Gendered Household Roles and their Impact on Relationship Outcomes Ashley Vandenberg, Matthew Lefthand, Daniel Hubler, C. Ryan Dunn, Mark Adams, & Jenny Smithey

GENDERED HOUSEHOLD ROLES Gender Roles Defined Gender Roles & Life Satisfaction Gender Roles & Marital Satisfaction Gender Roles & Social Support

DEFINITIONS Roles “deemed appropriate” (Gardner, 2015). Household labor …unpaid tasks (Lachance-Grzela & Bouchard, 2010). Females in the majority of U.S. households (Pew, 2015) Roles “deemed appropriate” by sex classification (Gardner, 2015). Household labor …unpaid tasks to meet needs in a family/household (Lachance-Grzela & Bouchard, 2010). In the majority of U.S. households, these tend to fall on female partners (Pew, 2015 [http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2015/11/04/raising-kids-and-running-a-household-how-working-parents-share-the-load/])

GENDER ROLES AND LIFE SATISFACTION Adherence to gender roles has an impact.(Chusmir & Koberg, 2001). Men  Gender role conflict Women  Negative psychological effects (Shin, Yang, & Edwards, 2010). Androgyny correlates with flexibility (Vafaei, Ahmed, Freire, Zunzunegui, & Guerra, 2016). Adherence to gender roles can impact behaviors, decisions, opportunities, and feelings of success at work and at home (Chusmir & Koberg, 2001). Men tend to experience more gender role conflict, while women are more at-risk for experiencing the negative psychological effects of gender role stress (Shin, Yang, & Edwards, 2010). Men and women who adhere to more androgynous gender roles tend to be more flexible, and thus better able to deal with stress (Vafaei, Ahmed, Freire, Zunzunegui, & Guerra, 2016).

GENDER ROLES AND MARITAL SATISFACTION Flexible gender roles and time/communication. (Juni & Grimm, 1994). Nontraditional gender roles and the division of housework (Fetterolf & Rudman, 2014; Traeen, Stulhofer, & Carvalheira, 2013; Zhang, 2015). Emotional closeness and sexual satisfaction levels. Flexible gender roles have been shown to promote more time spent together as a couple and more effective communication patterns (Juni & Grimm, 1994). Couples with nontraditional gender role orientations report more equitable divisions of housework, which increases emotional closeness and sexual satisfaction levels (Fetterolf & Rudman, 2014; Traeen, Stulhofer, & Carvalheira, 2013; Zhang, 2015).

GENDER ROLES AND SOCIAL SUPPORT Traditional gender roles and emotional expression in men (Faulkner, Davey, & Davey, 2005). Nontraditional gender roles and communication/exchange of ideas (Colaner, 2009). Gender roles and the balance of power (Schwarzwald, Koslowsky, & Izhak-Nir, 2008). Traditional gender roles have been found to inhibit emotional expression in men (Faulkner, Davey, & Davey, 2005). Nontraditional gender roles have been shown to not only improve communication patterns, but also promote a fair exchange of ideas in relationships (Colaner, 2009). Gender roles have also been shown to affect the balance of power within romantic relationships (Schwarzwald, Koslowsky, & Izhak-Nir, 2008).

RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES Differences based on gender roles? Differences in life satisfaction Differences in relationship satisfaction Differences in social support. The goal of this study was to examine whether differing gender roles and ideologies within romantic relationships impact relationship outcomes. Specifically, the aim of this study was to explore if how partners see their gender roles (traditional versus flexible/egalitarian) influences life satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and social support.

METHOD - SAMPLE The matched dyadic sample; 145 heterosexual romantic couples (married or in a long-term romantic relationship). 32.78 years (SD = 10.31) for male partners (MP) 31.01 years (SD = 10.00) for female partners (FP). “White or Caucasian” (136 MP; 137 FP) “Mormon” (99 MP; 103 FP) annual income ⩽ $60,000 (63.4% MP; 59.3% FP).

PROCEDURES Online dyadic survey. Question that was coded: “What do you perceive your household roles to be in the relationship?” Traditional household roles (coded as 1) Flexible egalitarian household roles(coded as 0). independent samples t-tests Identifying differences in life satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and social support. The dyadic survey was distributed via online invitations and announcements. The data was then coded to identify what partners considered their household roles as traditional (coded as 1) versus partners that identified their household roles as flexible/egalitarian (coded as 0). Based on these coded variables, independent samples t-tests were run to identify if life satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and social support differed based on reporting traditional or flexible/egalitarian roles.

METHOD - MEASURES Life-satisfaction (Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985) Relationship satisfaction, Funk and Rogge’s (2007) CSI-4 Social support (from their partner), four statements regarding received social support. Life-satisfaction respondents rated their levels of agreement on the 5 items from the Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985) (E.g., In most ways my life is close to my ideal.) (αmales = .84; αfemales = .85). Relationship satisfaction, Funk and Rogge’s (2007) CSI-4 was used (αmales = .82; αfemales = .85). Social support (from their partner) were measured using levels of agreement (7-point Likert Scale) on four statements regarding received social support (E.g., I rely on my partner for emotional support.) (αmales = .89; αfemales = .93).

Correlations

RESULTS When compared to males reporting more traditional gender roles, male partners who reported their household roles as flexible/egalitarian reported: higher levels of life satisfaction (M = 5.75, SD = 1.05) relationship satisfaction (M = 4.49, SD =.63) received more partner social support (M = 6.34, SD =.61).

RESULTS When compared to Females reporting more traditional gender roles, female partners who reported their household roles as flexible/egalitarian reported: higher levels of relationship satisfaction (M = 4.47, SD =.67) higher levels partner social support (M = 6.31, SD =.90)

IMPLICATIONS Perceived gender roles have an impact on individuals and their relationships. When partners see themselves as egalitarian/flexible in their roles they are: Happier with their lives Happier with their romantic relationships, and they are also more likely to report feeling supported by their partner. May be generational as the mean ages for the sample were in the early thirties. Results from this study support the idea that perceived gender roles have an impact on individuals and their relationships. Specifically, when partners see themselves as egalitarian/flexible in their roles they are happier with their lives and romantic relationships, and they are also more likely to report feeling supported by their partner. This influence may be generational as the mean ages for the sample were in the early thirties.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS Future studies could include: Participants from a variety of cohorts Additional tests that control for household roles while exploring links to other predictors of life and relationship satisfaction and partner support. This could include the use of APIMs that also test for moderating effects. APIM – actor-partner interdependence model

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