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JURNAL KOMUNIKASI INDONESIA

Abstract

This study examines how Indonesian postgraduate women negotiate simultaneous roles as wives, mothers, workers, and students within a patriarchal collectivist culture. Using a qualitative case study with a constructivist orientation, the research focuses on six postgraduate students at the University of Indonesia who were selected through purposive criteria because they simultaneously managed family, work, and academic responsibilities. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, limited contextual observation, and supporting documents, and were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding procedures. The findings show that role conflict is experienced not merely as a matter of time management, but as a layered burden involving moral expectations of motherhood, physical fatigue, guilt, and emotional spillover across domestic, professional, and academic domains. Interpersonal communication emerges as a central mechanism for negotiating boundaries, mobilizing support, and maintaining relationships with spouses, children, extended family, supervisors, colleagues, and lecturers. Intrapersonal communication, particularly self-talk and self-reflection, also plays a role in helping participants regulate emotion and sustain motivation. This study argues that communication functions not only as a coping tool, but also as a social process through which women manage caregiving responsibilities, pursue educational aspirations, and renegotiate gendered expectations in everyday life.

Bahasa Abstract

Penelitian ini mengkaji bagaimana perempuan pascasarjana di Indonesia menegosiasikan peran simultan sebagai istri, ibu, pekerja, dan mahasiswa dalam budaya kolektivistik patriarkal. Dengan menggunakan studi kasus kualitatif berorientasi konstruktivis, penelitian ini berfokus pada enam mahasiswa pascasarjana Universitas Indonesia yang dipilih melalui kriteria purposif karena secara bersamaan menjalankan tanggung jawab keluarga, pekerjaan, dan akademik. Data diperoleh melalui wawancara mendalam, observasi kontekstual terbatas, serta dokumen pendukung, kemudian dianalisis melalui proses open coding, axial coding, dan selective coding. Temuan penelitian menunjukkan bahwa konflik peran tidak hanya dialami sebagai persoalan pengaturan waktu, tetapi juga sebagai beban berlapis yang mencakup tuntutan moral sebagai ibu, kelelahan fisik, rasa bersalah, serta luapan emosi yang melintasi ranah domestik, profesional, dan akademik. Komunikasi interpersonal berfungsi sebagai mekanisme utama dalam menegosiasikan batas, memobilisasi dukungan, dan mempertahankan relasi dengan suami, anak, keluarga besar, atasan, rekan kerja, dan dosen. Komunikasi intrapersonal, khususnya melalui dialog diri dan refleksi, membantu partisipan mengelola emosi dan menjaga motivasi. Penelitian ini menegaskan bahwa komunikasi bukan sekadar alat untuk bertahan, melainkan proses sosial yang memungkinkan perempuan mengelola tanggung jawab pengasuhan, mempertahankan aspirasi pendidikan, dan menegosiasikan ulang ekspektasi gender dalam kehidupan sehari-hari.

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