SPOUSAL ADJUSTMENT OF EMPLOYEES

Spousal Adjustment Of Employees Of The Vienna International Centre And The Role Of Social Support

Abstract

The role of social support on Vienna International centre is important because an overseas assignment presents both disruption of established social support networks and challenge to develop new ones. Participants in this study were 10 women who had moved temporarily to the new country primarily because of their husband/partners' jobs; they were living in one of 17 countries in Europe, Asia, Middle East, or Latin America. Women with higher adjustment (the) were in more cohesive families, (b) had had more involvement in decision to move, (c) felt they had fewer losses in friendship networks, (d) had more functions of social support adequately met, and (e) received more of their support from local rather than long-distance providers, compared with those with lower adjustment.

Table of Contents

ABSTRACTII

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Purpose of Study1

Background of the Problem1

Aims and Objectives of the Study1

Rationale1

Significance of the Study2

Hypotheses2

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW3

What is “social support”?3

Categorization of social support interventions7

Group vs. individual interventions9

Research on social support processes: how can it help to design better social support interventions?13

Lack of support vs. negative support: should we redefine problem?16

Support interventions: potential to harm?19

Matching intervention to need: why people do not have social support in first place20

Where do we go from here? A research agenda22

Family support and adjustment23

Friendship support and adjustment28

Social support functions30

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY32

Research Approach32

Participants32

Demographic variables35

Measures of adjustment35

Support from the UN37

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND ANALYSIS38

Preliminary analyses38

Hypotheses testing39

Hypothesis 139

Hypothesis 239

Hypothesis 340

Hypothesis 440

Hypothesis 541

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION43

Measures of social support from family and friends43

Discussion Of Study46

REFERENCES50

APPENDIX56

Consent Letter56

Interview Questionnaire58

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Purpose of Study

The main purpose of research is propose to conduct the semi-structured interview with 10 female spouses of male employees at Vienna International centre, Vienna, Austria, in order to examine effects of Vienna International centre and identification of any challenges that exist for female spouses whose husbands work for UN system.

Background of the Problem

The concept of social support as the buffer against stress and the positive associate of emotional well-being is well established, especially for women. It is generally recognized that “supported people are physically and emotionally healthier than non-supported people” and that social networks are significant in coping with uncertainty and change.

The role of social support on Vienna International centre is accentuated because an overseas assignment presents both disruption of established social support networks and challenge to develop new ones. Such changes can be especially stressful for relocated spouses, due to competing family responsibilities, social isolation, sociopolitical constraints, and changes in their social and/or work status.

Aims and Objectives of the Study

The present study set out to investigate social support of women relocated around world as accompanying spouses, and its relationship to their overseas adjustment. While number of male accompanying spouses has increased in recent years, females are still, by far, in majority. Male and female accompanying spouses undoubtedly share some of same concerns but they also approach the Vienna International centre with special gender- and role-specific issues. We chose, in this study, to design our ...