Wives' employment hours and spousal participation in family work.

This longitudinal investigation of spousal division of labor examined whether wives' and husbands' proportional and absolute levels of child care and household chores would be related to wives' paid work hours. Participants were wives and husbands from 104 Canadian dual-earner families who completed questionnaires in February 1988, August 1988, and February 1989. Within-time results show that wives' longer employment hours were linked to their lower proportional share of child care and lower absolute levels of household chores and to husbands' higher proportional share of child care. There was some evidence that increases over time in wives' employment hours were related to increases in husbands' participation in child care and household chores. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Time spent in housework and leisure: Links with parents' physiological recovery from work.

Spouses' balancing of housework and leisure activities at home may affect their recovery from work. This paper reports on a study of everyday family life in which 30 dual-earner couples were tracked around their homes by researchers who recorded their locations and activities every 10 min. For women, the most frequently pursued activities at home were housework, communication, and leisure; husbands spent the most time in leisure activities, followed by communication and housework. Spouses differed in their total time at home and their proportion of time devoted to leisure and housework activities, with wives observed more often in housework and husbands observed more often in leisure activities. Both wives and husbands who devoted more time to housework had higher levels of evening cortisol and weaker afternoon-to-evening recovery. For wives, husbands' increased housework time also predicted stronger evening cortisol recovery. When both spouses' activities were entered in the same model, leisure predicted husbands' evening cortisol, such that husbands who apportioned more time to leisure, and whose wives apportioned less time to leisure, showed stronger after-work recovery. These results suggest that the division of labor within couples may have implications for physical health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work hours, schedule inflexibility, and stress in dual-earner spouses.

Explored the extent to which 96 dual-earner couples' work schedule strains predicted stress (depression, anxiety, and role strain) in both partners. Multiple regression analyses, controlling for SES, indicated that husbands' schedule inflexibility and long work hours (LWHs) were related to stress in husbands. Additionally, LWHs by wives were associated with husbands' anxiety and depression. Wives' schedule inflexibility and LWHs were associated directly with their role strain, but only indirectly with depression and anxiety. Husbands' schedule strains were unrelated to wives' levels of stress. Results are interpreted with respect to the social roles of women and men. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wives' employment and husbands' attitudes toward work and life.

Previous research has established that wives' employment has a positive association with the mental health of wives but a negative association with the mental health of husbands. The present study investigated the connections between wives' employment and husbands' work life, using data from the 1977 Quality of Employment Survey on 208 couples in which both husband and wife worked and 408 couples in which only the husband worked. Data indicate that wives' employment had nonspurious negative associations with husbands' job and life satisfaction. Husbands of working wives felt less adequate as family breadwinners than did husbands of housewives, and this appeared to account for their lower levels of job and life satisfaction. Findings suggest that the occupational domain is particularly important to understanding the negative relations between wives' employment and husbands' job and life satisfaction. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of Injustice in Family Work: The Role of Psychological Distress.

During the transition to parenthood, perceived imbalances in family work typically increase. Little is known, however, about which individuals are especially prone to perceive unfairness in the division of family work during this time. Using data from a longitudinal study of married couples expecting their first child and controlling for marital distress and other relevant variables, we observed that when husbands were psychologically distressed, both they and their wives were subsequently more likely to perceive unfairness to wives in the division of family work. No analogous significant and prospective effects of wives' levels of distress on their own or their husbands' perceptions of unfairness were found. We also found that once wives perceived the amount of child care they did as unfair, both they and their husbands were later more likely to experience psychological distress, controlling for marital distress and other relevant variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex typing and division of labor as determinants of marital change across the transition to parenthood.

Examined the proposition that wives who describe their personality in ways that deviate from sex stereotypes will become less positive and more negative about their marriage from before to after they become mothers, particularly when the transition to parenthood is accompanied by an increase in the traditionalism of marital roles. 61 couples were studied longitudinally from the last trimester of pregnancy through the 3rd postpartum month. The wives (mean age 26.5 yrs) completed the Personal Attributes Questionnaire and several questionnaires assessing the marital relationship at both times of measurement. Results reveal that the more division of labor changed toward traditionalism, the greater the decline in wives' evaluations of the positive aspects of marriage. Changes in wives' evaluations of both positive and negative aspects of marriage were significantly predicted by the interaction of the wives' expressivity and changes toward increased traditionalism in division of labor. Additional analyses showed that wives who did not ascribe female sex-typed attributes to themselves (relative to those who see themselves in sex-stereotyped ways) were more apt to evaluate their marriage less favorably from before to after parenthood when roles shifted toward greater traditionalism. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving the division of family work to be unfair: Do social comparisons, enjoyment, and competence matter?

