Gender role attitudes, troubles talk, and marital satisfaction in Japan

Abstract

Using data from the 2006 Japanese General Social Survey, we examine the association between gender role attitudes, spousal “troubles talk,” and marital satisfaction. We find that, in line with prior research, belief in gender egalitarianism is associated with higher marital satisfaction for men, whereas it is negatively associated with women’s marital satisfaction. More troubles talk is associated with higher marital satisfaction for both genders. Only for women, troubles talk significantly mediates the association between gender role attitudes and marital satisfaction. Compared with gender-traditional women, egalitarian women have troubles talk less frequently and thus experience lower marital satisfaction.