Life's a Balancing Act: How Men and Women Experience the Work-Home Interface Across the Life Course
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Life's a Balancing Act: How men and women experience the work-home interface across the life course by Katherine Y. Lin A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Sociology) in the University of Michigan 2015 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Sarah A. Burgard, Chair Associate Professor Renee R. Anspach Professor Mary E. Corcoran Professor Yu Xie © Katherine Y. Lin 2015 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS While it might be cliché to begin an acknowledgements section with “it takes a village,” I cannot imagine a more fitting phrase to describe the process of completing a dissertation. I would not have been able to do the research for this dissertation, and successfully complete graduate school, had it not been for the support and friendship of my mentors, family, and friends. First, the patient and careful mentoring from my advisors, whose belief in my abilities as a researcher as well as relentless expectation for me to do better, has given me a foundation in social science research that I hope to build on moving forward. My deepest thanks go to my dissertation committee chair, Sarah Burgard, whose ability to wrangle research sense out of my first drafts should be award-winning. She is the epitome of a mentor, whose strong belief that research and mentorship go hand-in-hand is something I hope to emulate in the future. Yu Xie’s core belief in matching research question to method and data has brought me back to the drawing boards of projects many times, and always for the better. Working with Renee Anspach has nurtured my original interest in studying the medical profession, and medical sociology more broadly. She has also taught me the beauty of active voice. Any passive voice, or grammatical errors in this dissertation are certainly my own. And finally, much appreciation goes to Mary Corcoran, whose class on women and employment served as one of the birthplaces of ideas found in Chapter 3, and who has always encouraged me to think comparatively, whether it be across disciplines, samples, or cases, to gain a deeper understanding of issues at the work-home interface. My graduate student peers at the University of Michigan have also provided valuable ii friendship and support. In particular, the core belief of Michigan students in the benefits of working groups/writing groups/workshops means that I have been lucky enough to read and comment on a number of my peers’ brilliant scholarship, as well benefit from their insightful comments on my work. Special thanks go to the Soc of Awesome Writing Group (Emily Bosk, Dan Hirschman, Rachael Pierotti, Michelle Phelps, Jonah Siegal, and Elizabeth Young), the Medical Sociology Working Group (notably, Danielle Czarnecki, Elizabeth Ela, Katie Hauschildt, Trevor Hoppe, Lucie Kalousova, Janette Norrington, Leslie Rott, Matt Sullivan, and Jennifer Torres), and the Inequality Working Group (notably Siwei Cheng, Alix Gould-Werth, Anh Nguyen, Jane Rochmes, Jessi Streib, and Geoffrey Wodtke). Early drafts of ideas contained in this dissertation benefited greatly from your wise words. I have also been fortunate enough to receive wisdom and advice from other members of my cohort, advanced graduate students and post-docs, in everything from research skills and coding tricks, to the art of enjoying graduate school (which involves important weekend barbecues, bike rides to Ypsilanti, as well as frequent dance parties). Thanks go to Jennifer Ailshire, Nell Compernolle, Dustin Brown, Margaret Gough, Lloyd Grieger, Caroline Hartnett, Sun-Jae Hwang, Elyse Jennings, Amelia Karraker, Sasha Killewald, Kenzie Latham, Bridget Lavelle, and Emily Marshall. To my lovely dance ladies - Krisilyn Tony Frazier, Michelle Garcia, Doris Leu, Krista Marck, and Ke-Ke Watson – thank you for your friendship, your support, and endless fun memories. In many ways, this document has been influenced by something from each your lives. You are some of the strongest women I know, and continue to inspire me everyday. My graduate studies and research were made possible by financial support from a number of sources. For my graduate work, I received support from an NIA training grant to the iii Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan [T32 AG000221]. I also gratefully acknowledge the use of services and facilities of the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan, funded by the NICDH Center Grant R24 [HD041028]. My qualitative research was made possible with funds from a PSC Small Grant and the Eva L. Mueller Fund, both administered by the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan. I have also benefited from financial support from the University of Michigan Department of Sociology, and the Rackham Graduate School. Thanks also go to the medical students and residents of Central University medical school and hospital for sharing their stories and experiences with me. And finally, thanks go to my family. My parents, Yih-Shung and Sherry Lin have been relentless supporters of my pursuits, even if it took me far away from home and even more so from family time. Their willingness to embrace new forms of family and new ways of communicating from around the globe has in no small part inspired parts of my research interests. To my sisters, Jessica and Emily, spending time with the both of you always reminds me that family bonds are irreplaceable, and always serves to lift my spirits. And, finally, thank you Jack, for your support, love, and encouragement (and your deeply held belief in gender equity and equal household partnership). iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements......................................................................................................................... ii! List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi! Abstract......................................................................................................................................... vii! Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1! Chapter 2 How Do Family Role Transitions Across the Life Course Influence Perceived Work- Home Spillover?: A Test of Role Strain and Role Enhancement Perspectives.............................. 9! Chapter 3 Combining Competing Devotions: The Role of Work, Family, and Lifestyle Devotions in the Career Decisions of Medical Trainees................................................................................ 50! Chapter 4 Does it Hurt to Have it All? Documenting the Long-Term Consequences of Working and Parenting Using a National Prospective Study .................................................................... 102! Chapter 5 Conclusion.................................................................................................................. 137! References................................................................................................................................... 147! v LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Analytic sample characteristics, MIDUS I and II (N=1921)........................................ 46! Table 2.2 Percent of analytic sample experiencing family transitions, MIDUS I and II.............. 47! Table 2.3 Bivariate analyses of perceived spillover by family role transitions, by gender, MIDUS I and II........................................................................................................................................... 48! Table 2.4 OLS Regression results of perceived work-home and home-work spillover on family role transitions, MIDUS I and II................................................................................................... 49! Table 3.1 Specialty distribution of entire sample ......................................................................... 94! Table 3.2 Demographic characteristics of interview sample........................................................ 95! Table 4.1 Weighted Descriptive Information about Analytic Sample (Americans' Changing Lives 1986-2011).................................................................................................................................. 129! Table 4.2 Percent of analytic sample in work-home situations in 1986 (Americans' Changing Lives Study 1986-2011).............................................................................................................. 130! Table 4.3 Growth Curve Model Estimates of Working and Parenting Status on Self-Rated Health (Americans' Changing Lives Study 1986-2011)......................................................................... 131! Table 4.4 Growth Curve Model Estimates of Work-Home Time Use on Self-Rated Health (Americans' Changing Lives Study 1986-2011)......................................................................... 133! Table 4.5 Growth Curve Model Estimates of Work-Parent Strain on Self-Rated Health (Americans' Changing Lives Study 1986-2011)......................................................................... 135! vi ABSTRACT As women, and particularly mothers, have increased their labor force participation in the last half-century, and as the expectation for men to spend more time in childcare and housework has increased, more men and women now must combine role responsibilities in the work and home domains than ever before. Using quantitative and qualitative data, this dissertation takes a sociological approach to understanding the variation