This article analyzes a decade of qualitative research to identify and explore an overlooked survival strategy used in low-income families: children's family labor. Defined as physical duties, caregiving, and household management responsibilities, childrens' -- most often girls'-- family labor is posited as a critical source of support where low…

The literature on the predictors of the division of household labor continues to expand, but the effect of this division on family outcomes has not been explored. Using the German SocioEconomic Panel (N= 628), I analyze the effect of men's participation in housework and child care on the likelihood of second birth and divorce. Fathers' greater…

Using data on Moscow couples, this study investigates the division of household labor and its effects on marital conflict and thought of divorce. The hypotheses predict how spouses' economic resources, gender beliefs, and time constraints influence marital contention both directly and indirectly through wife's perceived division of household labor…

Middle-class African American adolescents' and parents' (n = 82 families) everyday conflicts were examined longitudinally over 2 years. The number and frequency of conflicts did not change from early to middle adolescence, but mothers rated conflicts as less intense and adolescents rated conflicts as more intense over time. Conflicts over…

Drawing on data from a panel study of White women spanning 31 years, the analyses examine the influence of women's employment on the gendered division of household labor. Multiple dimensions of women's employment are investigated, including accumulated employment histories, current employment status, current employment hours, and relative income.…

We examine affective closeness, contact, and helping among adult siblings using data for over 1,500 respondents in 2-child families from the National Survey of Families and Households. Using this subsample allows us to investigate differences by gender of respondent and of individual siblings using a nationally representative sample. We find that…

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…

Data were collected in 1956 and in 1983 to determine if parental perceptions of children's potential contribution to household work have changed over the past 25 years. Results indicate that parental perceptions have changed very little, with the exception that parents in the 1983 sample estimated older ages for children performing tasks involving…

Examined change in men's housework and child-care time between 1965 and 1975. Results indicated men's housework or child-care time did not change significantly. Further, few systematic changes in housework and child care are observed for specific categories of men. Overall, the findings cast doubt on the supposed covergence of men's and women's…

Compares engaged couples' expected gender-role differentiation of labor in marriage with their actual household task allocation one year after marriage. The acceptance of feminist ideology was the dominant predictor of household task allocation for both males and females. Parental household task allocation did not predict task allocation.…

Develops a model to predict the contribution adolescent males and females make to household work, based upon family characteristics, human capital of the adolescent, geographic location, and societal expectations. Adolescent females worked longer than males, regardless of birth order. Time use for household work was largely unaffected by family…

This study examined the amount of time urban adolescents spent in housework. Data used here resulted from the elecen-state family time use survey, "An Inter-state Urban/Rural Investigation of Families' Time Use." The findings indicate that adolescents in this multi-state sample average 71 minutes per day in household work. (SSH)

Studied marital dynamics of 106 faculty women at Northwestern University, focusing on a division of housework and childcare. Questionnaire responses indicated a traditional pattern. Suggests today's professional women are going through a role expansion rather than a role redefinition. (Author/RC)

Used data from national survey of 741 men and 964 women to examine life-cycle variations in satisfaction with division of household labor and relationship between satisfaction with division of household labor and marital quality. Satisfaction with division of labor was more important in explaining marital happiness and conflict than were age,…

Examines the experience of the family arrangement in which fathers choose to stay at home as the primary caregiver while their wives provide the family's income. Results indicate that couples choose this arrangement for both practical and philosophical reasons and that these couples are sharing more responsibilities than couples have…