Professional Couples, Stress and Social Support : An Empirical Study

The present empirical study has tried to explore the role of social support in balancing between work and family among doctor couples in Kolkata. In India, metropolitan cities have certain specific features that are different from that of traditional semi-urban culture. This study wanted to take a snap-shot of the doctor-couples at their very crucial time period when it is important for career building andparenthood as well. As being the members of nuclear family (i) how do they balance between work and family and (ii)how do they perceive the role of social support in this balancing process? We do recognize people who are considered as "supportive" for us, from whom we receive support, and to whom we often give it. Parents are usually our earliest sources of support, augmented and eventually supplanted by friends, spouses, children, and various people with whom we have more limited and specific relationships - workers, neighbours, colleagues, domestic helpers, physicians etc.

The main objectives of this study was to examine the importance of social support in balancing between work and family. This study have identified four types of social support: Emotional, Appraisal, Informational and Instrumental. It also have studied whether utilisation of social support is gender related or not.

In this study population were all the doctor couples (having at least one child and nuclear family background) of Kolkata. Sample size were 100 doctor couples ( or 100 male doctors and 100 female doctors). Sampling method was purposive. Data were collected on basis of survey method with the help of interveiw schedule. Collected data were analysed by SPSS.

It is found that in Kolkata social support has more significant role in balancing between work and family in case of female doctors than of male doctors. Types of getting social support are also gender related.