Gender Differences and Cultural Contexts: Psychological Well-being in Cross-national Perspective

....................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION...........................................................................1 Social Changes and Their Impacts on Gender Relations – A Case of the United States........3 Changes in Work and Family........................................................................3 Demographic Trends in the United States..........................................................5 Effects of National Context...............................................................................6 Dissertation Outline.......................................................................................9 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES: FACTORS AFFECTING PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING......................................................................11 Definitions and Dimensions of Well-Being.........................................................12 Well-Being in Psychology...........................................................................13 Definition of Well-Being from the Hedonic View............................................13 Criticism from the Eudaimonic View............................................................14 Well-Being in Sociology............................................................................16 Research on Well-Being in Sociology.........................................................17 Mechanisms of Happiness, Satisfaction, and Psychological Distress...........................21 Well-Being and Traditional Gender Relations among Individuals..............................23 Social-Role Explanations – Women’s Role and Psychological Well-Being.................23 Marriage, Parenthood, and Women’s Role.......................................................24 Social Changes and Division of Labor among Individuals.......................................26 Female Labor Force Participation and Traditional Women’s Role............................26 Additional Effects of the Increase in Women’s Employment..................................27 Work-Family Conflict – Multiple Roles and Personal Well-Being............................28 Parenthood and Negative Psychological Consequences.........................................30 Household Labor and Wife’s Mental Health......................................................31 Do Gender Differences in Mental Health Still Exist?.........................................................32 Effect of National Context and Cross-National Comparison.....................................34 State Gender Ideology and Individual Gender Role Attitude...................................34 Macro-Level Gender Stratification and Its Impact on Individuals.............................37 Research Hypotheses...................................................................................38 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH PROCEDURE..............................................................43 Data.......................................................................................................43 Analytical Techniques..................................................................................44 Sample.....................................................................................................46 Dependent Variables....................................................................................47 Whole Sample Analyses............................................................................47 Married and Employed Sample Analyses.........................................................47 Independent Variables..................................................................................49 Individual-Level Variables..........................................................................49 Country-Level Variables............................................................................53