Suicide as an Index of Role Strain Among Employed and Not Employed Married Women in British Columbia

Compares suicide rates of married women who work with the rates of those who do not in order to test the hypothesis that the costs of working (i.e. role conflict & role overload) outweigh the benefits. Findings indicate that the benefits of working outweigh the costs & consideration of rates of suicide among women of various marital statuses suggests that the main benefit of working may be affiliative rather than economic. Alternative explanations of the findings are offered. 22 refs. (LH)