JOB AUTONOMY AND CONTROL OVER ONES SPOUSE - A COMPENSATORY PROCESS

This research addresses the relationship between work conditions and f amily life by examining job autonomy and control over one's spouse. Wh ile research has shown that low job autonomy can lead to depression, t his study examines a different response to low job autonomy: controlli ng one's spouse. Using a sample of newly married couples from the firs t two waves of a three-year longitudinal study where respondents are q ueried about their job, relations with their spouses, and self-feeling s, the remits show that individuals respond to reduced job autonomy no t only by becoming depressed, but also by controlling their spouses. D epression and control over one's spouse are independent and not altern ative responses to low job autonomy. These results hold for Year 1 and for Year 2, and they hold for husbands as well as wives. The findings are understood in terms of the compensatory process of control. Broad ly speaking, negative work conditions influence relations at home, and controlling the spouse may serve to reclaim the self-view that one ha s control over the environment.