Parental and Occupational Stress as Predictors of Depressive Symptoms among Dual-Income Couples: A Multilevel Modeling Approach Author(s): Michael

Windle and Levent Dumenci Source: Journal of Marriage and Family, Vol. 59, No. 3 (Aug., 1997), pp. 625-634 Published by: National Council on Family Relations Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/353950 . Accessed: 08/08/2013 09:58
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WINDLEAND LEVENTDUMENCI MICHAEL

Research Institute on Addictions

Parentaland Occupational Stress as Predictors of Depressive Symptoms Among Dual-Income Couples: A Multilevel Modeling Approach

This study evaluates the influence of parental and occupational stress on depressive symptoms. Multi-level modeling is used with a matched pairs, couples research design to address statistical dependency relations among husband-wife pairs and to estimate the contributions of individual- and couple-level variables on depressive symptoms. The findings of 200 dual-earner, married couples with children (x = 2.8 children) indicate that higher levels of parental and occupational stress are equally predictive of depressive symptoms for husbands and their wives. Lower marital satisfaction, less family cohesion, and lengthier marriages are also equally predictive of depressive symptoms for husbands and their wives. Dual-earner couples have become common in contemporary society's landscape of traditional and nontraditional families. Historical shifts in the workplace over the past few decades have included substantial increases in women working

ResearchInstituteon Addictions,1021 Main Street,Buffalo, NY 14203(windle@ria.org). Key Words:depression, dual-earners, occupational stress, parentalstress.

outside the home either part-time or full-time. The consequences of these historical shifts have been of considerable interest to a variety of investigators, including those interested in the impact of dual-earner couples on family functioning and mental health (e.g., Aneshensel & Pearlin, 1987; Barnett, Marshall, Raudenbush, & Brennan, 1993; Pleck, 1985; Wethington & Kessler, 1989). Some of the initial research on dual-earner couples focused not on family functioning and mental health, per se, but rather on the compounding of multiple-role stresses (e.g., occupational, as well as parental and marital) and their potentially adverse impact on women's mental health (e.g., Barnett, Marshall, & Singer, 1992; Frankenhaeuser, Lundberg, & Chesney, 1991; Repetti, Matthews, & Waldron, 1989). Much of this research centered on women's health, rather than on men's health, because there typically was not a commensurate shift in men's roles toward the addition of burdensome homemaking tasks. The upshot of this research was that workplace participation by women often increased their selfesteem and feelings of perceived worth, rather than increasing mental health problems (e.g., Barnett & Marshall, 1991; Repetti et al., 1989; Wilsnack & Cheloha, 1987). Parenthetically, this generalization of previous findings does not suggest that the occurrence of multiple stressors

Journal of Marriage and the Family 59 (August 1997): 625-634

625

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626 across these social roles (i.e., occupational, parental, marital) is not associated with poorer mental health, only that there is nothing inherently stressful in women's participation in the workplace that is inevitably associated with poorer mental health. Further, higher levels of multiple stressors are detrimental to the mental well-being of men, as well as women. For instance, the combined impact of occupational and parental role stress and marital discord is associated with lower levels of mental health for both men and women. More recent research in this area has focused on the importance of different social roles (e.g., occupational, parental) for men and women and the association of successful functioning in these roles to mental health indicators such as depression (e.g., Barett et al., 1993; Bielby & Bielby, 1989; Deaux, 1984; Simon, 1992). The initial assumptions of many researchers investigating this topic were that occupational role functioning would be more salient than parental or family role functioning to mental health for men, whereas parental or family role functioning would be more salient than occupational role functioning to mental health for women. These assumptions have been seriously challenged by the empirical findings and critiques in the literature (e.g., Barett, 1993; Rodin & Ickovics, 1990; Wethington & Kessler, 1989). Briefly, expectations and socialization for social roles, rather than inherent gender differences, account for the seemingly disparate findings in the literature. That is, if there is minimal overlap in the social roles of men and women and if men are evaluated principally by occupational performance standards and women principally by parental or family role standards, then the observed differential relation of role performance and mental health indicators may have more to do with social role status than with biological gender. In order to more adequately address the issue of possible gender differences in the associations between social role functioning (e.g., occupational and parental) and depression, it is important that the enacted social roles are equivalent for men and women. For example, men and women need to be both parents and workplace members to compare how gender differences may moderate the influence of parental and occupational stress on depression. Additional sources of variability are also significant when investigating possible gender differences in the interrelations between social roles and depression. The influence of parental and occupational stress on depression for

