Representations of Family Practices, Belief in Sex Differences, and Sexism

Two hundred twenty-one adults and young adults answered one of three versions of a questionnaire of opinion scales, which induced a comparison between three pairs of targets (husband and wife; husband and home helper; wife and home helper). After they evaluated the targets’ contributions to family work, participants judged whether the contributions were fair and satisfactory. Then participants’ degree of belief in sex differences and level of sexism were measured. Results show that spouses’ contributions are only judged satisfactory when wife was compared with home helper; male respondents’ reported that they believed more strongly in sex differences when husband and wife were compared; men’s and women’s level of benevolent sexism did not differ when husband was compared with home helper.     

The division of labor in close relationships: An asymmetrical conflict issue

This research addresses couples’reports of their (hypothetical) attempts to maintain or change a gendered division of labor through conflict interactions. Two experiments in which spouses responded to scenarios showed that spouses reported more conflict over the division of housework than conflict over paid work and child care, and that wives more often than husbands desired a change in their spouses’contribution. Spouses reported more wife‐demand/husband‐withdraw than husband‐demand/wife‐withdraw interaction during hypothetical conflict over the division of labor, but only when the wife desired a change in her spouse's contribution. Together, the data imply that wife‐demand/husband‐withdraw interaction is a likely response to the asymmetrically structured conflict situation in which the wife is discontent with her husband's contribution to housework, while her husband wants to maintain the status quo. We further showed that defenders of the status quo were more likely expected to reach their goal than complainants. In the role of complainant, wives were more likely expected to reach their goal than were their husbands, but only when the conflict issue concerned their own gender stereotypical domain (i.e., family work).     

Gender and social structure in the demand/withdraw pattern of marital conflict

This study examined the effects of gender and social structure on the demand/withdraw pattern of marital conflict. In this pattern, the demander, usually the woman, pressures the other through emotional requests, criticism, and complaints, and the withdrawer, usually the man, retreats through defensiveness and passive inaction. In this study, 31 couples were assessed in 2 conflict situations: 1 in which husband wanted a change in wife and 1 in which wife wanted a change in husband. Data from husbands, wives, and observers consistently revealed a significant main effect of gender (wife-demand/husband-withdraw interaction was more likely than husband-demand/wife-withdraw interaction) and a significant interaction of gender and conflict structure (wife-demand/husband-withdraw interaction was more likely than the reverse only when discussing a change the wife wanted). Separate analyses of demand and withdraw behaviors indicated that both husband and wife were more likely to be demanding when discussing a change they wanted and more likely to be withdrawing when discussing a change their partner wanted. However, men were overall more withdrawn than women, but women were not overall more demanding than men.     

Interspousal Criticism: A Behavioral Mediator Between Husbands’ Gender Role Conflict and Wives’ Adjustment

Seventy-two married couples participated in a study of husband gender role conflict and interpersonal criticism and wife psychological and marital adjustment. Participants were recruited from a community in the Midwestern USA. Husband criticism was measured using self-report, wife-report, and trained coder ratings of an audiotaped task in which husbands described their wives and their relationship with their wives. Hypothesized associations between husband gender role conflict and husband interspousal criticism were supported. In addition, all three measures of husband criticism were found to mediate the relationship between husband gender role conflict and wife marital adjustment. However, only self- and wife-reported criticism by husbands significantly mediated the relationship between husband gender role conflict and wife depressive symptoms.     

DON'T ROCK THE BOAT: WOMEN'S BENEVOLENT SEXISM PREDICTS FEARS OF MARITAL VIOLENCE

We examined how Spanish women's benevolent sexism (a sex-role attitude) affects their perceptions of whether a hypothetical husband will feel threatened by a wife's success at work. In a social perception study, female participants ( N  = 210) read a vignette in which a husband and his wife argued over her job promotion. Women's benevolent sexism (but not hostile sexism) predicted viewing the husband as more threatened by his wife's promotion and more likely to aggress against her (intimate partner violence). The effect of women's benevolent sexism was robust and not mitigated when specific information about the husband's attitude (traditional, egalitarian, no information) was provided. Belief that a husband would feel threatened by a wife's promotion partially mediated the relationship between women's benevolent sexism scores and their anticipation that the husband would become violent. Benevolently sexist women may embrace traditional roles in relationships in part to avoid antagonizing male partners, ultimately maintaining the status quo.     

