Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1983

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Major Professor

Michael C. Rush

Committee Members

John M. Larsen Jr, Cheryl B. Travis, John W. Lounsbury, Robert T. Ladd

Abstract

The objective of this study was to develop an integrated theoretical model of role conflict between work and nonwork roles. The model included the antecedents, conditions, and consequences of work/nonwork role conflict. Hypothesized relationships among the model variables were subsequently tested. The sample for this study consisted of 191 evening school students at The University of Tennessee. All of the participants were employed, either full-time or part-time, in a variety of local work organizations. Data were i collected via a questionnaire which assessed attitudes toward various aspects of work and nonwork roles, as well as personal and job-related outcomes. Multiple regression techniques were employed in testing the results.

Overall, the results of the study supported most of the predicted relationships among the model variables. Specifically, while personal characteristics were not strongly related to role conflict, perceived role characteristics (meaningfulness, control, predictability, compartmentalization, and closure) were negatively related to the role conflict variables (overload, job/person, job/family, and nonwork/work conflict), which were, in turn, directly related to anxiety. Anxiety was inversely related to life satisfaction, job satisfaction, job involvement, and organizational commitment. The role conflict variables had direct effects on job-related outcomes, in addition to indirect effects apparently mediated by anxiety. Finally, the perceived work-role characteristics appeared to mediate the relationships among specific job attributes and role conflict. Close examination of the results suggested a revised model. According to the revised model, work-role meaningfulness is associated with increased job involvement and organizational commitment. If the focal person's roles possess characteristics which facilitate role integration, e.g., control, predictability, compartmentalization, and closure, role conflict is increased. The perceived conflict-experienced strain relationship is hypothesized to be moderated by the individual's role orientations. Implications of the study for theory and practice, as well as directions for further research, are discussed.

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