Role conflict and symptoms of psychological distress in college-educated women.

Studied sex role attitudes, need for achievement, and employment patterns of 136 women's college graduates out of college 10 yrs and 132 out of college 25 yrs in relation to symptoms of mental illness using a 3-wave mail questionnaire technique. Questionnaire returns totaled 71% of the selected sample and established validity of the Twenty-Two Item Screening Score in mail questionnaire studies. Neither employment status nor achievement motivation, assessed by stories written in response to verbal cues, were significantly related to symptom scores. However, Ss with contemporary sex role orientations, as indicated by the Revised Fand Inventory, exhibited significantly higher symptom scores. Also, the class out of college 10 yrs had significantly more members (a) with high need for achievement, (b) with contemporary sex role orientation, and (c) who had advanced degrees and were earning higher incomes. They also had significantly higher symptom scores. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)