Psychological Stress and its Relationship to Marital Adjustment among Working Mothers in Jordanian Society and its Impact on Raising Children

This study was aimed to investigate the relationship between psychological stress and marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society and its impact on raising children in order to achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher used the qualitative and quantitative methods, employing the questionnaire survey tool. The study population consisted of all working mothers in Jordanian society. The study sample consisted of 72 working mothers. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS.24). The researcher found that there is a level of psychological stress and marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society, the statistical analysis showed that there is no relationship between psychological stress and marital adjustment among working mothers. The results show that there is impact of psychological stress on raising children among working mothers. The researchers recommend Carrying out pre-marital training programs for those who are about to get married to raise awareness about marital life and marital harmony and its impact on family children, and the need for the working mother to pay attention to the social aspect of her children and encourage them to continue social communication.


Introduction
If our modern era is characterized by the era of pressure and anxiety, given the tremendous technological development, civilization acceleration and social change that generally strained man with his endless requirements, then working women are considered a network of pressures. Working women play many roles and bear heavy burdens, they work in a public body or institution, and they bear the problems and pressures of this job, including the troubles and constraints that burden women. As a result of this, and in many cases, working women suffer from problems such as stress, fatigue and various health problems, in addition to psychological suffering such as anxiety, stress and frustration. All of these negative effects left by the work pressure are carried by the woman to her house, leaving in turn the obvious impact on the husband and children (Waite et al., 2009).
The contemporary family suffers from many challenges and complicated problems in an era that is filled with pressures in various fields of life. Perhaps family security today is one of the most complex challenges that must be addressed. Working for the safety of the family is an urgent social necessity required by the developmental needs of society at various levels. Yüksel and Dağ (2015) clarified that building a healthy family and ensure its safe durability sustainability requires the presence of two partners who are compatible, and who understand the meanings of partnership, marriage, and family, and who are aware of the influential changes and transformations that contemporary life presents (Krishnan, 2014). In light of these crises, marital adjustment in married life has become one of the aspirations that every married individual in society seeks to have. income and enhancing the economic level of the family. Others believe that working women live in a state of tension, stress and excitement at home and at work, due to the assumption of multiple responsibilities that contribute to not enabling them to achieve compatibility between their work and good education for their children (Mutlu et al., 2017). Consequently, the multiplicity of opinions and their divergence necessitates the need to conduct a modern study that supports the results of previous studies. Accordingly, the current study seeks to investigate the relationship between psychological stress and marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society and its impact on raising children.

Research Problem
Previous studies revealed the existence of problems that a working woman suffers from (Al-Omari, 2005;Al-Zadjali, 2009;Pisula and Porębowicz-Do¨rsmann, 2017). Some of these problems are related to the job aspect, and some are related to her struggle in an attempt to achieve reconciliation between her responsibilities at home and at work, while others are related to the customs and traditions imposed on women in society. Studies have differed in their findings regarding the effects of work on a woman's duties and her family life (Renu,2017).
Some studies have shown that a woman's work contributes to creating problems in her marital life. A woman may neglect her husband on the pretext of not having enough time, and raising her children may be neglected or transferred the task of raising them to the maid or elderly grandparents, which leads to an increase in the level of problem between the spouses (Butzer and Konstantareas, 2003;Asma, 2015;Yüksel and Dağ, 2015). Other studies have shown that work contributes to strengthening ties with the husband (Al-Omari, 2005), and the study of Al-Zadjali (2009) concluded that a working woman is a leading woman and she is able to prevent any conflict between work and her responsibility towards her family. Consequently, the difference in the results of the studies confirms the need to conduct more recent studies that can deny or prove the findings of previous studies. Thus, the current study necessarily seeks to investigate the relationship between psychological stress and marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society, Moreover, this study seeks to find the effect of psychological stress of working mothers in Jordanian society on raising children.

Research Questions
The problem of this research can be summarized in the following questions: 1. What is the level of psychological stress among working mothers in Jordanian society? 2. What is the level of marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society?
3. What is the relationship between psychological stress and marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society?
4. How does the psychological stress of working mothers in Jordanian society affect raising children?

Research Importance
Psychological stress is one of the topics of great importance in contemporary life, especially in the last decades of the last century due to the complexity of social life, and its patterns that regulate the social interaction and civilization acceleration. All of these are factors that have caused the emergence of various phenomena that require greater efforts to adapt to their renewed demands, which made them pressure factors whose effects vary on individuals and groups in society and thus become the most common and widespread pressures of life, which made them the area of interest of scientists and researchers to deepen their research on them.
Offering a topic of this kind is extremely important, because it addresses a socio-family research problem that concern the individual, the family, and even society, with the theoretical knowledge it provides that raises people's awareness of marriage, marital and family adjustment issues. This research sheds light on the foundations of family stability, permanence and ways of reaching the urgent needs, it has to understand the elements of marital adjustment, and this is closely related to family and societal security, especially after increasing levels of family disintegration, actual and spiritual divorce, and high rates of family violence in contemporary society.
The current study also provides important knowledge for many official social institutions, civil and working, and which are interested in caring for the family, and children, and for academic specialists, and the Arab and international library, especially as it deals with dimensions and variables that have a relationship and direct impact on the Jordanian family.

Psychological Stress
Psychological stresses are the group of stimuli that the individual is exposed to in addition to the responses that result from it. Psychological stresses also include the individual's assessment of the level of risk, and the methods of adapting to the psychological pressures and defenses used by the individual in such circumstances. Pisula and Porębowicz-Do¨rsmann (2017) stressed that the field of psychological stress includes physiological, social and psychological aspects. They argued that the pressure has a bilateral relationship between the individual and the environment, where the individual affects the environment and is affected by it.
Psychological stresses are defined as the physical and psychological exhaustion that affects an individual and is caused by various life events which limits an individual's ability to face obstacles and challenges (Roberts et al., 2014). Hayes and Watson (2013) defined psychological pressures as a large group of difficulties and problems facing a person, whether internal, emotional, psychological, environmental, or civilizational.
Many studies indicated the negative effects that psychological pressures have on women in general, including (Singh, M., Singlh, 2006;Roberts et al., 2014): 1. The low level of the quality of maternal care they provide to children.

Superficial emotional relationship with family members
3. Inability to reconcile the different roles they play 4. Feeling guilty and tired 5. Low level of physical and psychological immunity 6. Inability to perform the life roles expected of them Exposure of women to pressure may reflect negatively on their emotional aspects, in terms of rapid arousal, frustration and increased anxiety, pessimism, depression, fear, feelings of loss of control, and low level of effectiveness (Whisman, 2001). The sources of psychological pressure have increased during the last decades in various forms, due to the changing conditions of social, professional, and family life in the family in general, and for women in particular, due to the increasing emotional disturbances that women experience with the increase in the number of marriage years, and the increase in the tasks and roles assigned to them. Butzer and Konstantareas (2003) emphasized that the family depends on a number of basic ingredients in order to be able to perform its function as a social institution, and the safety and success of the family may depend primarily on the happiness and safety of the mother's psychological and physical. There are certain circumstances that may be outside the control of the wife, affect its social status and its efficiency in caring for children and performing family-related roles (Krishnan, 2014). Bhattacharjee and Tripathi (2012) clarified that a woman's personality may be an auxiliary factor in doubling the level of psychological stress, and there are a number of factors related to a woman's personality such as; the level of mental and physical health, the birth of a new child, divorce or separation (Bhattacharjee and Tripathi, 2012), the illness of a husband or one of the children, a lack of control, and the multiple roles that she plays (Krishnan, 2014), family problems, lack of adequate support from the other partner, attachment to children, restrictions on the maternal role, lack of experience and knowledge of childcare skills, and social isolation (Whisman, 2001).
Several studies were conducted to determine the level of psychological stress for working women. Amreya (2014) found that the level of psychological stress in various health and economic fields and in the family field is low. Hattar et al. (2008) found the high level of psychological pressure experienced by married women, and that the sources of this pressure are due to the expectations of the role that women play, and the inability of women to organize work requirements in a manner that does not conflict with the requirements of the home. Moreover, the lack of time and lack of cooperation of husbands was the main source of pressure for married women.

Marital Adjustment
Marital adjustment is a positive bilateral interaction between a couple based on love, affection, and the satisfaction of basic and secondary needs, without sharp differences or disturbances that affect their lives. Basharpoor and Sheykholeslami (2015) argued that marital adjustment includes marital happiness. Matrimonial adjustment is represented in the appropriate choice of marriage, a willingness to achieve and enter into marital life, mutual love between spouses, sexual gratification, assuming marital responsibilities, and the ability to solve marital problems and marital stability. Peterson-Post et al. (2014) clarified that marital adjustment is also a case that includes the elimination of the psychological and emotional needs of the couple, which gives psychological and emotional stability and mutual mercy, a sense of concern, a sense of responsibility, self-worth and affirmation through the performance of duties and obtaining rights (Yüksel and Dağ, 2015). Whitson and El-Sheikh (2003) argued that for achieving the marital adjustment, each husband must work to fulfill the needs of the other party and satisfy his/her desires. They must also make each other feel positive. Basharpoor and Sheykholeslami (2015) emphasized that there are various areas of marital adjustment, which include: 1. Religious adjustment: It is an arbitration of God's religion in the rights and duties of both spouses, and this cuts off the dispute and gives happiness a space in the marital home.
2. Social and cultural adjustment: marital life includes the formation of common methods of life in eating, sleeping, spending, and earning. When the spouses belong to similar families in which similar behavioral habits prevail, the shared life becomes easy, but if both the husband and wife belong to a different social environment, the process of adjustment becomes more difficult. Yüksel and Dağ (2015) concluded that individuals with integrated characteristics enjoyed better adjustment in married life, and that couples with cultural affinity did not suffer from a higher degree of depression.
3. Love and Emotion: Mutual love is an important factor and an essential manifestation of marital adjustment, as Peterson-Post et al. (2014) mentioned that it is a requirement for the growth of the normal personality, in which there are feelings in the marriage that accompany the relationship between the spouses where they share each other, as both feel the need to meet the needs of the other party (Mutlu et al., 2017).
4. Sexual compatibility: Sex plays a very important role in an individual's life and has an effect on his/her behavior and psychological health. Sexual activity satisfies both biological needs, psychological needs and social needs for parties. Psychosexual adjustment means that each of the harmonious spouses fulfills his/her needs from the other and satisfies him/her, and therefore both parties are happy with the continuation of the relationship.
Previous studies have tested the level of marital adjustment for working women. Amreya (2014) found that the level of marital adjustment among women workers is high, especially in the axis of compatibility with the husband, and the level of adjustment with children and relatives is average. Al-Khatayba study (2015) found that the level of marital adjustment in males is higher than that of females, as this confirms the consent of wives to their husbands' performance of their practice of the various dimensions of marital adjustment in marital life.

Psychological Stress of Working Women and Marital Adjustment
Women are the most vulnerable members of society to psychological stress, due to the diversity and multiplicity of roles entrusted to them imposed by our Arab societies. In many cases the pressures resulting from the roles of women may exceed their ability and status. These pressures make it incapable of adapting to these pressures. These stresses also consume from women a great energy and effort in pursuit of psychological and family stability. Butzer and Konstantareas (2003) affirm that women suffer from the increasing pressures of life, and this affects their physical and psychological health, and their feelings of anxiety towards their future and the future of their children may increase. This will Make her feel family instability, insecurity, and push her to search for a safe future for herself and her family. Asma (2015) found that there is a negative relationship between the stress resulting from the work of women and the marital adjustment of working women, as the multiplicity of roles is one of the biggest problems experienced by working women. Al-Omari study (2005) concluded that the negative effects resulting from a woman's work are represented by the woman's concern for her husband and children, in addition to the increased burden on her, which causes her many negative psychological effects such as nervousness, tension and anxiety on her career future. Yüksel and Dağ (2015) concluded that the woman expresses her psychological state in devious ways, as she begins to complain about health problems, fatigue, and absenteeism from work.
Jameh's study (2011) concluded that the double life that a working woman lives between her work and her home makes her of a different nature, where she lives her life with confidence that makes her bear all the responsibilities related to the husband, the home and the children, and she tries not to complain and is committed to performing her work in the best way.
The studies also confirmed the varying level of the husbands 'appreciation of their working wives, as a study Basharpoor and Sheykholeslami (2015) showed that the husband does not value the burdens of women and does ijps.ccsenet.org International Journal of Psychological Studies Vol. 12, No. 1; 2020 not cooperate with them, while other studies indicated the high level of cooperation between the working wife and husband in making family decisions.

