Wives' Perceptions of the Fairness of the Division of Household Labor: The Intersection of Housework and Ideology

Blair, Sampson Lee; Johnson, Michael P.

doi:10.2307/353243

Cited by 212 publications

(144 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Gender theory has guided several empirical studies, which, however, found mixed evidence for it: according to Blair and Johnson (1992), gender ideology does not affect fairness judgments, while it does for DeMaris & Longmore (1996) and Baxter & Western (1998). According to Greenstein (1996), gender ideology influences fairness evaluation through its interaction with the division of housework.…”

Section: Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Studies On Housework mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In previous research specifically addressing the operationalization of Thompson's concepts (see above), four out of five studies focused on small samples of dual-earner couples (Freudenthaler & Mikula, 1998;Hawkins et al, 1998;Hawkins et al, 1995;Himsel & Goldberg, 2003). In other studies dealing with the general topic of perceived fairness, the target population was either dual-earner or all couples; in some cases analyses were kept separated for employed and non employed women (Blair & Johnson, 1992).…”

Section: Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Studies On Housework mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other studies (Blair & Johnson, 1992;Gager & Hohmann-Marriot, 2006;John et al, 1995;Sanchez, 1994) used Thompson's theory to interpret results of empirical research that did not measure variables directly suggested by that theoretical perspective.…”

Section: Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Studies On Housework mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A well-known paradox has been documented in the literature about subjective aspects of the intra-household division of housework, perceived fairness in particular: the majority of married women consider the division of household labor with their husbands to be fair, although wives actually do most of the housework and care tasks (Baxter & Western, 1998;Blair & Johnson, 1992;Braun et al, 2008;Greenstein, 1996Greenstein, , 2009 This fact helps to understand why equality in the home is so difficult to achieve.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Perceived Fairness and Satisfaction with the Division of Housework Among Dual-Earner Couples in Italy

Carriero¹

2011

Marriage & Family Review

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Section: Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Studies On Housework mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Studies On Housework mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Studies On Housework mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Perceived Fairness and Satisfaction with the Division of Housework Among Dual-Earner Couples in Italy

Carriero¹

2011

Marriage & Family Review

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“…It was hypothesized that the division of child care would be more strongly associated with change in women's well-being than the division of housework. This hypothesis is based on the notion that wives will value their husbands' participation in child-care tasks more highly than their participation in household tasks (Blair & Johnson, 1992;Dempsey, 1997). …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Division of Labor and Working-Class Women's Well-Being Across the Transition to Parenthood.

Goldberg¹,

Perry‐Jenkins²

2004

Journal of Family Psychology

121

134

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This study examines the degree to which the division of household and child-care tasks predicts working-class women's well-being across the transition to parenthood. Women completed questionnaires about the division of labor and their well-being before the birth of their first child and upon returning to work. Results showed that violated expectations regarding the division of child care were associated with increased distress postnatally, and there was some evidence that this relationship was moderated by gender ideology. Traditional women whose husbands did more child care than they expected them to do were more distressed. Work status also moderated the relationship between violated expectations and distress. The results suggest that the division of child care is more salient in predicting distress than the division of housework, for working-class women, at this time point.Family roles have undergone many changes in the United States over the past 50 years. What was considered the traditional family arrangement in the 1950s (mom stays home, dad works) is clearly no longer the norm. In 2000, both parents were employed in 64.2% of married-couple families with children under 18, whereas the father, but not the mother, was employed in only 29.2% of married-couple families. In 2000, the labor force participation rate of married mothers was 69.8%, with 55.8% of married mothers with children under a year old in the work force (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2000). These employment trends demonstrate that employed women who also claim the title of mother are clearly in the majority. Little is known about how the transition into the parent role, while maintaining one's work and marital roles, affects women's well-being. The goal of this study is to explore this phenomenon for working-class women. Multiple Roles and Women's Mental HealthMuch research has explored the effects of employment on women's mental health. Barnett and Hyde (2001) cite empirical data to support the notion that multiple roles are beneficial for women's mental health. Indeed, much research suggests that employed mothers enjoy greater psychological well-being than mothers who are housewives (e.g., Glass & Fujimoto, 1994;Hyde, Klein, Essex, & Clark, 1995;Kessler & McRae, 1982). However, other studies have not found significant differences in the mental health of housewives versus employed women (e.g., Klein, Hyde, Essex, & Clark, 1998;Lennon, 1994). These inconsistent findings may be explained, in part, by examining both paid and unpaid work together. For example, Rosenfield (1989) found that housewives were typically more depressed than employed women, with one exception: housewives were less depressed than the most overloaded employed women (fullCorrespondence concerning this article should be addressed to Maureen Perry-Jenkins, Tobin Hall, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003. mpj@psych.umass.edu. NIH Public Access NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript time working mothers who received litt...

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Arrangements and rules of distribution of burdens and duties: the case of household chores

Mikula

Freudenthaler

Brennacher-Kroll

et al. 1997

Eur. J. Soc. Psychol.

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Two studies explored the arrangements and rules which are used in the division of household tasks and their frequencies of use with different kinds of tasks. In addition, the studies analysed justice evaluations of the arrangements and rules and the covariation of justice ratings with different kinds of tasks, gender, and relative size of raters' own contributions to the household labour. Data were obtained from two different types of household systems: households of students sharing flats and family households with adolescent children. Eight different arrangements and rules were distinguished. The frequencies of use differed significantly and were influenced by considerations of practicability, usefulness and efficiency. The justice ratings were guided by the ideal of an equal allocation of labour and additionally shaped by functional considerations of applicability and usefulness, and self-serving tendencies.

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Wives' Perceptions of the Fairness of the Division of Household Labor: The Intersection of Housework and Ideology

Cited by 212 publications

References 14 publications

Perceived Fairness and Satisfaction with the Division of Housework Among Dual-Earner Couples in Italy

Perceived Fairness and Satisfaction with the Division of Housework Among Dual-Earner Couples in Italy

Division of Labor and Working-Class Women's Well-Being Across the Transition to Parenthood.

Arrangements and rules of distribution of burdens and duties: the case of household chores

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