Abstract

What is the possible effects of employment on married women's psychological area? The present study tried to answer this question in surveying 432 employed and nonemployed married women. On the basis of the basic hypothesis that psychological effects of employment may differ according to the women's gender-role attitudes, thee aspects of gender-role attitudes(general gender-role attitudes, value on son, pressure for son-reproduction) were examined as the preceeding variables of women's psychological well-being and depression. Results showed that general gender-role attitude did not significantly affect both employed and nonemployed women's psychological well-being and depression. Meanwhile, interestingly enough, attitudes related to son-preference had nonidentical effects on both groups of women. Specifically, compared to employed group, nonemployed women with higher levels of son-value and of son-reproduction pressure experienced lower level of psychological well-being or higher level of depression than did their counterparts.