Social-psychological factors related to work status of rural women

Abstract

The study reported here examines sex role attitudes, perceived needs, and work status using a sample of 400 rural women, aged 16 through 64. A combination of social-psychological, human capital, and economic factors best discriminates between employed workers and homemakers-unpaid workers. Employed rural women have more education, lower household income net of own earnings, greater psychological needs, and more approving husbands' attitudes than rural homemakers and unpaid workers. Unpaid workers are not significantly different from full-time homemakers in sex role attitudes, needs, age, religion, education, household income, and husbands' attitudes. These findings document the importance of social-psychological as well as economic factors in relation to rural women's work roles.