Researchers from Wellesley College's Institute for Women questioned 300 mothers from two-earner couples to see whether conflicts between work and family affected their emotional and physical health. Women who felt conflicts between work and family -- they were the ones who worked 45 or more hours a week or put up with a demeaning or overdemanding position -- were likely to be depressed or to report physical symptoms.
But relief may come from where they'd least expect it. Children can take the edge off work/family strains, says Nancy Marshall, a researcher at the institute. Though kids can contribute to work and family conflicts (as can a bad job or marital problems), the joys of having a kid can balance that out when work and family life are positive overall. They can make mothers better able to tolerate competing demands.
In fact, working mothers are less likely to be depressed than working women in their late twenties and thirties who don't have kids. However, for women who toil in pressure-cooker, high-prestige jobs, or for any women who works more than full-time, children wind up being just one more source of stress. For these women, Marshall asserts, the combination of work and family is likely to be overwhelming and a significant source of depression.
A tidbit of good news: 20 percent of mothers interviewed reported almost no strain at all.
