Dual-earner marriages : the family social environment and dyadic adjustment among couples with varying patterns of occupational commitment

The major purpose of this study was to examine differences in dyadic adjustment and the family social environment among four groups formed on the basis of husband-wife patterns of occupational commitment. A secondary purpose of the study was to examine relationships among selected sociodemographic characteristics and differences among groups. The sample was composed of 92 marital dyads living together with at least one child under the age of 18. Both husband and wife worked outside the home 35 or more hours per week.

The independent variable of occupational commitment was measured by the Occupational Commitment Scale developed by the researcher. On the basis of occupational commitment scores, each dyad was classified into one of the following groups: (a) wife high and husband high; (b) wife low and husband low; (c) wife high and husband low; and (d) wife low and husband high. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976) and the Family Environment Scale (Moos, 1974) were used to measure the dependent variables. Sociodemographic information was collected by using a Personal History Inventory developed by the researcher. Multivariate analysis of variance with spouse as a repeated measure was used to examine differences among groups, and multivariate ana-lysis of covariance was used to control possible sources of variance attributable to sociodemographic characteristics. Groups that were formed on the basis of husband-wife patterns of occupational commitment differed on dyadic adjustment and the family social environment. Although groups differed on the composite of dependent variables, differing emphasis in the family environment on achievement of individual family members was instrumental in accounting for overall differences among groups. In addition, groups differed on dyadic adjustment and the family social environment even when sociodemographic variables reflective of the stage of the family life cycle (age, years married, number and ages of children) were held constant; in this analysis, differing emphasis on achievement of family members and on family system organization were important contributors to overall differences among groups. The group in which both husband and wife scored high on occupational commitment, the dual-career couples, placed greater emphasis on both achievement and organization than did the other three groups.