Depression, Marital Satisfaction and Communication in Couples: Investigating Gender Differences

The correlation between depression and dysfunctional marital interaction is well documented, but only a few studies have examined gender-related differences in marital interaction patterns of couples with a depressed partner. In this paper we examined differences in observed marital communication in a sample of 62 Swiss couples presenting for treatment of depression. There were 16 maritally distressed couples with a depressed wife, 21 maritally nondistressed couples with a depressed wife, 18 maritally distressed couples with a depressed husband, and 7 maritally nondistressed couples with a depressed husband. Marital interaction behavior was found to depend on gender, depression, marital distress, as well as gender of the depressed partner. Our results suggest the need for a gender-sensitive model of the link between marital interaction and depression.     

Adolescent and adult reasoning about gender roles and fairness in Benin,West Africa

This study examined reasoning about gender roles in a traditional society in Benin, West Africa. Ninety-seven male and female adolescents and adults evaluated conflicts between a husband and a wife over gender norms to determine whether gender norms, are judged to be moral or conventional. Although most attributed decision-making power to the husband, justifications and evaluations that supported challenges to traditional gender roles indicate that social roles were seen as alterable conventions. In addition, concerns with punishment of one spouse were associated with endorsing the other spouse as decision-maker, indicating that endorsements of authority may be coerced. Very few age differences were found, indicating that adults are not more enculturated into an acceptance of hierarchy than adolescents. However, adults were more likely than adolescents to perceive coercion.     

Issues concerning collaborating careers

Male and female college students responded to stories about married physicians whose total income was greatest, respectively, when (1) the husband cared for the children, (2) the wife cared for the children, (3) either spouse cared for them, (4) the wife earned more than the husband, or (5) the husband earned more than the wife. A strong bias in favor of maternal child care was found in situations (2) and (3), while in situation (1) a majority of females favored paternal child care and males chose father and mother about equally. No aversion to the wife's earning more than the husband was found. The results were discussed in terms of their relevance to collaborating careers.     

A Topography of Early Marriage

Twenty-one patterns of marriage were derived on the basis of interview reports of 200 young nonclinic couples. The patterns themselves were then organized along five conceptual dimensions: husband "potency" or effectiveness, husband impulse control, wife dependency (vs. counter-dependency), wife attitude toward sex, and wife orientation toward the marriage.     

婚姻冲突、应对策略及其与婚姻满意度的关系

探讨婚姻冲突、应对策略、婚姻满意度的特点及其关系。采用方便取样,选取辽阳市已婚完整家庭1～10年的夫妻620对进行问卷调查。结果表明：1）夫妻报告的前三项冲突是：家务琐事、不良习惯和交流解决问题方面。在家务琐事、交流解决问题和孩子方面,妻子报告的冲突显著多于丈夫;妻子报告的双方回避应对显著多于丈夫;2）人际关系冲突和工作方面的冲突分别对妻子和丈夫的婚姻满意度有显著预测作用;双方都报告人际关系方面的冲突对对方婚姻满意度有显著预测作用,但妻子报告的人际关系冲突对丈夫婚姻满意的预测作用更大;3）自己和对方的应对策略在妻子报告的冲突与婚姻满意中起完全中介作用,在丈夫报告的冲突与婚姻满意中起部分中介作用。     

Marital satisfaction,job satisfaction,and task distribution in the homemaker job

Several facets of the homemaker job were analyzed in terms of the dynamic relationship between husband and wife. Seventy-one husband and wife pairs completed a questionnaire which assessed satisfaction with the homemaker job, marital satisfaction, distribution of responsibility for homemaker tasks between husband and wife, and other variables. Wives' satisfaction with the homemaker job was found related to the degree to which husbands assumed responsibility for homemaker tasks and to the husbands' attitudes toward women in general. Wives' marital satisfaction was found related to the interaction of wives' employment status (job holder or full-time homemaker) and satisfaction with the homemaker job. Directions for future research in this area were suggested.     

