PSYCHOLOGICAL DOMAINS AND QUALITY OF

LIFE AMONG WORKING AND NON-WORKING

MARRIED WOMEN

INTRODUCTION
In recent years the role and status of the women have been changed,
In India, women have been regularly coming out of cultural
boundaries and tradition, entering into the male dominated areas. It is
often observed that working women and non-working women are
different and as a result they require different kinds of support to
enable them to cope effectively with their chosen roles. Working
women identify work, children and household duties as the most
frequent stressors, whereas non-working women identify children,
finances as stressors. Working women are often tossed between home
and job as compared to non-working women because the double work
pressure affects their family environment, marital satisfaction, sleep
cycles, moods, stress, and quality of life.
“Quality of life” relates both to adequacy of material circumstances
and to personal feelings about these circumstances”. It includes
overall subjective feelings of wellbeing that are closely related to
morale, happiness and satisfaction (Bennett, Garrad and McDowell,
1987). The APA (American Psychological Association) has defined
Quality of Life as the extent to which a person obtains satisfaction
from life. The following are important for a good quality of life:
emotional, material, and physical well-being; engagement in
interpersonal relations; opportunities for personal (e.g., skill)
development; exercising rights and making self-determining lifestyle
choices; and participation in society. Enhancing quality of life is a
particular concern for those with chronic disease or developmental
and other disabilities, for those undergoing medical or psychological
treatment, and for the aged.
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can
affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and sense of well-
being. This mood disorder is becoming more common among middle
aged female population, Depression are normal features of our lives.
Modernity brought women education in its wake and she changed the
arena of activity. She stepped out of the threshold of house and joined
service like man. Now she got admiration, equality and opportunity.
But the euphoria was ephemeral as she was supposed to take to this
job as an additional responsibility. She not expected to shrink
household work. This brought problems like strain and depression.
(Pillai and Sen) (1998).
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that can make it hard to fall
asleep, hard to stay asleep, or cause you to wake up too early and not
be able to get back to sleep. You may still feel tired when you wake
up. Insomnia can sap not only your energy level and mood but also
your health, work performance and quality of life. At some point,
many adults experience short-term (acute) insomnia, which lasts for
days or weeks. It's usually the result of stress or a traumatic event. But
some people have long-term (chronic) insomnia that lasts for a month
or more. Insomnia may be the primary problem, or it may be
associated with other medical conditions or medications, Sleep
problems can affect anyone, but women are more likely to
experience insomnia than men. Poor sleep can provoke daytime
sleepiness and contribute to a range of conditions that affect physical
and mental health.
Marital satisfaction is a mental state that reflects the perceived
benefits and costs of marriage to a particular person, Status of women
in the society has been changing fast due to multiple factors such as
increased level of education, urbanization, and awareness of right
industrialization. The occupation is one of the most important factor,
which brings many changes in the life of women; it brings along with
it many expectations, pressures, time demands and commitments that
may affect the mental health of women and this in turn can have a
major effect on marital satisfaction.
AIM/GOAL
To evaluate the psychological domains and quality of life of working
and non-working Indian women.
METHADOLOGY
 RESEARCH DESIGN
Descriptive comparative design
 PERIOD OF STUDY
Estimated duration for the main protocol is approximately 6
months (January – May 2022)
 SAMPLE SIZE
To conduct the research on 40 married working women and 40
married non-working women.
 INCLUSION CRITERIA
1. Women between the ages of 21-45
2. Married women
3. Consent and compliance with all aspects of the study
protocol, methods, providing data during follow up contact
 EXCLUSION CRITERIA
1. Women below the ages of 20 and over the ages of 45
2. Unmarried women
3. Individuals with a history of mental illness and disabilities
4. Wives of alcoholics
 STATISTICAL ANANLYSIS
T test

TOOLS
1. Becks Depression Inventory ; BDI (Beck, et al., 1961)
Founder: Beck et al
Year: 1961
Total items: 21 items
 Scoring: The BDI test includes a 21 item self-report using a
four-point scale ranging which ranges from 0 (symptom not
present) to 3 (symptom very intense.
Validity and reliability:
The BDI test is widely known and has been tested for content,
concurrent, and construct validity. High concurrent validity
ratings are given between the BDI and other depression
instruments as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
and the Hamilton Depression Scale; 0.77 correlation rating was
calculated when compared with inventory and psychiatric
ratings. The BDI has also showed high construct validity with
the medical symptoms it measures. Beck’s study reported a
coefficient alpha rating of .92 for outpatients and .93 for college
student samples.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
An exploratory study on psychological stress of working woman
was conducted by Parul tripathy and Sandeep Bhattacharjee (2012)
Their research was devoted towards finding the root causes of the
existing problems faced by the working women. It also aimed at
finding feasible solutions that have been practiced elsewhere and
needs to be adopted at other social fronts. For this purpose Data was
collected from newspapers magazines and other secondary sources.
The results of the study purely indicate that working women faces
more psychological stress then working men.
Irfan, M., Kaur, N., Thind, H. S. (2012). Conducted a study to find
out whether the anxiety level has any significant impact on life
satisfaction of the working and non-working married women, They
found out that women who are working and married, are low on
anxiety with higher life satisfaction in comparison to the non-working
married women, They perceived their life as challenging and secure.
Whereas, the non-working married women are less satisfied with their
lives and their anxiety level is also higher than the anxiety level of
working women.
 • NEED FOR STUDY
• Studies have been previously conducted on various variables
such as, anxiety, marital adjustment, well-being in the review
of literature, this present study mainly focuses on Quality of
life and Marital satisfaction caused by depression and
insomnia among working and non-working married women.

“Quality of life relates both to

adequacy of material
circumstances and to personal
feelings about these
circumstances”. It includes
“overall subjective feelings of
well being that are closely
related to morale,
happiness and satisfaction
(Bennett, Garrad and
McDowell, 1987). The QoL
is related to the health
concept proposed by the
World Health Organization
(WHO)—physical, mental and
social well-being.
It means the individual’s
perception of his/her own
health generally speaking,
according to his/her cul-
tural demands, value
systems, goals, expectations
and concerns.
“Quality of life relates both to
adequacy of material
circumstances and to personal
feelings about these
circumstances”. It includes
“overall subjective feelings of
well being that are closely
related to morale,
happiness and satisfaction
(Bennett, Garrad and
McDowell, 1987). The QoL
is related to the health
concept proposed by the
World Health Organization
(WHO)—physical, mental and
social well-being.
It means the individual’s
perception of his/her own
health generally speaking,
according to his/her cul-
tural demands, value
systems, goals, expectations
and concerns.