Past research has revealed that women, working or not, perform more family labor (i.e., housework and child care) than do men. Yet, women often do not perceive this as unfair. Drawing on the theoretical work of L. Thompson (1991) and B. Major (1993), the author hypothesized that this paradox might be explained by women perceiving greater fairness in the lopsided division of family work (a) when they compare the amount of family work they do with other women (who perform similar amounts) rather than with the spouse; (b) when they enjoy performing family work; and/or (c) when they and their spouses believe that the are especially competent at family work. Data from a 3-panel, longitudinal study of married couples expecting their first child were consistent with the second and third predictions but not the first. Further, prospective analyses suggested that perceiving inequity in family work leads wives and husbands to make more frequent comparisons with the spouse and sometimes with same-sex others. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processes underlying father involvement in dual-earner and single-earner families.

Correlates of father involvement were examined separately in 20 dual-earner and 20 single-earner families that were participating in a larger longitudinal study of the early years of marriage. All families had one child between 1 and 25 months of age. During interviews held 2? years after marriage, parents completed questionnaires from which data on fathers' work hours, sex role attitudes, perceived skill at child care, and perceptions of love for their wives were drawn. During the several weeks following these interviews, mothers and fathers were telephoned on nine occasions and asked to report separately on child care, leisure activities, and marital interactions that had occurred during the 24 hr preceding each call. Fathers in dual-earner families were significantly more involved in child care than single-earner fathers, but the two groups did not differ in leisure involvement with their children. More important, there were different correlates of father involvement in the two groups, patterns suggesting that dual-earner fathers may increase their involvement with their children at the expense of harmonious marital relations. The findings are discussed with regard to the importance of studying family processes in contrasting family ecologies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex role orientation and division of labor early in marriage.

Examined the division of labor by newlyweds, including the extent to which spouses participated in the labor force and involved themselves in household work. 120 husbands (mean age 24.3 yrs) and wives (mean age 21.9 yrs) completed the Attitudes Toward Women Scale, the Personal Attributes Questionnaire, and a measure assessing their perceived skill in carrying out 26 household tasks. Data on household task participation were gathered via 9 separate phone interviews. Tasks were classified into 2 groups based on whether they were performed more often by the men or by the women. Husbands' and wives' sex-role attitudes were related to the extent to which wives, but not husbands, participated in the labor force. The more traditional the couple was in terms of their relative employment hours, the less the husband, relative to his wife, was involved in female sex-typed household tasks. No such connection was found for male sex-typed tasks. Spouses' perceived skill at performing tasks traditionally assigned to the spouse of the opposite sex was significantly related to how traditional they were in housework participation. Findings suggest that gender-related attitudes and skills of newlyweds influence the way their relationships come to be structured with regard to economic and instrumental activities. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Divorce and children: fact proven and interval between petition and decree

This article presents some basic statistics on divorce in England and Wales in 1994 which are relevant to the current debate on the reform of divorce law. Over one half (56 per cent) of all divorces were to couples with children aged under 16 in their family. The most frequent fact proven by wives was the unreasonable behaviour of their husbands (54 per cent of all divorces granted to wives) whilst the most frequent fact proven by husbands was their wives' adultery--37 per cent of all divorces granted to husbands. These proportions were even higher amongst divorcing wives and husbands who had children aged under 16 in their family; 60 and 45 per cent, respectively. The median interval of time between filing the petition and obtaining the decree varied little across the different groups of divorcing couples. Overall, the median interval was just under 7 months. About one in 9 couples were granted divorce within 4 months of filing the petition, 2 in 5 within 6 months, and approximately 4 in 5 divorces were granted within one year.     

Social Networks, Structural Interdependence, and Marital Quality Over the Transition to Marriage: A Prospective Analysis.

This study examined the relationship between couples' network interdependence and marital quality in a sample of 347 couples that were recruited at the time of their first marriage. Husbands and wives completed separate, self-administered questionnaires at home. Analyses are based on data collected at the time of marriage, at the first anniversary, and at the second anniversary. Results indicated that after marriage, husbands' and wives' friend and family networks became increasingly interdependent. Moreover, the interdependence of the friend and family networks at marriage predicted wives' marital quality at the first anniversary, whereas wives' marital quality at the first anniversary predicted the interdependence of the friend network at the second anniversary. No significant longitudinal relations were observed for husbands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Financial problems and health complaints among farm couples: Results of a 10-year follow-up study.

