Structural Strain in Science: Organizational Context,Career Stage,Discipline, and Role Composition

This article examines the relationship between structural strain (the imbalance between actual and preferred conditions of work) and anomie in science (the absence of opportunities to achieve recognition). Using data from a nationally representative survey of physicists and biologists in the United Kingdom (N  = 1,604), we test competing hypotheses about the occupational factors that produce structural strain. We find that structural strain is influenced by organizational context and career stage, but not in the manner existing theory suggests. We elaborate existing theoretical frameworks by showing that role composition mediates the effects of organizational context and career stage.