Longitudinal Study of Occupational Stress and Health in Women Licensed Practical Nurses and Licensed Social Workers, 1985-1988

This two-year longitudinal study examined the work and non-workplace sources of stress in the lives of women health-care providers, specifically licensed practical nurses and social workers. These two professional groups were selected because they are predominately female and high-stress professions, i.e. characterized by high job demand and low job control. The aim of the study was to assess the relationships between work-role quality, family-role occupancy and family-role quality on the one hand, and mental and physical health outcomes on the other. There were 403 women in the Time I sample: 155 nurses and 248 social workers. Of those, 371 (92%) were interviewed all three times. Questionnaires and interviews assessed depression, anxiety, subjective well-being, work rewards and concerns, physical symptoms, and illnesses. Data were collected in three waves, starting in 1985. At each data collection, participants were interviewed for about two hours and were asked to complete a hand-out and a mailed questionnaire. The Murray Archive holds additional analogue materials for this study (paper data from ten participants). If you would like to access this material, please apply to use the data.