tory and its staff.

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Beliefs About the Consequences of Maternal Employment (BACMEC) scale in a sample of 570 pregnant women and 550 of their husbands/partners. Both the costs and benefits subscales showed excellent internal consistency relia-bility. The two subscales emerged as two separate factors in factor analy-ses, both for the mothers ’ data and for the fathers ’ data. Construct valid-ity was indicated by moderate correlations with a scale assessing traditional versus egalitarian sex-role attitudes. The two subscales signifi-cantly differentiated a group of mothers who favored early entry into childcare from a group who favored later entry. Fathers ’ scores were quite close to those of mothers, indicating that they have similar beliefs about the consequences of maternal employment for children. Among U.S. women between the ages of 18 and 64, 69 % hold jobs (U.S. Department of Labor, 1990). The employed woman is the norm today. The most dramatic change in the last three decades has been work patterns for mothers with young children. For example, in 1987, 53 % of the mar-ried mothers with children under 12 months of age were in the labor force