Journal of Marriage and the Family men and women may be confounded if other important sociodemographic variables (e.g., family income, number of children, age, education level) and family functioning variables (e.g., marital satisfaction, family cohesion) are not included in the analyses. For instance, low marital satisfaction, rather than high occupational or parental role stress, may be the primary contributor to depression for women, but not for men. The failure to include this variable in the model could lead to erroneous inferences about gender differences in depression. In addition to the equivalence of enacted social roles (e.g., parental and occupational) and the inclusion of appropriate control variables (e.g., family income, marital satisfaction), the investigation of gender differences in associations between social roles and depression may be facilitated by having men and women from the same family unit. By using matched pairs (husbandwife) from the same family, common or shared influences (e.g., family income, number of children, number of years married) may be incorporated in the statistical model. If independent sample data for men and women were modeled statistically, these sources of variability could be controlled statistically to not bias parameter estimates, but they would not be shared and could not be interpreted with regard to the influence of these variables on members of the same family. Hence, with independent sample data, it may be concluded that number of years married was associated with depressive symptoms. However, these findings would be based on (independent) individual-level reports and not on couple level (pair) data. The couple data would facilitate an evaluation of whether the number of years married was equally predictive of depressive symptoms for related (vs. independent) male-female pairs. Dual-earner, heterosexual couples provide a useful sample for an application of the matched pair design (Barnett et al., 1993). In the current study, we replicated and extended previous research by Barett et al. (1993) by using the matched pair design with dual-earner, heterosexual couples with children. Barett et al. focused on gender differences in the quality of the job role in relation to psychological distress. They reported a significant negative association between job role quality and psychological distress for men and women, and they suggested that gender, per se, was not prominent in these predictive relations. On the basis of this research, we hypothesized that there would be a statistically sig-

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Couple Depression nificant (positive) relationship between occupational role stress and depressive symptoms. Furthermore, we hypothesized that the magnitude or strength of this relation would not differ for husbands and wives with regard to their selfreporting of occupational stress and depressive symptoms. In addition to hypothesizing the equivalence of relations between occupational role stress and depressive symptoms for husbands and wives, we also hypothesized the equivalence of relations between parental role stress and depressive symptoms for husbands and wives. The influence of parenting stress on healthy marital and family functioning has become of increasing interest in the literature (e.g., Cric & Greenberg, 1990; Deater-Deckard & Scarr, 1996; Gable, Belsky, & Cmic, 1992). There also has been an increasing recognition that the role of men in family functioning and offspring psychopathology has been understudied (e.g., Hops & Seeley, 1992; Phares & Compas, 1992). Although not focusing directly on paternal involvement in parental and family activities, we were able to evaluate fathers' perceived level of parental role stress and to test whether it differed significantly from mothers' perceived level of parental role stress with regard to the level of depressive symptoms. Similar to the Barett et al. study (1993), we used a matched pair design with appropriate covariates (e.g., income, marital satisfaction), and we used a multilevel modeling approach. This study included data on parental role stress, as well as occupational role stress, and thus extends the conceptual framework for examining the hypothesized equivalence of social role stress on depressive symptoms for husbands and their wives. The multilevel modeling facilitated a stringent test across genders of the equivalent relations between family events (e.g., marital satisfaction, family cohesion, parental stress) and depressive symptoms among parents. METHOD The 200 couples included in this study were members of a larger, four-wave, prospective study focused on vulnerability factors and adolescent outcomes. (For details of study, see Windle, 1994.) At the outset of this study, a primary caregiver was included to provide information about the family (e.g., family income, family history of psychopathology) that may not have been readily available to the participating adolescent. Over the course of the four-wave study, which is now com-

