Abstract:
This study sought to ascertain how socio-cultural factors like level of income, husband’s attitude, social support, co-habitation and number of children bring about stress among working mothers with underage children in University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Data was obtained from a randomly selected sample of 485 working mothers with underage children using questionnaires and seven IDI respondents. The data gotten from the questionnaire were analyzed quantitatively using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while the responses for IDI were analyzed in themes as a complement to quantitative data. Chi-square (��2) was used to test the hypotheses while multiple regression model was used to ascertain the strength of relationship existing between the predictor variables on the dependent variables. Findings from the study showed that majority of the respondents (96.1%) indicated that they have experienced stress. On hypotheses, the findings showed that no statistically significant relationship (��2 = .132; df = 1; P>.715; critical value = 3.841) existed between level of income and stress experience of working mothers with underage children. Also, it was found that a statistically significant relationship (��2 = 4.878; df = 1; P>.017; critical value = 3.841) existed between working mother’s number of children and their stress experience. The study further revealed that there is a statistically significant relationship (��2 = 11.788; df = 1; P>.001; critical value = 3.841) between access to social support and stress among working mothers with underage children. Again, the results from the regression analysis showed that husband’s attitude and co-habitation predict stress experience of working mothers with more than 95% confidence intervals. However, these findings have implications for social work practice in Nigeria, which are social workers need to teach and sensitize parents during case work or counselling on the need for minimal number of children and proper child spacing especially where both parents are working, they should also sensitize husbands on the need to take part in some of the domestic duties as a way to reduce the level of stress experienced by their wives. The study recommends among others that government need to review the working condition of women and regulate same appropriately to ensure that working mothers of underage children are mandatorily placed in a position that are not time and energy demanding. Social workers are also recommended to be involved in some government and organization policies that will help to reduce work overload for working mothers.
