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Mental health, coping and social support: A study of working and non-working women |
MENA Dubai 2003 Abstract
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Waheeda Khan and Charu Agarwal
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Mental health, coping and social support: A study of working and non-working women Waheeda Khan and Charu Agarwal For centuries, women in India have been deliberately denied opportunity of growth in the name of religion and ancient social-cultural practices. However the socio-cultural condition of women's lives and their emotional and mental well-being are now receiving due attention in terms of an exclusive "women centered" viewpoint. In this context, a 2x2 factorial design was employed to see the impact of group (i.e. working and non-working) and age on mental health, coping and social support. Health questionnaire (Wig & Verma, 1978), Ways of Coping scale (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985) and Social Support scale (Mehra & kulhara, 1993) were administered on a sample of 100 women, with equal number of working and non-working, young (25–35 yrs.) and old (35 yrs. & above). Results revealed that mental health of young workingwomen was better than the older ones, irrespective of their status. Non-working women used both problems as well as emotion focused coping mechanisms, although young working women relied more on problem focused coping. Further, older non-working women received highest social support in comparison to younger ones, but young workingwomen were better, as compared to their counterparts. Results are discussed in the light of previous researches. |
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