627 pleted, an opportunity arose at the fourth time of measurement to extend the sample by including both parents in the study for a subset of the adolescents. The participation rate of the second parent (usually fathers), in addition to the primary caregiver (usually mothers), was approximately 60%, which corresponds with participation rates in other studies that have attempted to recruit fathers (e.g., Hops & Seeley, 1992; Woollett, White, & Lyon, 1982). The sample was further reduced for this study by specifying that both members had to be employed. For men, 198 were employed fulltime, and 2 were employed part-time. For women, 97 were employed full-time, and 103 were employed part-time. Comparisons among women employed full-time and part-time across the variables of interest-for example, depressive symptoms and occupational stress- did not differ significantly in mean levels or in the magnitude of correlations between the predictor variables and depressive symptoms. Some of this lack of difference may be accounted for by the relatively higher socioeconomic status and educational level of the sample. Higher socioeconomic status and more education may increase flexibility and discretion in the workplace, thereby reducing stressors that may be influential in distinguishing fulland part-time employed women in a more representative sample. Some sociodemographic characteristics of the 200 couples are provided in Table 1. These were White, middle-class couples, living together at the time of the assessment. For women, 64% were Catholic, 31% were Protestant, and 5% were other religion; for men, 66% were Catholic, 29% were Protestant, and 5% were other religion. The distribution of sociodemographic characteristics for this sample of parents and adolescents is representative of the nondenominational senior high schools in the suburban locale in western New York where the participants were recruited. The estimated percentage of Catholics in these suburbs is 52%. Procedure Consistent with the protocol of the larger study, each partner of the couple was mailed separately a letter describing the study and an informed consent form. Confidentiality was assured with a Department of Health and Human Services certificate of confidentiality, and each partner was paid $10.00 for completing a packet of survey materi-

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628 als that were mailed to the participant'shome. The cover letter with the survey materials requestedthateach partner completesurveymaterials independently and that they not discuss their responses with each other. The survey packet containedmaterialsthat took approximately25 minutesto complete.
Measures Depressive symptoms. We used the Center for

Journal of Marriage and the Family

This subscaleconsistsof 10 items, each with five response alternatives rangingfrom almost never to almost always. The subscale had reasonably high internal consistency (alpha = .84) in this for construct study,and support validityhad been indicated via the discriminationof clinical and nonclinicalfamilies (Olson et al., 1985). Higher scores on this subscale reflect higher levels of perceivedcohesiveness,closeness, and emotional support amongfamilymembers.
Sociodemographic variables. A multitude of data

Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale to assess depressive symptoms (Radloff, 1977). This 20-item measure was designed to index depressive symptomsin communitysamples, with an emphasis on the affective component (e.g., depressedmood).The responseformat
for each item ranged from 0 (rarely or none of the time) to 3 (most or all of the time). Dumenci and

pertinent to sociodemographic characteristics were collectedfromrespondents.

STATISTICAL OVERVIEW

Windle (1996) reportedon the factorial invariance of item-factor relationsacrossgendergroups for the CES-D.
Parental and occupational role stress. We used

seven Likert-scaled items thatassess the emotional toll of stressin the parenting domain(e.g., frustration,worry, emotionally worn out, unsure of self) to measureparentalrole stress. Participants ratedeach item along a 4-pointscale of intensity. Similarly, seven Likert-scaleditems that assess the emotionaltoll of day-to-day stress(e.g., tense, relaxed,worried,botheredor upset)at workwere used to measure occupationalrole stress. Each item was rated on a 4-point scale of intensity. Pearlinand Schooler(1978) developedboth measures.The measures yieldedhigh (alpha> .90) internalconsistencyestimatesin this study.
Marital satisfaction. The Kansas Marital Satisfac-

tion Scale (Schummet al., 1986) was used to assess maritalsatisfaction. The measureconsists of three items (e.g., "How satisfied are you with each ratedon a 7-point Likert your marriage?"),
scale ranging from extremely satisfied to extreme-

ly dissatisfied.The scale yielded high reliability estimatesin this study,as well as in otherstudies and (alphasbetween .89 and .93) and concurrent predictive validity (Sabatelli, 1988; Schummet al., 1986). Family cohesion. To assess family cohesion, we used the FamilyCohesionsubscaleof the Family and Cohesion EvaluationScales-III Adaptability (FACES-III; Olson, Portner, & Lavee, 1985).

