And justice for all? The composition and consequences of the division of family labor for men and women in dual-earner families

The primary aim of this investigation was to empirically examine facets of Thompson's (1991) model of fairness in terms of its contribution to perceptions of fairness, and to link perceptions of fairness and actual reality surrounding the division of family labor to the outcomes of marital satisfaction and well-being for men and women in dual-earner families. The sample included 80 dual-earner parents of preschoolers. In home interviews, parents reported on perceptions of equity and actual reality for the division of childrearing tasks, responsibility, and household labor, marital satisfaction, well-being, comparison referents and justification employed. Prediction analyses indicated that men and women use differential justifications and comparison referents to explain the current division of labor in the home. T-tests revealed that both men and women appeared to operate from an equity paradigm with regards to marital satisfaction and well-being. Specifically, men and women who perceived the division of labor as fair, regardless of the actual division of labor, reported the highest levels of marital satisfaction and well-being. Results are discussed in terms of the relationship between comparison referents, justifications, perceptions of fairness, the actual division of labor in the home, and the outcomes of marital satisfaction and well-being.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio