Abstract
The division of unpaid labor is an important aspect in understanding co-parenting dynamics, along with individual well-being, couple functioning, and family dynamics. This study explores the division of household and childcare unpaid labor, well-being, relationship functioning, and child behavioral outcomes in 163 transgender and gender non-binary (TGNB) parents. Research exploring the division of labor among cisgender heterosexual couples has found that cisgender women in heterosexual couples disproportionately conduct more of the household and childcare labor (e.g., Lachance-Grzela and Bouchard, 2010). In addition, among heterosexual (e.g., Lachance-Grzela and Bouchard, 2010) and same-sex couples (Tornello et al., 2015b), discrepancies in the division of unpaid labor has been associated with individual well-being, along with couple functioning. We know very little about the factors that predict how labor is divided, along with the impact these arrangements among of families headed by TGNB parents. In this study, TGNB parents reported dividing their household and childcare labor in an egalitarian fashion and wanted to divide their labor in that way. The gender of participants, gender design of the couple, educational attainment, and legal status of the couple’s relationship were not associated with the division of unpaid labor. In contrast, participants who reported making a lower proportion of the household income, worked less hours in paid employment, and were genetically related to their eldest child, reported completing significantly more childcare-related tasks, but not household labor. Using multiple regressions, participants’ genetic relatedness to their eldest child was the only significant predictor of performing greater unpaid childcare labor. Lastly, discrepancies in the household, but not childcare labor, predicted parental well-being and couple functioning. The division of labor among TGNB couples was unrelated to their child behavior outcomes. This study not only sheds light on the dynamics of TGNB-headed families, but also additional factors that influence the division of unpaid labor and how this division affects individuals within the family system.
Highlights
Division of labor is typically defined as who performs the unpaid household and childcare tasks (Cowan and Cowan, 1992)
The purpose of this study is to explore the division of household and childcare labor among transgender and gender non-binary (TGNB) parents, along with examining the factors that predict how these couples divide responsibilities and tasks, and the impact this division has on individual, couple, and child functioning
In this study exploring the division of household and childcare labor of TGNB parents, there were a number of interesting findings
Summary
Division of labor is typically defined as who performs the unpaid household (e.g., washing dishes, cleaning the house, doing laundry) and childcare (e.g., feeds the child, gets up with the child at night, and does homework with a child) tasks (Cowan and Cowan, 1992). For same-sex couples, the division of unpaid labor is reported to be much more egalitarian in nature (e.g., Goldberg et al, 2012; Farr and Patterson, 2013; Tornello et al, 2015a; Bauer, 2016; Brewster, 2017) Across all couples, it is not the actual division of unpaid labor that is associated with individual, couple, and child outcomes, but instead their satisfaction with how these tasks are performed (e.g., Coltrane, 2000; Lachance-Grzela and Bouchard, 2010; Tornello et al, 2015b). Extensive research has examined the division of labor in cisgender heterosexual couples, with a growing area of work exploring these dynamics among same-sex or sexual minority couples
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