Employed mothers: stress and balance-focused coping.

This critical feminist grounded theory study examined how employed mothers coped with the stress of managing multiple responsibilities in family, health, and paid work. Over a 2-year period, 20 mothers employed as support staff in a large, publicly funded institution participated in repeated individual in-person and telephone interviews and in a focus group. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using constant comparative methods. The women experienced stress from continuous demands in paid and family health work compounded by time constraints, inflexible expectations, conflicting demands, compromised personal resources, and inadequate support. Most of their coping strategies were individual, such as focusing on priorities, but some women used shared family decision-making. Findings support both individual and family stress and coping theory, yet underscore the need to explicate social-ecological influences such as relational power. Strategies that can enhance coping and reduce stress are described for nurses who work with women and families.