Research Perspectives on Work and the Transition to Motherhood

Christiane Spitzmüller, Ph.D. is currently an Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Houston and a visiting scholar at Lagos Business School in Lagos, Nigeria. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Koblenz-Landau in Germany. Through a Fulbright scholarship, she then conducted research and completed her Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Bowling Green State University in the USA. Her research interests are in three major areas: organizational survey research methodology, the work-family interface and employee health and safety. Through her research, she aims to understand how employees' work experiences shape family health and well-being outcomes. Dr. Spitzmüller's research work has been published in the top journals in Human Resource Management, including Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and Journal of Organizational Behavior. She currently serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, and Organizational Research Methods. In addition to conducting research, Dr. Spitzmüller has also consulted with organizations, including ExxonMobil and British Petroleum as well as the World Health Organization. Dr. Spitzmüller teaches Occupational Health Psychology, Survey Research Methods and Introduction to Statistics as well as MBA courses at the University of Houston and at Lagos Business School. Dr. Russell A. Matthews is an Assistant Professor of Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Bowling Green State University. Dr. Matthews earned his Ph.D. in I/O psychology, with graduate certificates in occupational health psychology and quantitative research methods, from the University of Connecticut. His research focuses primarily on the examination of the work-family interface with particular emphasis on the development and application of boundary theory. In tandem, he conducts research on "non-traditional" populations (e.g., older workers, individuals with excessive family demands). He also conducts a significant amount of research on the broader issues of worker health, safety, and well-being with an interest in specific occupations (i.e., educators, first responders). He has a keen interest in methodologically based research questions across these lines of research. To date, Dr. Matthews has published over 45 peer reviewed articles and book chapters, and been involved in over 80 national and international conference presentations. His research has been funded by such agencies as the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health, the Department of Defense, and the Department of the Interior and published in such journals as the Journal for Applied Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Work & Stress, Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, and Accident Analysis & Prevention.

PART I: OVERVIEW AND THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES.- Chapter 1.1: Introduction - Overview and Discussion of Research Challenges; Spitzmueller and Matthews.- Chapter 1.2: Theoretical Perspectives on the Transition to Motherhood; Sabat, Lindsey, King and Jones.- PART II: PREGNANCY AND WORK.- Chapter 2.1: Identity and the Transition to Motherhood; Greenberg, Clair and Ladge.- Chapter 2.2: Marissa Mayer:  An Analysis of Media Reaction to a Pregnant CEO; Allen and French.- Chapter 2.3: Worries and Reflections about the Intersection Between Pregnancy and Work: Perspectives of Female Employees and Employers; Hebl.- PART III: MATERNITY LEAVE, MATERNITY BENEFITS, WORK AND ITS IMPACT ON NEW MOTHERS.- Chapter 3.1: Stay at Home or Go Back to Work? Antecedents and Consequences of Mothers' Return to Work After Childbirth; Grether and Wiese.- Chapter 3.2: Global Maternity Benefits and their Impact on Maternal and Child Well-Being; Zhang, Dirr, Spitzmueller and Epie.- Chapter 3.3: Return to Work Following Parental Leave; Fisher and Toppinen-Tanner.- PART IIII: RETURN TO WORK AND ADJUSTMENT TO CONFLICTING ROLE DEMANDS AND COMMITMENTS.- Chapter 4.1: Maternal Employment and Child Health; Freese, Smith and Grzywacz.- Chapter 4.2: Stereotypes of Employed Mothers and Linkages to Work-Family Conflict and Enrichment; Greer and Morgan.- Chapter 4.3: Breastfeeding and the Working Mom: The Impact of Organizational Policy on Women's Well-Being; Bruk-Lee.- PART V: METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS, CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS.- Chapter 5.1: Methodological Challenges for Research on Work and the Transition to Motherhood; Matthews, Fisher, King and Spitzmueller.- Chapter 5.2: What We Don't Know Yet But Need to Learn: A Research Agenda for Work and the Transition to Motherhood; Spitzmueller and Matthews.