Multilevel modeling (e.g., Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992; Goldstein,1995) was employedto investiof men's andwomen's depresgate the predictors sive symptomsin married,dual-incomecouples. Althoughalternative names-including hierarchical level models, randomcoefficientmodels, and random-effects regression models-have been used in the literature to referto multilevelmodels, they share an emphasisthat addressesstatistical issues relatedto the nonindependence of observations. Multilevelmodels offer a viable alternative to the traditional regressionmodels in which separateregressionequationsaretypicallyestimated, one for men and one for women. As Barnett, and Brennan(1993) note, Marshall,Raudenbush, the traditionaltwo-regressionmodels approach (one for men and one for women) requires the same set of predictorsfor each family member, combines family-level variation of predictors with the individual-level measurement error,and does not take into accountthe dependencystructure of individual-levelobservations(i.e., men's and women's depressive symptoms may not be independent).The dependencyof these couplelevel observations,however, is an integralcomponentof multilevelmodels. Such a model specification typicallyresultsin lower standard errors for regression parameterestimates. It thus enhancesstatistical powerand allows the researcher to choose differentsets of individual-level predictors for differentfamily members,hence anticiof contamination of individualpatingthe problem level measurement errorwith couple-level variation in predictors. At each level of analysis, complex randomvariationmay be estimatedthat would otherwiseresult in attenuation in the estimated amountof varianceaccountedfor by the

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Couple Depression

629

model. Furthermore, these models facilitate the evaluationof individual level effects nestedwithin a largerunit, in this instanceindividualscores of husbandand wife nested within the couplelevel or family-levelunit.
Model Specification

We adopted in this studythe multilevelmodelexplicitly specified by Barnettand her colleagues it as: (1993) andformulated
Yi =
3j(m)

wives. The constrained modelis nestedwithinthe model, and thus it was possibleto evalpredictor uate the adequacyof a more parsimonious (conmodel thatrequired fewer parameters to strained) be estimated. Substantively, the constrained modelprovideda directtest of the majorhypothesis in this study that the predictorswere equally relatedto depressivesymptomsfor husbandsand theirwives. The multilevelmodels (Mln) statistical softwareprogram was used in these analyses (Rasbash, Yang, Woodhouse, & Goldstein,
1995).

Pj,m)Xij(m+ fj(,,) Xij()+

= + 'YO(7m

eij

(1) (2) (3)

k( k)Zk(m)+ O)j(m)

The multilevel model in Equation 1 without two sets of gender-specific predictorvariables

(Zmk and Zwk)reduces Yij=

P3w) =

O(w)+ 7k(w)Zk(w) + 0(w)

to

where the subscripts (m) and (w) indicate men

and women, respectively. The YUi is depression scorei (i = 1, 2, 3, 4) of couplej ( = 1, ..., 200). The X.i(m) is a binaryvariablethattakesa valueof 1 and indicatesthat the outcome is observedon
is men, and it is equal to 0, otherwise. The X(jfw)

+ YO(w,Xij(w) YO(m)Xi(m) + )mXij(w) + )J(wXij(w)+ei

(4)

In addition to the random measurementerrors (ei), this baseline model has two fixed intercept
and yo(w),and three nonredunparameters, yO(m)
(m)

the binaryvariablefor women.The fourvaluesof e.. represent measurement errorsof two subscales of men andtwo subscalesof women,all of which are assumedto be independently and identically distributedwith mean 0 and constant variance,
(e2. The T(m) and T(w)are intercepts, and the Zk(m) and Zk(w)are predictor k (k = 1, .... 9) for men and women, respectively. Finally, the Oj(m)and

of 0, the variancesof dant, randomparameters

and (o.w) and the covariance between the

two. The predictor model can be formulated by each set associated addingtwo sets of parameters, with a gendergroup,to Equation 4:
7k(m)Zk(m)Xij(m) (5)

arerespectiveresidualsfor men andwomen, (O(w) whichareassumedto have a bivariate normaldistribution with mean 0 and varianceor covariance
matrix Q2.

