THE WORK ATTACHMENT OF MOTHERS WITH PRESCHOOL-CHILDREN

The aim of this article is to describe the derivation and use of an index representing mothers’attachment to the workforce. This index is based on the proportion of time (equivalent full‐time) the mother had worked since the birth of her first child and can be used as both a continuous and categorical variable. The sample comprised 166 Sydney‐area families, each of which had at least one preschool‐aged child. Relationships were examined with the mother's current work status and with various demographic characteristics of the women, with the aim of providing some validation for the index. More years of education and smaller family size distinguished between women with high versus low work attachment. In addition, women with high work attachment married at a significantly later age than those with moderate or low work attachment. The usefulness and limitations of the new index are discussed. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved