Stress Variables

A dual-career family is a family in which both spouses are committed to occupational work and to a family life together and support each other's desires to combine roles that traditionally were viewed as incompatible. Male socialization in the areas of entitlement, dependency, and nurturance can cause problems for men in dual-career marriages. In addition to sharing power and status with women, men in dual-career families need to revise their sense of self. Benefits for men in dual-career marriages include freedom from the burden of total economic responsibility for the family and a chance to be more involved with their children. Stressors common in dual-career marriages include deciding whether, when, and how to parent; combining work and family; and job placement and occupational mobility. A successful dual-career marriage depends on many factors, most notably the spouses ' willingness to integrate career and family despite societal pressures to conform to sex-typed roles. Personal, family, and societal resources are needed to achieve this integration. Spouses in dual-career families need to talk about their conflicts, seek cut community resources, and recognize that change is rarely easy. To make a dual-career family work, spouses must understand the issues involved and work through their problems with flexibility, compassion, and patience. (NZ) * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made