Remarriage, Stepparenting, and Household Labor

Abstract

Using data from a nationally representative sample, this research investigated husbands' contributions to household labor in four types of families: first-married couples with biological children, remarried couples with biological children only, remarried couples with stepchildren only, and remarried couples with biological and stepchildren. Absolute and relative contributions to total household labor did not differ significantly across family types, but husbands in remarried families contributed significantly more to the five housework tasks of cooking, meal cleanup, shopping, laundry, and housecleaning. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that the influence of family type on the sharing of gender-typed housework is significant after controlling for the impact of relative resources, ideology, time availability, and household work load. The authors suggest that the “incomplete institutionalization” of remarriage may contribute to a weakening of the gender-based segregation of household labor.

Relationship Suggestions from Self-Help Books: Gender Stereotyping, Preferences, and Context Effects

“…First, the absolute size of the differences is small, raising the question of whether there would be discernable real-life differences. Second, it is possible that women's greater preferences in general may reflect their appreciation for being relieved of responsibilities and provided help and support, given the continuing findings that women are spending more time than men doing household tasks (e.g., Baxter et al 2008;Ishii-Kuntz and Coltrane 1992). In addition, the experimenter was female, a situation that may have contributed to women's more positive ratings overall.…”

Family structure, family organization, and quality of family life

“…Although the total number of hours spent in household tasks does not vary significantly by family type (Demo & Acock, 1993b), two studies have found that there is a slight tendency for greater sharing of some household tasks in remarried than in first-married families (Ishii-Kuntz & Coltrane, 1992;Whyte, 1990). Goldscheider and Waite (1991), however, found that stepfathers performed a significantly smaller share of "female" chores such as cooking and cleaning than biological fathers, although they did a significantly larger share of "male" chores such as yard work.…”

“…Gerner, Montalto, and Bryant (1990) found that women who became divorced worked an increased number of hours in the year or two before the divorce occurred, and some women who remarried left the labor force after remarriage. Other studies have indicated that the number of hours employed and the percentage of household earnings contributed by mothers are higher in remarried families than in first marriages (Furstenberg, 1987;Ishii-Kuntz & Coltrane, 1992). Men's work hours do not appear to vary by family structure (Gerner et al, 1990;Ishii-Kuntz & Coltrane, 1992).…”

“…Other studies have indicated that the number of hours employed and the percentage of household earnings contributed by mothers are higher in remarried families than in first marriages (Furstenberg, 1987;Ishii-Kuntz & Coltrane, 1992). Men's work hours do not appear to vary by family structure (Gerner et al, 1990;Ishii-Kuntz & Coltrane, 1992).…”

Do Stepparents Experience More Parental Antagonism Than Biological Parents? A Test of Evolutionary and Socialization Perspectives

“…In addition, higher family functioning might be achieved in families where the biological parent recognizes that stepparents generally do not experience the same level of emotional attachment to their children as they do. This might be particularly important in families including a biological father and a stepmother, where women generally do the majority of household tasks (Ishii-Kuntz & Coltrane, 1992) and past findings suggest that "higher functioning" stepfamilies have more equitable chore division (Kelley, 1992). Furthermore, an increased understanding by biological parents of stepparents' feelings and the challenges of their role could also help reduce the negative emotions experienced by stepparents and therefore the negative outcomes for stepchildren.…”