Hardiness: A Comparative Study of Employed and Unemployed Married Women in Iran

Objective: Paid employment has become increasingly very important in the lives of women, as the rapid social changes in different classes of the Iranian Society affects roles and positions of women with great changes at a rapid pace. Hardiness as a predicting factor for mental health is selected in this study to evaluation the effects of employment on the women. Method: 250 employed married and 250 unemployed married women were selected by stratified convenience sampling. Subjects aged 24–41 years; were from the lower, middle, and upper socioeconomic status groups; with a level of education of 10±2 grades and higher; and had at least one school-going child. The Personal View Survey (PVS), was used to collect data. Results: The results showed that Professional employed married women scored significantly higher on hardiness and three of its dimensions (commitment, control, and challenge) than the unemployed. Among employed married women, professionals scored significantly higher on hardiness and the control dimension l than non-professionals. Professional and non-professional employed women did not differ significantly on commitment and challenge. Non-professional employed and unemployed women did not differ significantly on the scores of hardiness. Conclusion: Paid employment increases hardiness in the professional, employed women. Status of work is an important factor for creation of positive effects of working in women.