How husbands and wives share things to do (3) : Effects of wives' working status on power relations, divisions of domestic duties, and emotional factors between husbands and wives

This study examined (a) the effect of wives' working status on the relationships and power relations between husbands and wives and (b) the interrelations of power, divisions of domestic duties, and emotional factors. Those 215 couples which wives were 30-49 years old answered questionnaire. The following results were obtained: (a) Full-time working wives took part in less domestic duties than part-time working wives or housewives. This tendency was due to wives' psychological factors (e. g., attaching importance to work) rather than long working hours. (b) There were no relations between wives' working status and power or emotional factors of husbands and wives. (c) Those who took part in more 'outside duties' had more decision power. (d) Divisions of domestic duties related to satisfaction with spouse. It was hypothesized that wives' working status influenced directly divisions of domestic duties, and it effected on power relations and emotional factors