Juggling

Despite the stress, doubt and guilt perhaps bound to assail a woman who combines several roles at the same time, Crosby, head of Smith College's psychology department, contends that the need to juggle these responsibilities often improves the performance of each, benefits mental health and makes for happier mother-child relationships. Rather than a how-to guide, this challenging, broadly researched study and review of gender- and sex-role theories since Anna Freud urges women to stop blaming themselves for the difficulties entailed by such multiple roles. Stress, emphasizes Crosby, imposes less strain between the varied functions than within each one, citing such troubles as sexism in the workplace, bad marital relations, acute financial pressures and the like. The author further charges that most of these problems stem from a tension between American individualism and social responsibility. (Oct.)