Van Zyl, E. S.Heyns, P. M.Van den Berg, Henriëtta Susanna2017-03-202017-03-202001-05http://hdl.handle.net/11660/5942English: The aim of this investigation was to examine the work arid life' circumstances of career women. Career women are subject to a large variety of stressors due to gender-based discrimination and an unequal distribution of resources, such as material resources and power. In contrast to the expectation that women's career involvement will exert a negative influence on their well-being due to excessive rolerelated commitments and discrimination experienced by many of them, it appears that their psychological and physical well-being is better than that of non-working women. In this investigation, the focus was on the interaction between stressors women are exposed to, the resistance resources that they have at their disposal, as well as the coping strategies that they use to overcome stressors in determining their experiences of level of job stress and satisfaction with life. The integrated stress and coping model posited by Moos (1994) seems to represent a comprehensive description of the stress and coping process, which is related to the transactional approach to the study of stress, and, moreover, ties in well with a fortigenic paradigm because it emphasises the role of resources for coping and coping strategies in the stress-coping process. In carrying out the empirical investigation, a cross-sectional survey was conducted involving 732 high-level career women who had at least Gr 11 school training. Their stress level and causes of stress within and outside the work situation were measured using the Experience of Work and Life Circumstances Questionnaire (Van Zyl, 1991), while the Sense of Coherence Scale (Antonovsky, 1987), as well as the Fortitude Questionnaire (Pretorius, 1997) was used to measure the subjects' personal (i.e. sense of coherence and self-appraisal), as well as contextual resources (i.e. family support and general social support). The COPE-scale (Carver et al., 1989) was used to measure coping strategies. Satisfaction with Life was measured using the Satisfaction with Life Questionnaire (Diener et al., 1985). It was found that the stress levels of women in the group under investigation were inclined to be high and that their level of satisfaction with life was lower than the levels reported for comparable groups. They also reported more work-related stressors, especially with regard to Career Matters, and Remuneration and fringe benefits. Their personal and contextual resistance resources coincided to a large extent with the findings for other groups and they also used a variety of problemfocused and emotionally-focused coping strategies. Significant racial differences were found with regard to stress level, level of satisfaction with life, work- and environment-related stressors, resistance resources and coping strategies. Some statistically significant differences were also found when women of different maritalstatus categories and career categories were compared with regard to non-workrelated and work-related stressors, personal resources such as self-appraisal and a sense of coherence, as well as certain coping strategies. The results indicated that the level of satisfaction with life and level of work-related stress yielded a significant negative correlation. Based on a main component factor analysis of satisfaction with life and level of work-related stress, the following five factors were selected for inclusion in performing a hierarchical regression analysis of satisfaction with life and work-related stress: Stressors outside the context of work, Stressors in the workrelated context, Resistance resources, Active coping strategies and Destructive coping strategies. Demographic factors that exhibit a high correlation with satisfaction with life and work-related stress were included as a sixth factor. However, it appears that the above-mentioned factors make a larger contribution in explaining the variance in level of work-related stress than in satisfaction with life. As far as the variance in level of satisfaction with life is concerned, demographic factors, such as race; the extent that the women received emotional and tangible support from their marriage partners; and resistance resources, such as sense of coherence and stressors outside the work, made a statistically significant contribution. The variance in the level of a work-related stress was explained to a statistically significant extent in particular by stressors in non-work-related context such as psychosocial problems, social problems and poor infrastructure as well as by stressors in the context of work such as organisational functioning, and resistance resources such as a sense of coherence.Afrikaans: Die doel van hierdie ondersoek was om ondersoek in te stel na die werks- en lewensomstandighede van beroepsvroue. Beroepsvroue word aan 'n groot verskeidenheid stressors blootgestel weens geslagsdiskriminasie en 'n ongelyke verdeling van hulpbronne soos materiële bronne en mag. In teenstelling met die verwagting dat vroue se beroepsbetrokkenheid 'n nadelige invloed op hul welstand sal uitoefen weens die roloorbelading en diskriminasie wat baie beroepsvroue beleef, blyk dit dat die psigologiese en fisieke welstand van beroepsvroue beter is as dié van nie-werkende vroue. In hierdie ondersoek is gefokus op die interaksie tussen stressors waaraan vroue blootgestel word, die weerstandshulpbronne waaroor hulle beskik en die copingstrategieë waarvan vroue gebruik maak om stressors te bemeester in die bepaling van hul vlakke van werkstres en lewenstevredenheid. Die geïntegreerde stres- en copingmodel van Moos (1994) is as rigtinggewende model gebruik omdat dit 'n omvattende beskrywing van die stres- en copingproses bied wat aansluit by die transaksionele benadering tot die bestudering van stres en ook goed inskakel by 'n fortigene paradigma omdat dit die rol van hulpbronne vir coping en copingstrategieë in die stres- en copingproses beklemtoon. Ter uitvoering van die empiriese ondersoek is In dwarsdeursnitopname by 732 hoëvlak-beroepsvroue met minstens Gr 11-skoolopleiding afgeneem. Die vlak van werkstres en oorsake van stres binne en buite werksverband is met die Ervaring van werks- en lewensomstandighede-vraelys van Van Zyl (1991) gemeet, terwyl die Koherensiesinskaal van Antonovsky (1987) en die Fortaliteitsvraelys van Pretorius (1997) gebruik is om persoonlike (koherensiesin en selfbeoordeling) en omgewingsverwante (gesinsondersteuning en algemene sosiale ondersteuning) hulpbronne te meet. Die COPE-vraelys (Carver et al., 1989) is gebruik om copingstrategieë te meet. Lewenstevredenheid is gemeet met behulp van die Lewenstevredenheidvraelys (Diener et al., 1985). Daar is gevind dat die vroue in hierdie ondersoekgroep se stresvlak na 'n hoë stresvlak neig en dat hul vlak van lewenstevredenheid laer is as wat vir ander vergelykbare groepe gerapporteer word. Hulle rapporteer ook meer werksverwante stressors veral ten opsigte van Beroepsaangeleenthede en Vergoeding en byvoordele. Hul persoonlike en kontekstuele weerstandshulpbronne stem grootliks ooreen met wat by ander groepe gevind word en hulle maak ook van 'n verskeidenheid probleemgefokusde en emosiegefokusde copingstrategieë gebruik. Beduidende rasseverskille is gevind ten opsigte van stresvlak, vlak van lewenstevredenheid, werksverwante en omgewingsverwante stressors, weerstandshulpbronne en copingstrategieë. Enkele statisties beduidende verskille het ook tussen vroue van verskillende huwelikstatuskategorieë en beroepskategorieë voorgekom ten opsigte van nie-werksverwante en werksverwante stressors, persoonlike weerstandshulpbronne soos selfbeoordeling en koherensiesin en enkele copingstrategieë. Die resultate het getoon dat vlak van lewenstevredenheid en vlak van werkstres hoogs beduidend negatief met mekaar korreleer. Gegrond op 'n hoofkomponentfaktorontleding ten opsigte van lewenstevredenheid en vlak van werkstres is die volgende vyf faktore geselekteer vir insluiting by die uitvoering van hiërargiese regressieontledings ten opsigte van lewenstevredenheid en werkstres: Stressors buite werksverband, Stressors binne werksverband, Weerstandshulpbronne, Aktiewe copingstrategieë en Destruktiewe copingstrategieë. Demografiese faktore wat hoog gekorreleer' het met lewenstevredenheid en werkstres is as 'n sesde faktor ingesluit. Dit blyk egter dat bogenoemde faktore 'n groter bydrae lewer tot die variansie in die vlak van werkstres wat die ondersoekgroep ervaar as wat dit die variansie in vlak van lewenstevredenheid verklaar. Ten opsigte van die variansie in die vlak lewenstevredenheid het demografiese faktore soos ras en ook die mate van emosionele en tasbare ondersteuning wat die vrou van haar huweliksmaat ontvang, asook koherensiesin as weerstandshulpbron en stressors buite werksverband 'n statisties betekenisvolle bydrae gelewer. Die variansie in vlak van werkstres is veral statisties beduidend verklaar deur Stressors buite werksverband, stressors binne werksverband en weerstandshulpbronne.afJob stressSatisfaction with lifeHigh-level career womenFortigenic approachTransactional model of stressGender discriminationStressorsResistance resourcesCoping strategiesSense of coherenceWomen -- EmploymentStress (Psychology)Dual-career familiesThesis (Ph.D. (Psychology))--University of the Free State, 2001ThesisUniversity of the Free State