Employment, Family, and Perceptions of Marital Quality Among Husbands and Wives

Abstract

Previous studies of work/family linkages have emphasized the effects of one domain or the other on the individual, yet few have sought to analyze the interconnective nature of paid labor and family environments. Using data from the 1988 National Survey of Families and Households, this study examines the effects of husbands' and wives' employment and marriage characteristics on their respective perceptions of marital quality. Contrary to previous findings, occupational factors have only a minimal effect on both husbands' and wives' perceptions of marital quality. Husbands and wives are both affected by wives' opinions of fairness in the marriage. The results also suggest that husbands may maintain traditional role expectations for themselves and their wives, despite the dual-earner status of their marriage. The implications of these findings for gender roles in dual-earner marriages are discussed.