Maternal employment experiences,attention problems and behavioral performance: A mediational model

The present study posits and empirically tests a process model examining the effects of interrole conflict, satisfaction with, and commitment to the role of employed mother on a self-report measure of cognitive difficulties and a behavioral measure relevant to work performance (proof reading). Fifty-three full-time employed mothers with at least one child living at home participated. The proposed model, tested using Lisrel VI, provided an excellent fit to the data. Specifically, interrole conflict exerted an indirect effect on proof reading performance, mediated by self-reported attention and concentration difficulties. Satisfaction with and commitment to the role of employed mother were not related to either proof reading performance or self-reported cognitive difficulties.