Relational equity and household division of labor as predictors of marital, parental, and work satisfaction for dual-earner men and women

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive value of a model comprised of relational equity, weekly hours of paid employment, and household division of labor on the dependent variables of marital, parental, and work satisfaction of 104 men and 98 women in dual-earner marriages. Household labor was measured in hours per week as reported by respondents and in their perception of their spouses' participation in nine categories subdivided into masculine and feminine tasks. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that the first variable of relational equity was the most influential predictor of marital satisfaction for both men and women. The model was also predictive of parental and work satisfaction for men. Two variables closely approached significance (p<.06). The model predicting marital satisfaction of men included an inverse influence of time spent weekly performing traditionally feminine household tasks. The weekly hours in paid employment also influenced men's parental satisfaction. The model did not predict parental or work satisfaction for women. The degree of congruence between men's and women's perceptions of household tasks was also examined, and it was found that the perceptions of the respondents and their spouses did not differ except for women's perception of the time spent by men in the performance of the traditionally masculine tasks. Gender differences were found on all of the predictor variables, but none of the satisfaction variables. Men perceived their marriages to be more equitable than women. Women spent more time performing traditionally feminine tasks than men, and men did more outdoor and car maintenance than women. There was no gender difference regarding financial management.