Psychological Stress and its Impact on the Child
The family is considered the most important factors of education and socialization, it is contributed to shape the personality of the individual and determine his behavior and principles. The family can contribute greatly to the social development of the child and social culture. Whitson and El-Sheikh (2003) stated that the family has a very important psychosocial function; it is the child's first social school, and it contributes to the child's psychological fulfillment and proper psychological construction.
Exposing the child to painful experiences will affect the child's future outlook, his tolerance to life's problems and his ability to solve these problems. Negative experiences contribute to the negative impact on the personality of the child, which makes him vulnerable to infection with various mental illnesses and psychological contract. Mutlu et al. (2017) added that the nature of the relationship between the parents is considered another influencing factor on the child's personality. If the relationship was bad, it certainly leads to the disintegration of the family, which creates an unhealthy atmosphere that leads to the affect the child's development, psychological development. Yüksel and Dağ (2015) clarified that the psychological problems of the parents lead to instability in the family atmosphere, as it affects the mental health of the child and leads to improper psychological development of the child. Basharpoor and Sheykholeslami (2015) emphasized that the bad psychological state of the mother may be the cause of the child's affliction with many diseases, as this condition is reflected on the child and he will become vulnerable to many mental illnesses such as depression, emotional tension and a feeling of permanent anxiety.
Opinions differ on the effect of women's work on raising children. Some indicate that the problems that a working woman is exposed to depend on the type of woman and the type of relationship she has with her children. Her work may offer children the opportunity to collaborate and learn at home and depend on themselves, or her work may impose heavy burdens on the children that only adults can bear (Yüksel and Dağ, 2015). Whitson and El-Sheikh (2003) emphasized that the presence of the mother in the home does not guarantee the success of her relationship with her husband and children, as the long time that the mother spends with her children is not considered evidence of good motherhood, so if a woman has a strong desire to work and feels that her children are holding her from achieving that, then her relationship with them will be negatively affected to a large extent.
Al-Daheri (2008) study conducted in a group of Arab countries indicated that 78% of children did not have any difficulty in the work of the mother, while 15% suffered from loneliness and depression during the absence of the mother, and 4% complained about conflicts between the parents and was caused by the work of the mother in first degree.

The Dyadic Adjustment Scale
A 27-item scale designed to measure relationship satisfaction. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) is a revised version of the original Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976). The researcher also depended on the DAS scales of Busby et al. (1995); Prouty et al. (2000) used in their studies. The revised version offers improved psychometric properties, is shorter, and includes only 3 of the original 4 subscales: • Dyadic Consensus: the degree of compatibility between the respondent and the partner • Dyadic Satisfaction: the degree of satisfaction between the respondent and the partner • Dyadic Cohesion: degree to which respondent and partner participate in activities together.

Psychological Stress Scale
The researcher used a 9-element scale designed to measure psychological stress. and This scale depended on Several scales were used in a study Lemyre et al. (1990) and Lemyre, L. and Tessier (2003). To examine the study hypotheses, the researcher used the following statistical methods: -Arithmetic averages and standard deviations; to know the respondents' level of response and to indicate the extent of dispersion from the mean.
-The Alpha Cronbach test.
-The Correlation test. -The One-Sample t.test.

