Variation in marital ideologies was tested with a probability sample of 182 wives living in a medium-size city in the midwest. Expressive elements in marriage were particularly salient among the young while economic elements were most emphasized among the old and poorly educated. (Author)

Data from 359 married, full-time employed women tested extent to which allocation of tasks and allocation of household management predict perceptions of fairness and conflict. Task and management allocation contributed independently and differently to perceptions of fairness and conflict about housework allocation. Unfairness was predicted by both…

Analyzed determinants of wives' perceptions of fairness of division of household labor. Data from 1988 National Survey of Families and Households indicated that husbands' contributions to "female" tasks and appreciation of women's household labor were most important determinants of wives' perceptions of fairness, with strength of…

This study tests the common assertion that women, especially upper-middle-class housewives, vicariously experience their husbands' success. Findings for 121 mostly upper-middle-class housewives disprove this assertion. Husband's success does positively affect a housewife's self-esteem, but only indirectly, through its effect on perceived marital…

Examined effects of employment resources (income and workplace authority) on percentage of feminine-typed housekeeping tasks done by Canadian women and men. Found that personal achievements in labor market mediated effects of relative employment resources on performing such tasks, albeit differently for Canadian women and men. French-Canadian…

Compared individual and family variables among 918 mothers of young children who are family day care providers, mothers employed outside the home, and mothers not employed. Found significant differences for mothers' level of stress, education, income, and work hours; for husbands' income, work hours, and time spent actively involved with children;…

Surveyed dual-employed couple to explore causes of satisfaction with and arguments over division of household labor. Found husbands more satisfied with equitable division; wives more satisfied with division favoring them. Wives were more content if husbands shared women's traditional chores. Spouses disagreed about how often they argued over…

Examined demographic and attitudinal differences between housewives and employed wives in 1972 and 1986. Demographic and attitudinal differences were larger in 1986 than in 1972; major divergence was between housewives and full-time employees; part timers appeared more like housewives. Housewives were increasingly likely to hold traditional…

Used nationally representative sample of 2,031 adults aged 18 to 90 to compare housework and family care as primary activity with paid work and with volunteer work, leisure activities, home and yard maintenance, and schoolwork. Found that unpaid domestic work was more routine, and it provided less intrinsic gratification and fewer extrinsic…

The assumption that the family as an institution is experiencing a continuous and rapid loss of functions is challenged. Instead, the institution is seen as assuming new sets of responsibilities in the areas of sexual intercourse, recreation, and therapeutic services. (Author)

Tested Kohn's theory that people who work in highly supervised, routinized occupations are likely to value obedience and conformity in marital and parental relationships. Findings from 244 couples revealed that working conditions were not strong predictors of division of household labor. Concludes that nontraditional gender role values,…

Compared amount of time dual-career husbands and wives spent in housework (total N=1,565) relative to their same-sex counterparts in other dual-earner and single-earner households (N=1,565). Found that dual-career couples were not more egalitarian than other couples in allocation of time to household labor. Discusses consequences for extent of…

Examined how both division of household labor and perceptions of its equity relate to spouses' reports of marital conflict and satisfaction in 656 working-class and middle-class dual-earner families. For middle-class wives, perceptions of equity had strongest effect on marital conflict. For working-class wives, higher proportion of traditionally…

Using data from study of young families in an affluent Hong Kong housing complex, author contends that role reorganization within nuclear family and, specifically, changing role of Chinese wives, has created a new family structure which reinforces rather than rejects traditional norms of shared residence and reciprocal aid among kin. (Author)

Argues that the housewife role itself, which both housewives and employed wives share, is anomic. Data from the 1974 General Social Survey showed that although women in these categories do not differ on this measure once class is controlled, different variables predict anomia for women in each work-status category. (Author/JAC)