Wives' negotiation and their husbands' involvement in childcare and housework among dual-earner parents of preschoolers

The purpose of this paper has two themes. The first is to examine how wives' negotiations of parental roles with their husbands mediate the effects of relative resources, wives' maternal responsibility and wives' educational background on paternal involvement and housework with husbands' time availability, number of children and youngest child's age. Data were collected in Tokyo by questionnaires administered to 207 dual-earner couples who have preschoolers. Results show that wives' negotiations will increase husbands' participation in childcare and housework. Husbands' longer time availability, having more children and child's younger age are associated with husbands' greater level of participation in childcare. It was also found that wives' negotiations will be increased by wives' and husbands' high educational background. I conclude that wives' negotiation concerning the division of parental role and housework are important predictors of husbands' involvement in childcare and housework