The objective of this formative research was to explore the acceptability and feasibility of changing housekeeping behaviors as a low-cost approach that may reduce childhood lead exposure in Johannesburg, South Africa. Using the Trials of Improved Practices (TIPs) methodology, modified housekeeping behaviors were negotiated with participants who…

Research clearly shows that, in spite of large-scale social and political changes, women still bear the primary responsibility for housework. Research explaining the unequal division of domestic labor produces mixed results. The authors argue that the "new city" structure of the modern suburbs may be partially responsible for the tenacity of the…

Discusses techniques for measuring the value of home work time. Estimates obtained using the reservation wage technique are contrasted with market alternative estimates derived with the same data set. Findings suggest that the market alternative cost method understates the true value of a woman's home time to the household. (JOW)

Provides an expansion and improvement of research on the factors related to wife's time spent doing housework. Results indicate that the fewer hours worked outside the home, the larger the family, the fewer number of meals out, the larger the house, the more hours are spent on housework. (JOW)

Reviews monetary evaluations of unpaid household work, taking as a starting point the output of household productive activity. Outlines possibilities for further developments and desirable characteristics of such evaluations. (JOW)

Discusses research based on a household time allocation model which assumes employment status and length of employment day are outside the realm of family choice when making daily time-use decisions. (JOW)

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…

Compared time that cohabiting and married women and men spend doing housework. Analysis of data from 1987 National Survey of Families and Households revealed that marital status affected women's household labor time but not men's; married women spent significantly more time on housework than did cohabiting women. (Author/NB)

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…

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…

Examined relationship between wives' (N=147) employment status and their versus their husbands' (N=154) time spent on household tasks. Compared adjusted mean time that women and men spent in specific household tasks. Found employed women spent less time on female-typed tasks than full-time homemakers. Found husbands' total housework time not…

Examined leisure time expenditures of married women in paid labor force. Found both active and passive leisure activities differentially affected by work. Estimated path model of amount of available leisure time, showing effects of paid labor time, age, children, and household labor time. Estimated that women's responsibilities for employment and…

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…

Investigated whether perceived involvement in household work after retirement related to husbands' and wives' retirement adaptation. Data from 611 recent retirees showed positive effect of postretirement housework involvement on women's adjustment. For men, relationship between housework and adaptation was contingent on such factors as health,…

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…