We review the literature on partner idealization (also known as positive illusions) in the field of close relationships. Our review assesses the soundness of idealization research from conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and evidentiary perspectives. In addition, we explore the potential linkage of idealization to the newer and seemingly related construct of disillusionment. Given the apparent role of disillusionment in relationship dissolution, explication of the role of idealization in disillusionment would benefit the field. To this end, we present an initial model of mechanisms that may govern relations between idealization and disillusionment to guide future research.

Competing cultural and gender expectations, especially aligned around paid and family work, make the contemporary experience of mothering difficult. The goal of this study is to illuminate, through the use of a feminist perspective, how families handle demands of paid and family work, along with the gendered nature of mothering, when mothers travel for work. Eighty-two mothers, fathers, and children from 22 U.S. families, in which mothers' jobs required frequent overnight travel, were interviewed to assess how they constructed mothering. The qualitative analysis addressed two categories: (1) the importance of the mother as a breadwinner for the family and (2) family work tasks. From these categories, a theme that travel enabled independence, both for the mother and the family members, emerged. These findings indicate that some work demands may challenge traditional notions of work and family, requiring families to reconstruct their lived experience and the meaning they ascribe to parenting.

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This qualitative study focuses on different ways time is experienced by children in families who face time challenges due to a family member’s job that required work travel. Data are from a family-level study that includes interviews of all family members over the age of 7. Using grounded theory methodology, this study illustrates ways in which job demands and family processes interact. Analysis centers on the 75 children’s perspectives from 43 families. Holding together assessments of having enough time while wanting more time with their parents, children express emotion, generally unrecognized by parents, around the topic of family time. Children’s experience of time with parents is rushed or calm, depending on the activities done in time and the gender of the parent with whom they spend time. Findings are interpreted through a feminist social constructionist lens.