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The authors conducted an exploratory secondary analysis of 1434 subjects taken from the 1989 USA General Social Survey. The focus of inquiry was what people in various social roles and role configurations would spend more time on if they had an opportunity to do so. Would they choose to spend more time on paid work, housework, family, friends, leisure or relaxation? The authors hypothesize that particular roles and role configurations influence ideal time allocation and time pressure. Worker, parent and spouse roles were analyzed separately and in conjunction with the gender role. T-tests were computed for comparisons of means between groups. Particular roles and role configurations did influence ideal time allocation, but time differential pressure by men and women in selected roles was not confirmed.

The authors conducted an empirical study in 1990 of 611 mature women in dual-career/earner families who are retired from a work position in the field of education. We test twelve hypotheses that relate frequency of contact, kind of social contact and perceived gap between desired and frequency of actual social contact to satisfaction with women's timing of retirement and leisure. Nine of the twelve hypotheses were confirmed. Women who have more frequent and a greater variety of social contact are more satisfied with the timing of their retirement and their leisure than those who have less contact. The wider the gap between desired and actual frequency contact with specific groups the less satisfied will women be with their leisure experience, their amount of leisure time, and their timing of retirement.

The primary objective of this study was to determine which of two sociological theories of dating preference was more powerful in predicting women's actual dating frequency. The two theories tested were Waller's theory, which emphasizes physical attractiveness, and Blood's theory, which emphasizes personality. The present study supported Waller's theory. Discussion and implications for women and counselors are presented.

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