Over a 10-year period, this survey study of 91 Dutch dairy farm couples investigated both causal and reversed causal relationships between couples' financial problems and husbands' and wives' mental and physical health complaints, as well as crossover effects of mental and physical health complaints between spouses. These relationships were tested simultaneously using structural equation modeling analyses. Results showed that financial problems were not predictive of health complaints for either spouse but that husbands' health complaints did predict both couples' financial problems and wives' health complaints 10 years later. These findings emphasize the importance of mental and physical health as resources for both the business and the family. For wives, these effects were not found, which may reflect the different positions of husbands and wives at the farm and, hence, the different ways they allocate their resources. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Finding meaning in religious practices: The relation between religious holiday rituals and marital satisfaction.

This study examined the relation between marital satisfaction and religious holiday ritual practices. 120 couples, married 9 years on average, completed measures of religious holiday practices (current family and family-of-origin) and marital satisfaction. Couples were interviewed about how important religion was to their family life. Marital satisfaction was related to religious holiday rituals beyond a global indication of religiousness. A different pattern was found for husbands and wives, with husbands' satisfaction more closely linked to ritual meaning and wives' satisfaction associated with routine practices. Family-of-origin rituals were connected across generations. Wives' marital satisfaction was related to husbands' report of religious holiday rituals but not the converse. Results are discussed in terms of how rituals affirm relationships, connect values and beliefs, and may have differential meaning for men and women. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of couple illness perception congruence on psychological adjustment in women with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To characterize similarities and differences in illness perceptions between women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their husbands, and examine whether illness perception congruence predicted wives' subsequent psychological adjustment. Design: Women with RA and their husbands (N = 190 couples) recruited from community and clinical settings completed mailed surveys at baseline and 4-month follow-up. Main Outcome Measures: Data for this investigation included illness perceptions in partners and illness severity, marital variables, and psychological adjustment in wives. Results: In general, wives and husbands had similar views of RA. Couple congruence concerning women's personal control over RA and its cyclic nature predicted better psychological adjustment in women 4 months later. Post hoc tests showed better psychological adjustment in wives from couples with similar optimistic beliefs about personal control, illness coherence, and RA consequences, when compared to those in couples with similar pessimistic beliefs. Furthermore, when partners disagreed about RA's consequences, wives fared better when husbands overestimated rather than underestimated their beliefs. In contrast, couple congruence about the emotions and timeline of RA was unrelated to adjustment. Conclusion: It may be important for husbands to understand wives' views on their control over RA and its cyclic nature. Furthermore, wives may benefit when they share optimistic views with their husbands about RA, and when their husbands avoid underestimating RA's consequences. Developing interventions to enhance partners' illness understanding may be beneficial. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Perceiving unfairness in the family: Cause or consequence of marital distress?": Correction to Grote and Clark (2001).

Reports an error in "Perceiving unfairness in the family: Cause or consequence of marital distress" by Nancy K. Grote and Margaret S. Clark (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2001[Feb], Vol 80[2], 281-293). The key coefficients on the diagonal paths were incorrect. The corrected figures in their entirety appear in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2001-16163-008.) This research tests a model suggesting that marital distress leads individuals to scrutinize of what is given and received in the relationship. This scrutiny elicits perceptions of unfairness that maintain or exacerbate marital distress. In a 3-panel longitudinal study tracking married couples across the transition to parenthood, both wives' and husbands' reports of marital conflict and wives' marital dissatisfaction at Time 1 positively predicted perceived unfairness of the allocation of household tasks at Time 2, controlling for earlier perceptions of unfairness. In addition, there was evidence of perceived unfairness of division of labor at Time 2 predicting marital conflict and marital dissatisfaction for wives at Time 3, controlling for earlier conflict and dissatisfaction. This model of relationship distress and perceptions of unfairness is contrasted with prior interpretations of links between perceived injustice and distress in relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and conflict structure in marital interaction: A replication and extension.

