This study investigated the role of spirituality in working Christian mothers coping with tension due to interrole conflict, in light of past research suggesting a relationship between spirituality and coping constructs. Interviews with 32 mothers working in Christian academia were examined using a post hoc analysis of content informed by principles of grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1998). Several aspects of a sense of calling emerged that appeared related to the experience of interrole tension: a sense of certitude, collaboration, and a context of purpose. It was theorized that for these women, the sanctification of work, through experiencing a sense of calling, was related to coping with interrole tension.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AllportG. W. (1950). The individual and his religion.New York: The MacMillan Company.
2.
AntonovskyA. (1987). Unraveling the mystery of health: How people manage stress and stay well.London: Jossey-Bass.
3.
ArenofskyJ. (2002). The media and your career choice.Career World, 31(2), 6–10.
4.
BanduraA., BarbaranelliC., CapraraG. V., & PastorelliC. (2001). Self-efficacy beliefs as shapers of children's aspirations and career trajectories.Child Development, 72(1), 187–206.
5.
BratcherW.E. (1982). The influence of the family on career selection: A family systems perspective.Personnel and Guidance Journal, 61(2), 87–91.
6.
BrunsteinJ. C. (1993). Personal goals and subjective well-being: A longitudinal study.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(5), 1061–1070.
7.
CarruthersL. A. (2003). The impact of faith, family, and career on the identity formation and internal conflict of Christian women in academia with children.Dissertation Abstracts International, 64(04), 1893B. (UMI No. 3088084)
8.
ColeB., & PargamentK. (1999). Spiritual surrender: A paradoxical path to control. In MillerW. (Ed.), Integrating spirituality into treatment: Resources for practitioners (pp. 179–198). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
9.
CovermanS. (1989). Role overload, role conflict, and stress: Addressing consequences of multiple role demands.Social Forces, 67(4), 965–982.
10.
CreswellJ. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
11.
DavidsonJ. C., & CaddellD. P. (1994). Religion and the meaning of work.Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 33(2), 135–147.
12.
DavisR. H. (1997). Calling as divine summons: Biblical and depth psychological perspectives.Union Seminary Quarterly Review, 51(3-4), 131–143.
13.
DenzinN. K. (1978). The research act: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
14.
DeweeseB. (2004). A qualitative study of Christian women in academia who are mothers and their experience of mentoring relationships. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University.
15.
Elvin-NowakY. (1999). The meaning of guilt: A phenomenological description of employed mothers' experiences of guilt.Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 40(1), 73–83.
16.
EmmonsR. A. (1999). The psychology of ultimate concerns: Motivation and spirituality in personality.New York: The Guilford Press.
17.
EmmonsR. A. (2000). Is spirituality an intelligence?: Motivation, cognition, and the psychology of ultimate concern.The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 10(1), 3–26.
18.
EmmonsR. A. (2003). Spiritual striving and the unification of personality.Streams of William James, 5(1), 21–24.
19.
FlanneryR. B., & FlanneryG. J. (1990). Sense of coherence, life stress and psychological distress: A prospective methodological inquiry.Journal of Clinical Psychology, 46(4), 415–419.
20.
GallagherS. K., & SmithC. (1999). Symbolic traditionalism and pragmatic egalitarianism: Contemporary evangelicals, families, and gender.Gender and Society, 13, 211–233.
21.
GilbertL.A., HolahanC.K., & ManningL. (1981). Coping with conflict between professional and maternal roles.Family Relations, 30, 419–426.
22.
GreenbergerE., & O'NeilR. (1993). Spouse, parent, worker: Role commitments and role-related experiences in the construction of adults' well-being.Developmental Psychology, 29(2), 181–197.
23.
GreenglassE. R. (1985). Psychological implications of sex bias in the workplace.Academic Psychology Bulletin, 7(2), 227–240.
24.
GreenhausJ. H., & BeutellN. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles.Academy of Management Review, 10(1), 76–88.
25.
HallM. E. L., AndersonT. L., & WillinghamM. M. (2004). Diapers, dissertations, and other holy things: The experiences of mothers working in Christian colleges and universities.Christian Higher Education, 3(1), 41–60.
26.
HollandJ. L. (1973). Making vocational choices: A theory of careers.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
27.
KrauseN., & Geyer-PestelloH. F. (1985). Depressive symptoms among women employed outside the home.American Journal of Community Psychology, 13(1), 49–67.
28.
LasterK. M. (2002). An examination of the relationships between select psychological dimensions and work-to-family and family-to-work role conflict in men and women. (Dissertation, University of Oklahoma, 2002).Dissertation Abstracts International, 63(1–B), 577.
29.
MahoneyA. M., PargamentK. I., JewellT., MagyarG. M., TarakeshwarN., Murray-SwankN. A. (2005). A higher purpose: The sanctification of strivings in a community sample.The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15(3), 239–262.
30.
MahoneyA., PargamentK. I., JewellT., SwankA. B., ScottE., EmeryE. (1999). Marriage and the spiritual realm: The role of proximal and distal religious constructs in marital functioning.Journal of Family Psychology, 13(3), 321–338.
31.
NewmanJ. S., & PargamentK. I. (1990). The role of religion in the problem-solving process.Review of Religious Research, 31(4), 390–404.
32.
NiebuhrH. R. (1956). The purpose of the Church and its ministry.New York: Harper & Brothers.
33.
OzerE. M. (1995). The impact of childcare responsibility and self-efficacy on the psychological health of professional working mothers.Psychology of Women Quarterly, 19, 315–335.
34.
PaloutzianR. F., RichardsonJ. T., & RamboL. R. (1999). Religious conversion and personality change.Journal of Personality, 67, 1047–1079.
35.
PargamentK. I. (2002). The bitter and the sweet: Evaluation of the costs and benefits of religiousness.Psychological Inquiry, 13(3), 168–181.
36.
PargamentK. I., SteeleR. E., & TylerF. B. (1979). Religious participation, religious motivation and individual psychosocial competence.Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 18(4), 412–419.
37.
PhancoM. (2004). Internal tension and faith: A qualitative exploration of mothers working in Christian academia. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University.
38.
PolaskyL. J., & HolahanC. K. (1998). Maternal self-discrepancies, interrole conflict, and negative affect among married professional women with children.Journal of Family Psychology, 12(3), 388–401.
39.
ReifmanA., BiernatM., & LangE. L. (1991). Stress, social support and health in married professional women with small children.Psychology of Women Quarterly, 15(3), 431–445.
40.
RubinH. J., & RubinI. S. (1995). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
41.
SacksH. L. (1979). The effect of spiritual exercises on the integration of self-system.Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 18(1), 46–50.
42.
SealeC. (1999). The quality of qualitative research.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
43.
StraussA., & CorbinJ. M. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
44.
ThorstadR., AndersonT. L., HallM. E. L., WillinghamM. M., & CarruthersL. (in press). Breaking the mold: Mothers in Christian academia and their experiences of spousal support.Journal of Family Issues.
