``It's heavenly to be alone!'': A room of one's own as a health-promoting resource for women. Results from a qualitative study

Abstract

Family life still demands more from women than from men, putting many women under constant time pressure and without time for themselves. In heterosexual relationships, women frequently feel controlled. Prevailing norms for married women and mothers, causing blame and feelings of guilt, remain obstacles to women wanting "a room of their own". The health resource of having such a room, and strategies for creating one, should be given attention in medical research and practice -- not least in primary care.

Health-Promoting Aspects of a Paid Job: Findings in a Qualitative Interview Study With Elderly Women in Sweden

“…This, although they spend more time with them than Swedish fathers (Elvin-Nowak, 1999;Forssén & Carlstedt, 2006;Östlund et al, 2004;Statistics Sweden, 2003), implies that parenthood continues to demand more from women than from men. Based on our findings, as well as most studies dealing with health effects of gainful employment for women, we conclude that outside jobs alone are not to blame for this conflict; we need to address the gendered expectations on women and men and the distribution of labor in our homes and in society.…”

“…Women, in Sweden and elsewhere, also still carry the main responsibility for home and family, and perform more household work and child care than men. Consequently, they continue to lack time for themselves and time for rest and exercise (Arber & Khlat, 2002;Evans & Steptoe, 2002;Forssén & Carlstedt, 2006;Statistics Sweden, 2003;Moss, 2002;Östlund, Cedersund, Hensing, & Alexandersson, 2004).…”

“…Some women spoke of humor as important to them in order to maintain their well-being (Forssén, 2006), and quite a few found the opportunities for this at their jobs. Elina is earlier mentioned as one of these.…”

“…Such time makes part of what we have conceptualised as "a room of one's own" (Forssén & Carlstedt, 2006). Malin, with three children, was one of these women.…”

Calibrating and adjusting expectations in life: A grounded theory on how elderly persons with somatic health problems maintain control and balance in life and optimize well-being

“…Foremost, these qualitative studies have focused on health promoting resources, recovering from or living with specific medical conditions, or living in special geographical areas, but they have not necessarily concerned elderly people and have often concerned women (Contrada et al, 2004; Forssén, 2007; Forssén & Carlstedt, 2006; Hafting, 1995; Harvey, 2007; Kristofferzon, Löfmark, & Carlsson, 2007; Sofaer-Bennet et al, 2007). An exception is Johnson and Barer (2003) who researched the everyday lives of elderly people beyond 85 years of age in San Francisco, California and what made them survivors.…”