Who Does What, Why, and How It Affects Parental Relationships during Children's Transition to School.

Division of labor in the family is viewed as an indicator of relative power and justice in a marital relationship. During the transition to parenthood it becomes one of the most salient correlates of marital satisfaction. This study examines the relationship between the division of family labor and marital quality as well as changes in this relationship during the first child's transition to school. The results show that while the overall way family labor is divided between spouses remains relatively constant across this transition, satisfaction with labor division increases while marital satisfaction declines. However, husbands' greater participation in family labor is associated with higher marital satisfaction for both husbands and wives. During the transition to school, the quality of parents' marriage can be explained in part by the relationships among wife's work characteristics, spouses' ideal and actual labor division, and their satisfaction with the division. In families where wives have a higher work status, both spouses have ideals of more equal labor division, actual labor is divided more equally, and both spouses are more satisfied with labor division, which in turn is associated with higher marital quality. (Author/AA) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** Who Does What, Why, and How APA, 1998 Who Does What, Why, and How It Affects Parental Relationships During Children's Transition to School Elina 0. Alexandrova University of California, Berkeley* ABSTRACT Division of labor in the family is viewed as an indicator of relative power and justice in a marital relationship. During the transition to parenthood it becomes one of the most salient correlates of marital satisfaction. This study examines the relationship between the division of family labor and marital quality as well as changes in this relationship during the first child's transition to school. The results show that while the overall way family labor is divided between spouses remains relatively constant across this transition, satisfaction with labor division increases, whereas marital satisfaction declines. However, husbands' greater participation in family labor is associated with higher marital satisfaction for both husbands and wives. During the transition to school, the quality of parents' marriage can be explained in part by the relationships among wife's work characteristics, spouses' ideal and actual labor division, and their satisfaction with the division. In families where wives have a higher work status both spouses have ideals of more equal labor division, actual labor is divided more equally, and both spouses are more satisfied with labor division, which in turn is associated with higher marital quality.Division of labor in the family is viewed as an indicator of relative power and justice in a marital relationship. During the transition to parenthood it becomes one of the most salient correlates of marital satisfaction. This study examines the relationship between the division of family labor and marital quality as well as changes in this relationship during the first child's transition to school. The results show that while the overall way family labor is divided between spouses remains relatively constant across this transition, satisfaction with labor division increases, whereas marital satisfaction declines. However, husbands' greater participation in family labor is associated with higher marital satisfaction for both husbands and wives. During the transition to school, the quality of parents' marriage can be explained in part by the relationships among wife's work characteristics, spouses' ideal and actual labor division, and their satisfaction with the division. In families where wives have a higher work status both spouses have ideals of more equal labor division, actual labor is divided more equally, and both spouses are more satisfied with labor division, which in turn is associated with higher marital quality. University of California, Berkeley Department of Psychology 3210 Tolman #1650 Berkeley, CA 94720-1650 elina@socrates.berkeley. edu