1Tk (w)Zkw)Xi(w)

(6)

The respectivegender-specific intercepts, yO(m) and yo(w) in Equation 4 and regression coefficients,

We used threebasic modelsin this application. First, we specified a baseline model to evaluate the hypothesisthat husbandsand their wives did not have significantlydifferentlevels of depressive symptoms.Second,we specifieda set of predictorvariables(predictor model)to predictlevels of depressive symptomsfor husbandsand their wives. Forthis model,we freelyestimated parameter estimatesfor each predictor so regressioncoefficientscould assumethe same values or different values across husbandsand their wives. For instance, parental and occupational role stress could assumedifferentvalues in predicting levels of depressive symptomsfor husbandsand their wives. The third model, the constrainedmodel, consisted of a specificationthat constrainedregression coefficients to equivalentvalues across husbandsand wives. For example,the parameter estimatesfor parental role stresswere specifiedto assume equivalentvalues in predictinglevels of depressive symptoms for husbands and their

for men andwomenareconstrained to be equalin the constrained model. This enablesthe examination of genderdifferences in the relationsbetween predictorvariablesand the depressionsubscales. This is fundamentally a statisticaltest of the invarianceof regressioncoefficientson depressive symptomsfor the two samplesin the study--husbandsand wives. Parenthetically, the test statistic associated with the constrained solution has greaterstatistical powerthanthe testingof a gender-specificparameter, providedthat there is no evidence againstthe null hypothesisthat Ho:k(m)
=
k(w)

yk(m)' in

in Equation 6 Equation 5 and k(w),

for a given k.
RESULTS

Preliminary Analysis

The means and standard deviationsof depressive variablesappear in Table symptomsandpredictor 1. Paired t tests performedon individual level

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630

Journal of Marriage and the Family

TABLE 1. MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS OF DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS AND PREDICTOR VARIABLES

Husbands Variable Individuallevel Depressive symptoms Parentalstress Occupationalstress* Maritalsatisfaction* Family cohesion* Age* Education* Family level Numberof children Family income Years married *p < .05. M 7.38 14.05 14.55 17.57 35.31 45.71 14.29 SD 7.03 4.03 4.59 3.88 6.09 4.72 2.43 M

Wives SD 8.57 4.61 4.17 3.80 6.33 4.29 2.25 M

Couple SD

8.13 13.91 12.24 16.96 36.34 43.57 13.91

2.80 7.09 21.34

1.04 .96 4.63

variables indicated that husbands have significantly higher levels of education, occupational stress, and marital satisfaction and lower levels of family cohesion than wives (p < .05). Mean level of age was 45.71 for husbands and 43.57 for wives, and the difference between the two was significant (p < .05). Husbands and wives did not differ significantly on mean levels of depressive symptoms, although a slightly larger percentage of wives (16%) than husbands (10%) met the criterion score of >16 for serious depression on the CES-D. Although the absence of gender differences in depressive symptoms may appear inconsistent with the literature, this is not a representative sample from the general population, but rathera White, middle-class sample in which both partnersare in the work force. Mean level of family income was between $40,000 and $54,999. Because of the large percentage of Catholics in this sample, one-way analyses of variance were conducted for each of the dependent and independent variables by the dummy variable, nonCatholic/Catholic. Only one of 17 comparisons was statistically significant (p < .05), thus suggesting that religious identification did not distinguish participants on the variables used in this study. A lack of statistically significant differences was indicated for a dummy variable reflecting family size (1-2 children, > 3 children). Multilevel Modeling: Unconstrained Models To increase the precision of measurement of the dependent variable (by removing measurement error from the estimated relations), we constructed two parallel test forms from 20 CES-D items by matching the item standard deviations and

