Abstract
This study examines the role of social relationships in husbands' and wives' adjustment to work and family stress in the dual-income couple. The literatures on both role overload and social support were examined and found to suggest contradictory stances on the value of social support and network membership. Sixty couples in which both partners were employed provided information on their current level of work and family stress, characteristics of their significant social relationships and their overall well-being. Men and women who reported greater stressors experienced less well-being, with women focusing more on family stressors than did men. Results also indicated that the aspects of social support considered here were of little benefit in understanding adjustment in this sample, although social support did predict adjustment better for women than for men. The utility of social support theory as opposed to role overload theory in understanding the relationship among these variables in this population is discussed.
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