Saym

Role Conflict, Role Balance and Affect: A Model of Well-being of the Working Student Janet A. Lenaghan and Kaushik Sengupta Hofstra University

Abstract A conceptual model of the working college students’ well-being was developed and tested. This study extends existing research and investigated the process by which rolebalance, role-conflict and affect are associated with a student’s well-being. Data were obtained from a sample of 320 full-time college students (18-23 years old) who had either a full and a part-time paid job. The model was tested using structural equation modeling. Results supported the proposed conceptual model as well as the enrichment and depletion arguments of students’ engagement in multiple roles and their well-being.

Introduction In the last several years, colleges and universities have been intensely looking at selection and retention issues among students. One of the main concerns in the recruitment and retention of students is the escalating cost of tuition. In order to meet the increasing tuition costs, many students have to be employed in a full-time or parttime job in order to meet the financial needs. This is further prompted by the fact that many parents can no longer support or bear the full financial costs of a college education. In addition, the limited number of scholarships is highly competitive and student loans are not sufficient to cover all the expenses. The result is an increased prevalence of students who are employed during their college careers. As students increasingly engage in paid work, college administrators and educators are concerned that a student’s motivation to engage in schoolwork will wane. The resulting role conflict between school and work can be a source of stress, absenteeism and even turnover. Researchers have always been interested in studying the effect of multiple roles and interrole conflict. Much has been written on role conflict in the work/family literature (Greenhaus and Powell, 2006;