3.3 Stress and Mothers As noted earlier, the widespread entry of females into the labour force is a characteristic of the past decades. Females are increasingly entering the workforce to contribute financially to the family survival (Lim, 2009). They are not only entering the work force in greater numbers but alsoremaining in the work force throughout their child-bearing and child-rearing years (Lim, 2009). Even with the changing societal trends and expectations, it is still ‘expected’ that working females should assume the traditional role of a homemaker (Noor, 1999; Nair, 2011). The added elements of motherhood in some working females increased the possibility of acute dual-role or multiple role stress as a mother, employee and spouseor partner (Kline & Snow, 1994; McLaughlin et al., 1988; Meleis & Stevens, 1992; O’Neill & Zeichner, 1985; Snow et al., 2003). Noor’s (1999) preliminary findings on Malaysian working women’s roles and wellbeing showed that the juggle between work and family demands have contributed to the adverse psychological and emotional wellbeing for the working mothers, this includes feelings of guilt, anxiety or decreased role satisfaction at work and home. Killien and Brown (1987) summarized that when demands from work and family roles opposes each other, the mother is likely to suffer stress and negative health consequences. Therefore, understanding the influence of women’s stress and role conflict on their health warrants consideration of the critical contribution of individual characteristics, such as cognitive processing, coping skills and resiliency.
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