William M. Sherman, Ph.D. Department of Psychology & Michele L.Vancour, Ph.D. Department of Public Health Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, CT

A Series of Four Studies Examining: Motherhood & Fatherhood Ideology, Work-Family Role Balance, and the Practice of Various Health-Promoting Behaviors in a Sample of Full-Time Academic Women & Men With Children

Study 1 (Quantitative) Full-time female faculty at the four campuses of the State University System with at least one child under the age of 14 living with them N = 69 Ave. age 42 Ave. # of children 1.87 Ave. age of children % married 75.4% White 10.1% Black 7.2% Asian 41% Assistant, 45% Associate, 12% Professor 53.6% Non-Tenured

Motherhood Questionnaire: 24 items designed to measure the “good mother” / “intensive mothering” ideology Role Balance Questionnaire: 8 items designed to measure the equilibrium of work-family balance Health-Promoting Behavior Questionnaire: 52 items designed to measure physical activity, nutrition, stress management, utilization of health care, and sleep

Main Results: Motherhood Ideology was statistically significantly (p<.05) negatively correlated with: Role Balance ( r = -.313) Health-Promoting Behaviors (r = -.298) Physical Activity (r = -.309) Stress Management (r = -.439) and Sleep (r = -.331)

Study 2 (Qualitative) Full-time female faculty at the four campuses of the State University System with at least one child under the age of 5 (pre-school) living with them N=17 Semi-structured, one-on-one, hour-long interviews exploring motherhood ideology, role balance, health-promoting behaviors and workplace support

Interview Topics Included: Motherhood Ideology Role Balance Physical Fitness Eating Habits Sleep Stress Management Healthcare Utilization Leisure Activities Social Support Elder Care Lactation

Five Key Themes: “The Good Mother” “Motherhood became my central identity, replacing the time once available for developing my professional career &/or pursuing personal interests.” “Tug-of-War” “My professional life and my home life interfere with each other, and I feel guilty about both.... Balancing work and home is very stressful. I feel like I am never doing anything all that well.” “Flexibility and the Never-Ending Job” One mom confessed that “I sometimes fantasize about the way many nine-to-five jobs actually end at 5:00.” Another admitted, “I’m preparing for class right up to the time I run out of the door to teach.”

“Playing Professor” “I tend to be putting a lot of things on hold. I am not getting the research done that I would like to do or putting in the extra effort to make a class period better. I know that sometimes I take shortcuts because of lack of time and I would say predominantly this occurs in the area of research. I pretty much go to class, come to my office, get things done as fast as I can, because I know my time is limited.” “Kryptonite” Health-damaging behaviors such as coffee, smoking, and sedentary life style Difficulties when it comes to engaging in health-promoting behaviors

Study 3 (Quantitative) Full-time male faculty at the four campuses of the State University System with at least one child under the age of 14 living with them N = 90 Ave. age 44 82% White 87% married 30% Assistant, 40% Associate, 30% Professor 64% Tenured 36% Non-Tenured

Fatherhood Ideology Questionnaire Similar 24 items as in the women’s study Role Balance Scale Similar 8 items as in the women’s study Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile Similar 52 items as in the women’s study

Main Results: Fatherhood Ideology not stat. sig. correlated with either Role Balance or Health-Promoting Behaviors but Role Balance significantly (p<.01) correlated with Health-Promoting Behaviors (r =.337) Stress Management (r =.456) Physical Activity (r =.317) Sleep (r =.359)

Study 4 (Qualitative) Full-time male faculty at the four campuses of the State University System with at least one child under the age of 5 (pre-school) living with them N = 17 Semi-structured, one-on-one hour-long interviews exploring fatherhood ideology, role balance, and the practice of various health-promoting behaviors

Key Themes: Generally endorsed the “good father” ideology of being present for their children and spending time engaged in quality activities with them However, identified strongly with the bread winner / provider role. This appeared to offer some degree of protection from work-related guilt resulting from time away from the family for work-related activities. Expressed less interference with professional development

Expressed the belief that they could do both – be successful in their work and also be a good father. Found the flexibility of being a university professor ideal for the working father. It must be noted, however, that 50% of the men interviewed had spouses who were either unemployed or only worked part-time. Non-tenured men, however, felt greater stress and were often unhappy with the programs, policies, and supports offered working parents at their universities.

Recommendations for family-friendly academic work environments:  A culture of respect & support for working parents  Paid maternity / paternity leave for birth or adoption of a child  Paid family leave for emergencies or family care  Possible reduced workload or flexible teaching schedules for family responsibilities  Putting a temporary hold on the tenure clock for family responsibilities  Day care on campus  Lactation facilities for nursing mothers  Health education workshops / facilities to enhance such health-promoting behaviors as physical activity, eating, stress management

William M. Sherman, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Southern Conn. State University 501 Crescent Street New Haven, CT