Sexual Attitudes of Males and Females as Predictors of Interpersonal Attraction and Marital Compatibility1

Two investigations examine the effect of similarity of sexual attitudes on (a) attraction to a stranger and (b) marital sexual satisfaction. In an experiment using undergraduates, manipulation of subject-stranger similarity in general affective orientation to sexuality affected attraction and other evaluative dependent variables. In the second investigation, married couples revealed sexual attitudes and sexual satisfaction. Husbands and wives were similar (r= 0.58, p < 0.001) in their affective orientations to sexuality. Discrepancy between the partners’ scores predicted sexual dissatisfaction in both partners. In addition, the wife's affective orientation to sexuality predicted more indices of sexual satisfaction and adjustment in both the wife and the husband than did the husband's affective orientation to sexuality. Finally, spouses with a positive affective orientation to sexuality were more accurate when judging their partner's sexual enjoyment, compared to spouses with a negative orientation. The findings have implications for the effects of similarity of attitudes on interpersonal attraction and on relationship quality.     

Conflict structure moderates associations between cardiovascular reactivity and negative marital interaction.

This study examined the role of marital conflict structure--who desires and requests change versus who responds to the change request--in spouses' cardiovascular responses to marital interactions. Forty-one couples discussed 2 marital topics: one in which the wife desired change in the husband, and one in wich the husband desired change in the wife. Cardiovascular responses were assessed at 2-min intervals. Results indicated that marital conflict structure moderates cardiovascular reactivity during negative marital interactions: Husbands and wives whose interactions were characterized by high levels of negative behavior showed the most pronounced diastolic blood pressure reactivity, but only when they were in the role of desiring change in their spouses. Implications for gender difference in marital conflict physiology are considered.     

Age and Education Differences in Marriages and their Effects on Life Satisfaction

Within marriages husbands typically tend to be older and higher educated than their wife. This paper tries to explain this by analyzing whether age and education differences between spouses have an effect on happiness. Two alternative hypotheses are tested on the relation between age and education gaps between partners and life satisfaction. It is found that a positive age gap between husband and wife increases both male and female life satisfaction, while female life satisfaction increases if the education gap is smaller.     

Household responsibilities in middle-class couples: The contribution of demographic and personality variables

Data were obtained from 164 middle-class parents on a battery of self-report instruments that included a household activities questionnaire inquiring about the relative responsibility of husband and wife for routine domestic tasks traditionally assigned to women, maintenance tasks traditionally assigned to men, decision making, and child rearing. In the modal couple, child-rearing and decision-making responsibilities were shared approximately equally by husband and wife, but in most homes, everyday household tasks were divided along traditional gender lines. The battery also included questions about a number of demographic variables and two personality measures, one tapping cluster of gender-differentiating instrumental and expressive traits and the other tapping three achievement motives: mastery, work orientation, and interpersonal competitiveness. Several of the demographic factors, particularly the employment status of the wife, and several of the personality factors in the wives and in the husband account for significant portions of the variability among couples in degree of responsibility assumed by wife vs. husband for decision making and for feminine tasks.Preparation of this article was supported by National Science Foundation Grant BNS 78-08911 and National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH32066 (Janet T. Spence and Roberl L. Helmreich, Principal Investigators).     

