MATERNITY LEAVE & HEALTH: PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS

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This is a proposal to study the effect of maternity leave variables (employer's options and women's decisions) and other psychosocial factors on women's health (physical, mental, and social). A random sample of 600 adult women expected to deliver babies at a major hospital in Milwaukee, WI, and their husbands/partners will be interviewed four times: (1) during the fifth month of pregnancy: (2) one month after delivery; (3) one month after return to work: and (4) one year after the baby's birth. Fathers will be interviewed separately. Mother-infant interactions will be videotaped at Times 2,3, and 4. Maternity leave variables include women's decisions about when to return to work and whether full-or part time, and to the same or different job; and employer;s options on length of leave, job-guarantee, and pay/benefits. health status is differentiated into physical, mental, and social components. Physical health will be assessed by objective and subjective measures. Mental health includes measures of depression and anxiety. Social health includes the quality of the mother;s relationship with the father and the infant, and the social supports available to and utilized by the women for instrumental and emotional needs. In order to exploit these rich, longitudinal data, a variety of multivariate statistical technique will be used, including multiple regression and structural equation modelling (using LISREL VI), to develop a longitudinal causal model that clarifies the avenues through which maternity leave options and decisions plus key psychosocial factors are linked to the physical, mental, and social health of women and families. With the model, a myriad of specific questions can be addressed. for example, it might be hypothesized that women who return to work without sufficient time for physical recovery or the time to make the psychosocial transition to parenthood, when given the added stress of the tension between work and family roles, will be at risk for a variety of physical and psychological problems, as well as deteriorating family relationships. In short, this research will investigate the maternity leave experiences for women and its impact on their health and families.