Skip to main content

Stress in employed women: impact of marital status and children at home on neurohormone output and home strain.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Luecken, LJ; Suarez, EC; Kuhn, CM; Barefoot, JC; Blumenthal, JA; Siegler, IC; Williams, RB
Published in: Psychosom Med
1997

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the biological and psychological effects of role overload, we examined the effects of marital (or partnership) status and parental status (defined as having children at home) on daily excretion of urinary catecholamines and cortisol in a sample of 109 employed women. Other measures included work and home strain, and social support. METHODS: Urine collection was conducted on two consecutive workdays in three separate aliquots, a) overnight, b) daytime, and c) evening. Repeated-measures analysis of covariance with age and caffeine consumption as covariates was conducted on levels of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol in the three aliquots averaged across the 2 days. RESULTS: We found a significant main effect of parental status on 24-hour cortisol excretion, (p < .01) such that women with at least one child living at home excreted significantly more cortisol, independent of marital status or social support. Women with children at home also reported higher home strain (p < .001) but not work strain. A significant period of day effect for catecholamine levels was found (norepinephrine, p < .001; epinephrine, p < .0001) with all subjects showing an increase during the workday and little or no decline in levels during the evening. Catecholamine levels were unrelated to marital status, parental status, or social support. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that working women with children at home, independent of marital status or social support, excrete greater amounts of cortisol and experience higher levels of home strain than those without children at home.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Psychosom Med

DOI

ISSN

0033-3174

Publication Date

1997

Volume

59

Issue

4

Start / End Page

352 / 359

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Workload
  • Women, Working
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Single Parent
  • Risk Factors
  • Psychiatry
  • Parenting
  • Norepinephrine
  • Middle Aged
  • Marital Status
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Luecken, L. J., Suarez, E. C., Kuhn, C. M., Barefoot, J. C., Blumenthal, J. A., Siegler, I. C., & Williams, R. B. (1997). Stress in employed women: impact of marital status and children at home on neurohormone output and home strain. Psychosom Med, 59(4), 352–359. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-199707000-00003
Luecken, L. J., E. C. Suarez, C. M. Kuhn, J. C. Barefoot, J. A. Blumenthal, I. C. Siegler, and R. B. Williams. “Stress in employed women: impact of marital status and children at home on neurohormone output and home strain.Psychosom Med 59, no. 4 (1997): 352–59. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-199707000-00003.
Luecken LJ, Suarez EC, Kuhn CM, Barefoot JC, Blumenthal JA, Siegler IC, et al. Stress in employed women: impact of marital status and children at home on neurohormone output and home strain. Psychosom Med. 1997;59(4):352–9.
Luecken, L. J., et al. “Stress in employed women: impact of marital status and children at home on neurohormone output and home strain.Psychosom Med, vol. 59, no. 4, 1997, pp. 352–59. Pubmed, doi:10.1097/00006842-199707000-00003.
Luecken LJ, Suarez EC, Kuhn CM, Barefoot JC, Blumenthal JA, Siegler IC, Williams RB. Stress in employed women: impact of marital status and children at home on neurohormone output and home strain. Psychosom Med. 1997;59(4):352–359.

Published In

Psychosom Med

DOI

ISSN

0033-3174

Publication Date

1997

Volume

59

Issue

4

Start / End Page

352 / 359

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Workload
  • Women, Working
  • Stress, Psychological
  • Single Parent
  • Risk Factors
  • Psychiatry
  • Parenting
  • Norepinephrine
  • Middle Aged
  • Marital Status