A Questionnaire to Determine the Impact of Psychological Stress on Raising Children
To investigate the aim of this research, a quantitative approach was used and in this case, a questionnaire survey method is the most appropriate to be conducted. The participants in this research are the working mothers in Jordanian society.
The researcher has adopted in designing the questionnaire on previous studies and articles related to the subject of the current research, where the researcher has depended on them to choose the right statements which suit the nature of the current research. In addition, the researcher has adopted in designing the questionnaires on the results of the preliminary study.
The research population consists of working mothers in Jordanian society. Therefore, the researcher relied on a random sample of 72 working mothers.

Data Analysis
This section presents the findings of the study that aims to investigate the relationship between psychological stress and marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society and its impact on raising children. In addition, this part includes the answer to questions.
The researcher tested 72 working mothers completed survey, which was collected from the randomly selected sample.

Reliability Analysis
The researcher has distributed the questionnaire on sample pilot of study (72 respondents) and computes extents questionnaire reliability by calculation of internal consistency using Cronbach' alpha values, table 1 show that: The impact of Psychological stress on raising children 0.912 11 Psychological stress and its relationship to marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society and its impact on raising children 0.766 47 Table 1 shows that the reliability of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) is equal to 0.75, the reliability of the Psychological stress measure (PSM) is equal to 0.68, and reliability of the impact of Psychological stress on raising children is equal to 0.91. The total alpha values of Psychological stress and its relationship to marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society and its impact on raising children reached (0.77). This indicates to accept reliability. Othman (2001) mentioned in this research that the coefficient of reliability (Cronbach's alpha) that can be adopted is from 0.65 to 0.85.

Demographic Profile of Respondents
The demographic profile of the respondents in the research is presented in table 2 to 4 below. A questionnaire was designed to analyses the Psychological stress and its relationship to marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society and its impact on raising children in this study (see Appendix 1) to gather primary data. The questionnaires were then distributed to (72) of working mothers in Jordanian.
The following is a description of the members of the study sample according (age, Experience, and Qualification), as in following Tables: The results indicate that (35) respondents had experience of less than or equal to 3 years, Their percentage thim (48.6%). In addition to Another (22) respondents, Their percentage thim (30.6%). The results also indicate (11) respondents had experience ranges from 5 to 10 years, By (15.3%). with the remaining (5.6 %) of respondents have more than 10 years. To answer this question and to detect the level of psychological stress among working mothers in Jordanian society, the arithmetic means and standard deviations were used for all the paragraphs of the Psychological stress measure (PSM); the tables below shows that.

Qualification
The descriptive analysis was computed for each item. The Table no. (5) Below, reveals the components means and standard deviation.  Table 4.7 shows that the arithmetic means of paragraphs "Psychological stress measure (PSM)" ranging from (2.74-5.39), and most notably the highest means reached (5.39) out of (8) for the item (8) "I have difficulty controlling my reactions, emotions, moods, or gestures", and then for the item (9) "I feel stressed" (means 5.18). And the lowest means was (2.74) for the item (2) "I feel rushed; I do not seem to have enough time".
All respondents were often with the level of psychological stress among working mothers in Jordanian society, and the total means reached (4.47) and standard deviation (0.95).