then randomly assigning one item, in a matched pair, to Form 1 and the other to Form 2. The efficacy of this procedure was assessed by estimating four baseline models, each with a different Level 1 measurement error structure: (a) four measurement errors associated with men-Form 1, menForm 2, women-Form 1, and women-Form 2; (b) two measurement errors associated with gender; (c) two measurement errors associated with forms; and (4) one measurement error for all Level-1 depression scores. The chi-square statistics indicated no significant difference in fit among these four models (p > .50). Hence, the assumptions that the two subscales were parallel and that men and women have an equal amount of error variance were supported. Accordingly, only one Level 1 random error component was estimated in all subsequent models to increase the power of analysis. Tables 2 and 3 provide fixed and random parameter estimates associated with the three models-baseline, predictor model (unconstrained), and constrained (explanatory) model. Note that in the predictor and constrained models, the predictors of men's and women's depressive symptoms consisted of their respective individual scores (e.g., men's parental stress on men's depressive symptoms, women's parental stress on women's depressive symptoms) and the common couplelevel or family-level predictors of number of children, family income, and number of years married. The z ratio, which represents the parameter estimate divided by its standarderror, was used to test the null hypothesis that the parameter estimate can be reliably distinguished from zero. In the baseline model, the intercepts of men and women were estimated at 49.59 and 50.31, respectively.

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Couple Depression
TABLE2. PREDICTION OFHUSBANDS' ANDWIVES' DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS BY FAMILIAL, ANDSOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS OCCUPATIONAL,

631

Unconstrained Husbands Predictors Coefficient SE .61 .50 .15 .12 .14 .09 .13 .24 .50 .59 .13 z ratio 81.55** 99.02** 3.32** 4.03** -2.76** -2.04** 1.64 .40 .97 .44 -.16 Wives Coefficient SE 50.31 50.30 .78 .47 -.45 -.22 .48 .08 -.31 -1.14 -.40 .73 .57 .14 .15 .17 .01 .17 .29 .58 .58 .19 z ratio 69.24** 87.71** 5.40** 3.08** 2.61** -2.25* 2.76** .29 -.54 -1.96* -2.05* 49.95 .65 .45 -.45 -.19 .31 .05 .05 -.34 -.16

Constrained Couple Coefficient SE z ratio X2

Baseline model 49.59 Intercept models Explanatory 49.69 Intercept Parentalstress .49 Occupationalstress .48 Maritalsatisfaction -.39 -.18 Family cohesion .22 Years married .01 Education Numberof children .49 .26 Family income -.02 Age

.39 .10 .09 .11 .07 .11 .19 .39 .46 .11

127.65** 6.24** 4.76** 4.10** -2.87** 2.83** .27 .12 .74 -1.43

.71 2.08 .00 .07 .08 .49 .04 .17 2.57 .74

Note: All x2 values of constrainedmodel are not significant(p > .05). *p < .05. **p < .01.

For the baseline model, the interceptsessentially representthe latent mean scores obtained fromthe two paralleltest formsconstructed from the CES-D items. These findings indicate that husbands and wives did not differsignificantly in their baseline (mean) levels of depressivesymptoms that were measured by the parallel test forms. In the subsequentanalysis of the unconstrained variables model, nine predictor predictor were specifiedin the regressionequationsto predict men's and women's depressive symptom for measurement error.The nine scores,corrected predictors included husband-specific or wifestress,occupational specific measuresof parental stress,maritalsatisfaction, family cohesion, educational attainment, and age, as well as the couple-level variablesof years married,number of children,and family income. These last three were the samefor husbands andwives. Thusthey are referredto as couple-level variables.Parenthetically, three two-way interaction effects (parentalstress x occupational stress, parental stress x family cohesion, and parentalstress x maritalsatisfaction) were evaluated in preliminary models, but none was statistically signifi-

cant, and they were deleted from subsequent models. Of significance in this unconstrained model specification was that regression coefficients were not constrained to be numerically equal or invariantacross the solutions for husbands and wives. They could assume whatever numerical valuesthatwere optimalin termsof estimation.Regressioncoefficientestimatesprovided in Table 2 indicated that higher levels of stress and lower parentalstress and occupational levels of maritalsatisfactionand family cohesion were associatedwith higher levels of depression for both men and women. Those coefficientsare as if they were unstandardized interpreted regression coefficients in standard multipleregression analysis.Statisticalsignificanceis determined by the z ratio.Womenwho had been married longer hada higherlevel of depression.
Multilevel Modeling: Constrained Model

