Graduation Year
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
Psychology
Major Professor
Tammy D. Allen, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Georgia T. Chao, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Steven W. J. Kozlowski, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Vicky Phares, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Michelle H. Miller, Ph.D.
Keywords
Identity Integration, Job Engagement, Liminal, Maternity, Remote Work, Telework
Abstract
As employed women have children and return to work, they encounter a cross-domain identity transition where their professional and maternal identities are consistently co-activated and must perceptually contend with one another. In this dissertation, I explored this potential for harmonious assimilation of work and parental identities within this postpartum transitory period via a novel construct termed “work-maternal identity (WMI).” Specifically, I examined how working remotely in integrated work and home environments is related to WMI, as mediated by job engagement and perceptions of work belongingness. I also incorporated factors critical to successful resocialization and related to boundary management as moderators of these relationships. Data was collected from a sample of over 300 women across multiple waves, from third trimester of pregnancy through to six months after their initial return-to-work. While study's proposed hypotheses were largely not supported by the data, the findings and supplemental analyses suggested that relationships may meaningfully vary by the domain perceived as facing greater threats, and that aspects of the model may be more appropriate specifically for first-time mothers. The results hold theoretical implications in areas such as identity reinforcement in modern remote environments and in resocialization-specific processes. Findings also provide clarity for practice concerning the expanded importance of family-supportive work cultures and the need to carefully consider remote opportunities in the postpartum work transition.
Scholar Commons Citation
Waiwood, Aashna M., "Integrating Identities by Segmenting Domains: Antecedents of Work-Maternal Identity in the Postpartum Return to Work" (2024). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10833
