Shifts in Young Women's Work-Family Orientations in the Transition to Adulthood

• In Event: 2266 - Family Section Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 22. Work-Family Balance: Orientations, Strategies, and Spillover

Abstract

The Theory of Conjunctural Action (Johnson-Hanks et al. 2011) is a unique framework that conceptualizes the negotiation among multiple schemas, as well as the interplay between schemas and materials, in shaping the course of individuals’ decisions and outcomes throughout the life course. Applying this theoretical framework to young women in the transition to adulthood, this paper explores how the patterns of young women’s schematic configurations specifically related to work and family shift over time, and the extent to which experiences of romantic relationships may be significantly associated with these shifts in their schematic configurations which I refer to as work-family orientations. Among the factors that are likely to influence the stability or change of schemas over time are conjunctures, which the Theory of Conjunctural Action describes as a distinct set of circumstances that may require a form of response by the individual. As young women pass through the transition to adulthood, varied experiences of romantic relationships are likely to give rise to these conjunctures, during which individuals draw upon existing schemas or adopt new schemas to shape their response to unfolding circumstances. Using longitudinal data from the Relationship Dynamics and Social Life study (RDSL), I conduct a latent transition analysis to estimate the likelihoods that young women shift from one work-family orientation to another, and further investigate how young women’s conjunctural experiences of romantic relationships—specifically, getting engaged to marry, separating from a romantic partner, or experiencing verbal or physical intimate partner violence (IPV)—may play a role in these schematic changes. Through these analyses, I find that relationship experiences such as getting engaged to marry, separating from a romantic partner, and experiencing verbal or physical IPV, are significant in varying ways to young women’s schematic shifts in the transition to adulthood.

Author

• Bo-Hyeong Jane Lee, North Carolina State University