The issue of gender differencesin the interrelations betweenthe predictor variablesand depressive symptomswas addressed to by constraining equivalence the parameters(i.e., the estimated

TABLE3. VARIANCE COMPONENT PARAMETER ESTIMATION FORHUSBANDS' ANDWIVES' DEPRESSIVE SYMPTOMS

Husbands Model 1. Baseline model 2. Unconstrained model 3. Constrained model Variance 63.95 40.35 41.49 % Explained 36.90 35.12 Variance 95.57 55.76 57.66

Wives % Explained 41.66 39.67

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632 numerical values) corresponding to the specific predictor-outcome relations (e.g., parental stress on depressive symptoms) for husbands and wives in the constrained model. For example, the parameter corresponding to the regression coefficient of parental stress had to assume the same numerical value in the equations predicting depressive symptoms for husbands and wives. In addition to the z-ratio test statistic evaluating the null hypothesis that each of the constrained coefficients was equal to zero, 10 chi-square statistics were provided in Table 2. Each tested the hypothesized equality of a pair of gender-specific regression coefficients. Nine equality constraints were for the predictors, and one was for the intercept. None of the 10 chi-square tests was statistically significant (p > .10). A simultaneous test for these 10 contrasts also was not significant (X2 = 11.44; df= 10; p > .10). Hence, the findings indicated no statistically significant differences between husbands and wives in mean levels of depressive symptoms, nor in the magnitude of the regression coefficients predicting depressive symptoms. Higher levels of parental and occupational stress, more years of marriage, and lower levels of marital satisfaction and family cohesion predicted higher levels of depression in married couples. Based on the parameterization of the constrained model, the predictors explained 35% and 40% of variation in true levels of depressive symptoms for men and women, respectively.
DISCUSSION

Journal of Marriage and the Family The findings regarding the equality of parental and occupational stress across husbands and wives were robust because some major, third variable causes (e.g., lower levels of marital satisfaction) were included in the specified equations, as were important shared sociodemographic variables (e.g., family income). Lower levels of marital satisfaction and lower perceptions of family cohesion were also statistically significant predictors of depressive symptoms for husbands and their wives. Thus, multiple variables were relevant to the prediction of depressive symptoms in adults, and the variables used in the study (e.g., parental and occupational stress, marital satisfaction, family cohesion) each accounted for significant variation in the outcome for men and women, with respectable R2 values of 35% for men and 40% for women. Further,the constrained model indicated that the predictor-criterion (depressive symptoms) relations could be feasibly modeled as equivalent for husbands and their wives. These findings supported the hypothesized relations of this study. Both occupational role stress and parental role stress were significantly related to higher levels of depressive symptoms for husbands and wives, and the magnitude of the relations were equivalent across husbands and wives. The research findings regarding the equivalence of the relationship for occupational stress and depressive symptoms across male and female dualearner couples replicates prior research (e.g., Barnett et al., 1993). However, much less research has focused on the equivalence of the relationship for parental role stress and depressive symptoms among dual-earner couples (e.g., Cmic & Greenberg, 1990). The findings in this study replicate those reportedby Deater-Deckardand Scarr (1996) in suggesting the equivalence of the relationship between parenting stress and depressive symptoms for husbands and their wives. This is importantbecause men have often been underrepresented in family studies (e.g., Hops & Seeley, 1992), and myths often are perpetuatedthat husbands assume ratherperipheralroles with regard to parenting and family activities. This study does not contain data on the level of fathers' involvement in daily parental functions, but rather indicates that fathers do report levels of parental stress equivalent to mothers and that these levels of parental stress are related to depressive symptoms in an equivalent manner for husbands and their wives. Further, these interrelationsbetween parental stress and depressive symptoms were maintained when occupa-