Question Two: What is the Level of Marital Adjustment Among Working Mothers in Jordanian Society?
To answer this question and to detect the level of marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society, the arithmetic means and standard deviations were used for all the paragraphs of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS). the tables below showed that.
To assess the question (Q2) the level of marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society. The responses for each component were recoded into the numerical value of "1" for minimal response to "5" for a maximum value of responses. The descriptive analysis was computed for each item. The Table 6, 7, 8 below, reveals the components means and standard deviation. Shown in the table 6 that the arithmetic means of paragraphs "Dyadic Consensus subscale" ranging from (2.64-4.13), and most notably the highest means reached (4.13) out of (5) for item (7) "Ways of dealing with parents or in-law ", then for item (8) "Aims, goals, and things believed important" (means 3.82). And the lowest means was (2.64) for items (13) "Career decisions". The total mean for "Dyadic Consensus subscale" reached mean (3.26) and standard deviation (0.619). Shown in the table 7 that the arithmetic means of questions " Dyadic Satisfaction subscale" ranging from (3.33-3.88), and most notably the highest means reached (3.88) out of (5) for question (3) " In general, how often do you think that things between you and your partner are doing well?", then for question (6) " How often do you and your partner quarrel?" (Means 3.76). In addition, the lowest means was (3.33) for question (8) "How often do you discuss or have you considered divorce, separation, or terminating your relationship?" The total mean for "Dyadic Satisfaction subscale" reached mean (3.61) and standard deviation (0.668). , and most notably the highest means reached (4.04) out of (5) for question (5)" Work together on a project?", then for question (3) "Laugh together?" (Means 3.96). And the lowest means was (3.61) for questions (4) "Calmly discuss something?" The total mean for "Dyadic Cohesion subscale" reached mean (3.88) and standard deviation (0.73). To answer this question and to detect the relationship between psychological stress and marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society, were accomplished using the bivariate analysis, in which a parametric test such as Pearson correlation was engaged through analysis. The results of the correlation test represent in table 9. To answer this question and to detect the impact of psychological stress among working mothers in Jordanian society on raising children, the one-sample t.test was used, and to answer this question and to detect the psychological stress of working mothers in Jordanian society affect raising children, the arithmetic means and standard deviations was used for all the paragraphs; the tables below shows that.  Table 10 shows that there is a statistically significant for the impact of psychological stress among working mothers in Jordanian society on raising children at a significant level (α≤0.05), where "t" value reached (45.123) by statistically significant (0.00), which indicates the effect of psychological stress on raising children among working mothers in Jordanian.  Table 11 shows that the arithmetic means of paragraphs " The impact of Psychological stress on raising children " ranging from (3.83-4.28), and most notably the highest means reached (4.28) out of (5) for the item (1) " Instability of family atmosphere ", then for the items (2), (7) " Negative impact on the child's personality due to the constant use of punishment methods", " Lack of safe child care in the home " (means 4.10). And the lowest means was (3.83) for the item (5) "Continuous nervousness in dealing with children ".

Dyadic Cohesion Subscale
All respondents were agreed with the impact of Psychological stress on raising children, and the total means reached (4.02) and standard deviation (0.756).

Conclusion
The results show that there is the level of psychological stress and marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society, the statistical analysis shown that no relationship between psychological stress and marital adjustment among working mothers. The results show that there impact of psychological stress on raising children among working mothers.
These results have been strengthened through various prior researches' results, such as Yüksel and Dağ (2015) that the psychological problems of the parents lead to instability in the family atmosphere, as it affects the mental health of the child and leads to improper psychological development of the child. Basharpoor and Sheykholeslami (2015) emphasized that the bad psychological state of the mother may be the cause of the child's affliction with many diseases, as this condition is reflected on the child and he will become vulnerable to many mental illnesses such as depression, emotional tension and a feeling of permanent anxiety. Butzer and Konstantareas (2003) affirm that women suffer from the increasing pressures of life, and this affects their physical and psychological health, and their feelings of anxiety towards their future and the future of their children may increase.
This agree with study Asma (2015) found that there is a negative relationship between the stress resulting from the work of women and the marital adjustment of working women, as the multiplicity of roles is one of the biggest problems experienced by working women.

Recommendations
The current research highlighted the Psychological stress and its relationship to marital adjustment among working mothers in Jordanian society and its impact on raising children, nevertheless, further investigation is essential to confirm and verify the results of this study. Through previous results, the researcher recommends the following: -Carrying out pre-marital training programs for those who are about to get married to raise awareness about marital life and marital harmony and its impact on family children.
-The need for the working mother to pay attention to the social aspect of her children and encourage them to continue social communication.
-Attention to the care of working mothers and the continued provision of support to them, by their families, which leads to the creation of appropriate mental health for their children.
-Providing a suitable work environment for working mothers free from stress, this reflects positively on the home and family.