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Gender Differences in the Psychological Impact of the Dual-Income Lifestyle
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by Rachel E. Cook, Jennifer L. Hughes, and Elizabeth Brashier - Agnes Scott College
The purpose of this study was to explore gender
differences in role overload, stress, and marital satisfaction in
dual-income couples and to measure how these differences change
over time. We expected that wives would report lower marital
satisfaction and higher role overload and stress than husbands.
Further, we expected that age would contribute to differences
in marital satisfaction, with older adults being more satisfied than
young or middle-aged adults. Married, employed men and women
(N = 314) completed our survey. Women reported higher role
overload and stress than men. Participants in later adulthood were
more satisfied in their marriages than early or middle adults. Our
study updates the literature on the examined variables and
communicates the importance of egalitarianism in marriage.
Fall 2011 | Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research (Vol. 16, No. 3, p. 129), published by Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology (Chattanooga, TN). Copyright, 2011, Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology. All rights reserved.