Consistent with the prior literature (e.g., Bamett et al., 1993; Bielby & Bielby, 1989; DeaterDeckard, & Scarr, 1996; Deaux, 1984), the findings in this study indicated that social role stress (e.g., occupational, parental) was related to depressive symptoms in dual-earner couples for both genders. For the 200 dual-earner couples in this study, higher levels of parental and occupational stress were significant predictors of depressive symptoms for husbands and wives, respectively, and the constrained statistical model indicated that the magnitude of effects for these predictors did not differ by gender. With regard to the prediction of depressive symptoms, these analyses do not support the notion that occupational stress is more highly related to depressive symptoms among men, nor that parental stress is more highly related to depressive symptoms among women. Rather, both occupational and parental stress are related equally to depressive symptoms for men and women.

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Couple Depression tional stress and other important potentially confounding variables (such as marital satisfaction and family income) were controlled, hence providing credence that parental stress was not serving as a proxy for one of these other variables. These findings are consistent with an increasing recognition of the need to include fathers in family studies and an assessment of their parenting (e.g., Hops & Seeley, 1992; Pleck, 1985). Our multilevel modeling approach was well suited to the research objectives and provided a more potent statistical model to evaluate the proposed hypotheses than the standard multiple regression model. We made appropriate statistical adjustments for the dependency structure of the data (i.e., the nonindependence of husband-wife pairs), and the constrained model provided a direct method of testing the key substantive hypothesis of interest-the equivalence of predictorcriterion relations for husbands and their wives. Although the use of multilevel modeling in family studies is of recent origin, applications in other fields of study already exist (e.g., see Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992; Goldstein, 1995). Multilevel models hold considerable promise for some applications in family studies, such as the pairedcouple research design used here, or for applications that focus on the equivalent relation of predictors among siblings. A strict, paired research design is not required for such applications because multilevel modeling is flexible and may accommodate varying numbers of siblings nested within families (Windle, in press). The model also may be used in longitudinal applications of family studies (see Barnett, Brennan, Raudenbush, Pleck, & Marshall, 1995). Several caveats should be identified with regard to the interpretation of the findings of this study. First, the dual-earnercouples were primarily White and middle class, thus restricting the generalizability of the findings. Subsequent research would benefit from a broader sampling of dual-earner couples, as well as from more participation by fathers. Although religious identification did not differentiate groups on the variables investigated in this study, a more representative sampling of non-Catholics would be beneficial in future studies. Second, the data were based on self-reports, and monomethod bias may have contributed to the findings. The addition of variables from alternative methods of assessment (e.g., behavioral observation, daily diary) would strengthen the research design and the validity of the findings. Third, the research design was cross-

633 sectional, thereby limiting tests of hypotheses about dynamic (cross-temporal), bidirectional relationships among the variables. For example, maternal or paternal depression may significantly influence levels of parental and occupational stress. Fourth, the measures of parental and occupational stress provided global indexes of perceived stress in these two contexts, but more specific information about these stressors (e.g., excessive job demands, concerns with future employment, parenting difficulties) may provide valuable information. Fifth, this study focused on parents with adolescent children; parental stressors are likely to be much greater for parents with younger children. Sixth, the study focused exclusively on depressive symptoms as the outcome variable. A more comprehensive assessment of mood variables (e.g., anger, hostility, anxiety) and behavioral problems (e.g., drinking problems, family violence) would be valuable. Despite these limitations and the potential range restrictions imposed by some of them (e.g., only middle-class respondents), the findings are still robust and suggest that role stress, irrespective of gender, is associated with depressive symptoms for husbands and wives. The equivalence of predictor-criterionrelations for husbands and wives suggests that optimal preventive strategies for dual-earner couples with children reside in an acknowledgment of the occupational and parental stress experienced by both partners, ratherthan assuming specificity of social roles according to gender (e.g., occupational role stress for men and parental role stress for women).
NOTE

This researchwas supported in partby the NationalInstitute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, GrantR37 to MichaelWindle. AA07861, awarded
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