Relative spousal contribution to family income : a comparison of positional power, personal power, and marital satisfaction for dual-earner husbands and wives

The purpose of this study was to investigate the allocation of positional power, personal power, and the level of marital satisfaction within dual-earner marital relationships in terms of gender and personal income. Three groups of couples were examined: one group where the husbands earned more income (Group 1), one in which the wives earned more income (Group 2), and one in which spouses' incomes were relatively comparable (Group 3). Seventy-two husbands and wives from dual- earner marriages comprised the sample, with Group 1 consisting of 46 couples, Group 2 consisting of 15 couples, and Group 3 consisting of 11 couples. Both within-group and across-group analyses were performed. T-tests showed that there were no significant within group differences for positional power or personal power. T-tests also showed that, although there were no significant within-group differences in Groups 1 and 3 for marital satisfaction, Group 2 husbands reported significantly more marital satisfaction than Group 2 wives. Parametric one-way analysis of variances showed that there were no significant across-group differences for wives' positional power, husbands' personal power, or wives' marital satisfaction. Kruskal-Wallace nonparametric one-way analysis of variance showed that there were no significant across-group differences on husbands' positional power, wives' personal power, or husbands' marital satisfaction.