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The Effect of Wives' Hours of Employment on the Likelihood of Marital Dissolution: Consideration of Gender Ideology and Marital Quality

Yucel, Deniz
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408036508

Abstract Details

2005, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Sociology.
Recent studies have suggested that Americans work more hours today than ever before. Some scholars argue that long work hours have negative impacts on families. The increase in married women’s labor force participation has been associated with an increase in the likelihood of marital dissolution. Do wives' higher hours of employment destabilize marriages? I draw on attachment, role strain, and ideological consistency arguments to develop specific hypotheses regarding this association, the conditions under which it may vary, and the processes through which it operates. Using wave 1 (1987-1988) and wave 2 (1992-1994) of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH), I test whether there is a direct relationship between wives’ hours of employment and the likelihood of marital dissolution, and whether the effect is moderated by the presence and age of children, husbands’ hours of employment, and marital duration. I also test whether the relationship between wives’ hours of employment and the likelihood of marital dissolution is contingent upon couples’ gender ideology, and whether couples’ marital happiness and marital conflict mediate this relationship. Limiting my sample to married primary respondents at wave 1 whose spouses were present and completed a questionnaire, and whose marital status at wave 2 could be ascertained, I construct couple-level measures of gender ideology, marital happiness, and marital conflict that capture consistency or conflict between spouses’ views. I find a significant positive association between wives’ hours of employment and the likelihood of marital dissolution. This effect does not significantly differ by the presence and age of children, husbands’ hours of employment, or marital duration. Contrary to my expectations, this association is also not moderated by couples' gender ideology. However, this study strongly supports the hypothesis that wives' hours of employment leads to an increase in the likelihood of marital dissolution through a reduction in marital happiness and increase in marital conflict.
Elizabeth Menaghan (Advisor)
Zhenchao Qian (Committee Member)
Chris Knoester (Committee Member)
74 p.
Sociology

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Yucel, D. (2005). The Effect of Wives' Hours of Employment on the Likelihood of Marital Dissolution: Consideration of Gender Ideology and Marital Quality [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408036508

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Yucel, Deniz. The Effect of Wives' Hours of Employment on the Likelihood of Marital Dissolution: Consideration of Gender Ideology and Marital Quality. 2005. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408036508.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Yucel, Deniz. "The Effect of Wives' Hours of Employment on the Likelihood of Marital Dissolution: Consideration of Gender Ideology and Marital Quality." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1408036508

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1408036508
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© 2005, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.