In two studies, mothers and fathers rated the ease of making a work request of a partner or child, and children commented on making a work request of a parent or sibling. Analysis of responses yielded four types of task groups: male, mothers', mothers' and children's, and open. (BC)

Used data from nationally representative sample (n=2,528) to examine division of household labor in first-marriage families, stepfamilies, families headed by divorced mothers, and families headed by never-married mothers. Findings indicated that, across family types and regardless of women's employment status, women performed two to three times…

Multiple-regression analysis of data from Canada's General Social Survey indicated that home-based women spent significantly more time in household work than did their employed nonhome-based counterparts. Home-based men spent less than their counterparts. Results provide some support for the view that home-based work may provide a means for women…

A division of labor is mediated by exchange of valued goods and services. We use social exchange theory to extend this principal to "labors of love." Sexual activity in a close personal relationship seems outside the domain of bargaining and exchange. Nevertheless, we explore the possibility that this most intimate of human relations is influenced…

Based on a sample of 126 families, this study investigated how division of household labor is related to marital satisfaction and caregiving burden among older married parents caring for adult children with intellectual disabilities. For mothers, greater spousal participation in household work and satisfaction with the division of labor were…

The increased participation of women in paid labor has changed the organization of domestic work. This article deals with a strategy to cope with remaining domestic duties; to what extent are domestic tasks outsourced, what are the main determinants, and does it indeed save time spent on housework? Five outsourcing options are investigated:…

This study uses the multidimensional measures included in the 1996 Taiwan Social Change Survey to examine the effects of gender ideologies and marital role sharing on marital quality among married Taiwanese men and women as reporting spouses. The authors' quantitative analyses indicate that (a) there is little direct relationship between gender…

Using a sample of 101 heterosexual, co-residential couples, the author evaluates four housework theories: gender ideology, relative resources, time availability, and doing gender. Unlike some tests of these theories, the author operationalizes gender ideology as an identity, and the author tests the models on the traditionally feminine chores as…

As female labour force participation in the workforce increases in Singapore, the basic economic unit--the home--has become wealthier, although arguably at the expense of both personal and family leisure. Yet with additional income, breadwinners are better able to undertake investment for their own well-being or their children's well-being that…

Using survey data on 1,718 ever-divorced men and women in the Netherlands, the authors describe the motives people give for their divorce. The authors distinguish motives regarding three types of issues: relational issues, behavioral problems, and problems about work and the division of labor. They observe three important trends: the normalization…

This study was designed to determine factors that affect the employment status of the wife-mother and prove that these factors would be similar in both "typical" and "disadvantaged" samples. Three "universal variables" were: the husband's attitudes, youngest child's educational status, and frequency of family sharing the housework…

INSTRUCTIONS FOR CLEANING EVERY PART OF THE HOUSE ARE GIVEN IN OUTLINE FORM WITH PICTURES TO ILLUSTRATE PROCEDURES. FOR EACH JOB A LIST OF SUPPLIES NEEDED, STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS, AND SPECIAL TIPS ARE GIVEN. A PLAN FOR KEEPING A CLEAN HOUSE INCLUDES LISTS OF JOBS TO BE DONE DAILY, WEEKLY, AND MONTHLY. THE SECTION ON HOME SAFETY INCLUDES…

The amount of housework help influences the frequency of negative interaction between adult and child, whereas housework importance influences leisure, restrictions imposed on children, and willingness of the caretaker to respond to a child. Findings constitute an argument for increased role-sharing between husbands and wives. (Author)

Boston-area families described the ambivalence of male responses to pressures of increased participation in homemaking. Because of different social support networks, men obtain little support and help in performing housework. Men perceiving paid employment as their primary contribution hesitate to acknowledge responsibility for homemaking…

Used data from 697 married couples from nonmetropolitan Kentucky counties to study division of housework between spouses. Results confirm that influence of resources hinges on their relationship to sex-role attitudes. To alter traditional division of household labor, it may be necessary for women to hold more liberal sex-role attitudes. (Author/NB)