The attitudes of mothers to their home and child‐care role, to their employment role and to sex roles are potentially important correlates of mental health but have been little researched. Results from a general population survey of 160 working‐class mothers of young children suggest that dissatisfaction with the home‐maker role is associated with higher levels of psychiatric symptoms, psychological distress and self‐depreciation. These relationships are strongest for full‐time home‐makers. For employed mothers, dual‐role conflict was more strongly associated with psychological distress than was job satisfaction. Liberal sex‐role attitudes were associated with lower psychiatric symptom levels in employed mothers and with higher self‐esteem in non‐employed mothers. There was a significant interaction between employment status and sex‐role beliefs in relation to anxiety. Employed mothers with traditional attitudes and non‐employed mothers with liberal attitudes were more anxious. This result was replicated in an independent sample of 200 working‐class