study in North Jordan

“…Additionally, women generally have a number of social roles, such as wife, daughter, employee, and mother [ 21 ]. Pregnancy is also considered a natural role.…”

“…Pregnancy is also considered a natural role. As such, pregnancy adds new responsibilities to the daily routines of women, which may contribute to adverse effects on their mental and physical health [ 21 , 22 ] and lead to a poor QOL. A Brazilian study found that high parity women, who have two or more children, may be unable to cope effectively with the parenting stress that accompanies having a new baby in addition to that associated with caring for their other children, increasing their risk for antenatal depression [ 23 ].…”

Effects of Substance Use Disorder on Women's Roles and Occupational Participation

“…NIDA 4 states that women may also experience substance use differently than men because of culturally defined roles and occupations. Women juggle multiple roles, often leading to role overload and strain 7 . This forms part of the need for the study as these factors can lead to occupational imbalance and reduced role fulfilment.…”