The effect of working mothers? coping with job stress and level of being burn out on their family functioning and on their children?s behavior

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of coping with job stress and level of being burn out among working mothers having a child between six-eighteen years of age on their family functioning and their children?s behaviour problems. Children behaviour problems had been related to demografic variables, job stress, level of being burn out and family functioning according to mother?s perceptions.The sample of this study is composed of three hundred and seven mothers living and working in İzmir having a child between six-eighteen years of age. The data is collected by Personal Information Form, Job Stress Scale, Maslach Burnout Inventory, McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD), Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 6-18 (CBCL). T-test, One-way ANOVA, Scheffe Test and multi-linear regression analysis had been used to analyze the data.The results show that as the the level of mothers? education increases the level of mother?s job stress increases however children behavior problems significantly decrease. When the level of income of mothers? increase, mother?s job stress significantly increases. It is also found that married mothers have healthier functions in `communication? and `general functions? among Family Assestment dimensions compared to single mothers. Means scores of `total problems? dimension in Child Behaviour Checklist is significantly less in married mothers compared to single mothers.The mothers that are least satisfied with their jobs are found to have lower mean scores in job stress scale compared to medium and higher satisfied mothers. The mothers that are least satisfied with their jobs are found to have higher mean scores in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization dimensions compared to medium and higher satisfied mothers. The mothers that are medium satisfied with their jobs are found to have higher mean scores in `personal achievement? dimension in Maslach Burnout Inventory compared to higher satisfied mothers. It has also been found that the children of mothers that are least satisfied with their jobs having more internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems compared to higher satisfied mothers. Finally, it has been found that the children of mothers that are least satisfied with their jobs have significantly higher mean scores in `total problems? dimension in Children Behaviour Checklist compared to medium and higher satisfed mothers.It can be concluded that the increase in the level of job stress of mothers results in increase of the internalizing children behaviour problems. The increase in `behaviour control? among Family Assestment dimensions results in increase in the internalizing children behaviour problems. The increase in `behaviour control? also results in increase of `total problems? whereas the decrease in `general functioning? results in increase of the total problems.