Women's Multiple Roles and Psychological Well-Being

Examination of the relationships of multiple roles and internal-external locus of control with psychological well-being among 162 middle-class women aged 23 yr. and over, returning to school at a community college, showed women occupying two or three of the roles of partner, mother, and paid employee were happier than those occupying one or none. Internal locus of control was important in adding significantly to the prediction of both happiness and self-esteem, beyond that predicted by number of roles and control variables. Psychological well-being for women returning to school is positively correlated with more social roles and internal scores on locus of control.