Collaborating careers: The differential effects of race

Male and female black undergraduates enrolled in Introductory Psychology and Human Development courses at a predominantly black university responded to five stories about married black physicians whose total income was greatest, respectively, when the husband cared for the children (Story 1), the wife cared for the children (Story 2), either spouse cared for them (Story 3), the wife earned more than the husband (Story 4), or the husband earned more than the wife (Story 5). In contrast to the results of a study completed at a predominantly white university, black females favored maternal child care even when, as a result, the family income was reduced and had significantly less of a preference for higher relative salary for the wife than did females in the study at a predominantly white university; although black males preferred maternal child care in Story 2 and Story 3, the preference was significantly less than that of males in the study at a predominantly white university. The results were discussed in terms of their relevance to collaborating career patterns among middle-class black families.     

Success and failure among polygamous families: the experience of wives, husbands, and children

In this study, we interviewed 10 polygamous families, all residing in a Bedouin Arab town in the south of Israel and consisting of 1 husband, 2 wives, and children. Five members were interviewed in each family: first wife, second wife, the oldest child of the first wife, the oldest child of the second wife, and the husband. Five families were considered well-functioning families and five as poorly functioning. Findings suggest that polygamy in both well-functioning and poorly functioning families is painful, particularly for wives. Yet, there are many ways and techniques that enable members of the family to function well. Among them are acceptance of polygamy as God's wish or destiny, equal allocation of resources among both families by the husband, separation between the two households, avoidance of "minor" conflicts and disagreements, maintaining an attitude of respect toward the other wife, and allowing open communication among all siblings, and among children and the other mother. We discuss the need to develop, implement, and evaluate family intervention programs for polygamous families among different communities in the world.     

溢出-交叉视角下工作狂对配偶孤独感的影响

基于溢出-交叉的视角,采用工作狂量表、工作家庭冲突量表、孤独感量表对国内242个双职工家庭进行调查,探索工作狂对配偶孤独感的影响及其中介机制。结果表明,工作狂正向影响工作家庭冲突,继而正向影响配偶的孤独感,但是丈夫工作狂对妻子孤独感的直接影响不显著,而妻子工作狂对丈夫孤独感存在显著的直接影响,即丈夫工作家庭冲突完全中介丈夫工作狂对妻子孤独感的影响,而妻子工作家庭冲突部分中介妻子工作狂对丈夫孤独感的影响。此外,孤独感在双职工夫妻之间存在显著的相互交叉影响。     

Domestic violence,gender, and perceptions of justice

This study investigated reactions to a hypothetical scenario describing a domestic dispute that ended in violence. In the scenario either the husband or the wife was the perpetrator of the physical violence, the violence either occurred under stress or after deliberation, and the perpetrator was subsequently jailed for 2 years. Results from 220 participants (109 males, 111 females) from metropolitan Adelaide, South Australia, showed significant main effects of stimulus person. Participants were more negative to the husband than to the wife in regard to responsibility for the offense, deservingness of the penalty, seriousness of the offense, perceived harshness of the penalty, reported positive affect, and reported sympathy. These main effects were qualified by interaction effects involving stimulus person (husband, wife) and situation (stress, deliberation), and stimulus person and gender of participant. The results suggested that there were different patterns of belief about the dynamics of domestic violence as well as a degree of in-group or same gender favoritism when female participants responded to the scenario involving the wife.I am indebted to the Australian Research Council for funding this research.     

“Because I’m the man! I’m the head”: British married Muslims and the patriarchal family structure

The patriarchal family is based on a hierarchical social structure which positions the man as the head of the family ‘ruling’ over women and children. This article draws on data obtained from structured interviews with 25 married Muslim couples living in Glasgow (Scotland, UK). It examines their views on the position of the family head. Exploring the hierarchical relationship between the husband and wife, the article considers how participants come to an agreement about who may assume this role and how it is to be fulfilled. It also explores how participants use religion to support and reproduce the patriarchal family structure based on the man as the head of the family.