Attitudes toward the division of child-rearing responsibility

Though the theoretical and clinical ramifications of attribution of primary responsibility to mothers for child rearing have been discussed extensively, there is little empirical data in this area. In the present study a sample of parents rated several child-rearing behaviors in terms of ideal maternal and paternal responsibility. Mothers were attributed primary responsibility for the largest proportion of behaviors, fathers for the smallest, and an intermediate number of items were rated as parentally shared. In addition, item analysis indicated a relationship between the directionality of responsibility attribution and traditional sex-role stereotypes. Implications for patterns of intrafamilial blame and clinical intervention are discussed.