29 married couples engaged in 2 videotaped discussions: 1 in which the husband requested a change in the wife and 1 in which the wife requested a change in the husband. Conflict behavior was assessed by self-report and observer ratings. Neither conflict structure (who requested the change) nor gender was associated with the positivity or negativity of spouses' behavior. During discussions of husbands' issues, wives and husbands did not differ in demand/withdraw behavior, whereas when discussing wives' issues, wives were more demanding and husbands were more withdrawing. Husband-demand/wife-withdraw interaction predicted an increase in wives' satisfaction 1 yr later, whereas wife-demand/husband-withdraw interaction predicted a decline in wives' satisfaction 1 yr later. These results replicate and extend those of an earlier study (A. Christensen and C. L. Heavey; see record 1991-01045-001). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Provider role attitudes, marital satisfaction, role overload, and housework: A dyadic approach.

Treating the marital dyad as the unit of analysis, this study examined the within-couple patterning of 272 dual-earner spouses' provider role attitudes and their longitudinal associations with marital satisfaction, role overload, and the division of housework. Based on the congruence of husbands' and wives' provider role attitudes, couples were classified into one of four types: (a) main-secondary, (b) coprovider, (c) ambivalent coprovider, and (d) mismatched couples. Nearly half of all spouses differed in their attitudes about breadwinning. A series of mixed model ANCOVAs revealed significant between- and within-couple differences in human capital characteristics, spouses' perceptions of marital satisfaction and role overload, and the division of housework across 3 years of measurement. Coprovider couples reported higher levels of marital satisfaction and a more equitable division of housework than the other couple groups. Wives in the ambivalent coprovider couples' group reported higher levels of role overload than their husbands to a greater extent than was found in the other couple groups. As the first study to adopt a dyadic approach that considers the meanings that both spouses in dual-earner couples ascribe to paid employment, these findings advance understanding of how dual-earner spouses' provider role attitudes serve as contexts for marital quality, behavior, and role-related stress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of marital role problems and the self-concept on wives' depressed mood.

Evaluated the mutual contribution of role interaction problems and self-concept to the depressed mood of wives in the marital relationship, using a linear recursive model incorporating path analysis and multiple regression. A random sample of married couples was interviewed, including 85 couples that had a child or children younger than 6 yrs old and in which the wife was less than 45 yrs old; 88 couples with a child or children aged 6–18 yrs, the wife being of any age; 81 couples with no children at home and the wife aged 45–59 yrs; and 82 couples with no children at home and the wife older than 60 yrs old. Roles selected to measure interaction problems included cooking, housekeeping, companionship to spouse, and caring for children. Role disagreement, depressed mood, and wives' self-concepts and the actual and perceived appraisals of the husbands for the wives were measured. Results indicate that the path model proposed a causal effect of marital role disagreement and reflected self-concept on wives' depressed mood. The key variable in the model was wives' perceptions of husbands' evaluations, which had a direct effect on wives' mood and mediated much of the effect of role disagreement on wives' depressed mood. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving unfairness in the family: Cause or consequence of marital distress?

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 80(3) of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (see record 2007-17568-001). The key coefficients on the diagonal paths were incorrect. The corrected figures in their entirety appear in the erratum.] This research tests a model suggesting that marital distress leads individuals to scrutinize of what is given and received in the relationship. This scrutiny elicits perceptions of unfairness that maintain or exacerbate marital distress. In a 3-panel longitudinal study tracking married couples across the transition to parenthood, both wives' and husbands' reports of marital conflict and wives' marital dissatisfaction at Time 1 positively predicted perceived unfairness of the allocation of household tasks at Time 2, controlling for earlier perceptions of unfairness. In addition, there was evidence of perceived unfairness of division of labor at Time 2 predicting marital conflict and marital dissatisfaction for wives at Time 3, controlling for earlier conflict and dissatisfaction. This model of relationship distress and perceptions of unfairness is contrasted with prior interpretations of links between perceived injustice and distress in relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spouse, parent, worker: Role commitments and role-related experiences in the construction of adults' well-being.

Examined relations between adults' role strain, anxiety, and depression and 5 aspects of role-related experience: commitment, demands, satisfactions, evaluations, and social support for role-related activities. Participants were 102 men (mean age 34.6 yrs) and 194 women (mean age 32.4 yrs), all employed, in dual-earner marriages, and parenting a preschool child. High commitment to roles was not uniformly associated with greater well-being (e.g., a component of work commitment reflecting absorption in work was linked with a higher role strain in men). Diverse sources of support were linked with women's psychological states, but men's well-being was responsive chiefly to wives' support. Age and role-tenure had relatively little impact on the relations between role-related experiences and well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)