Work Roles, Domestic Roles, and Marital Quality: Perceptions of Fairness Among Dual-Earner Couples

Abstract

Previous studies on the role of spouses' perceptions of fairness within marriage have typically dealt with the effects of those within the realm of the division of household labor. Using data from the 1993 National Survey of Families and Households, this study posits that the predominance of dual-earner couples necessitates the consideration of perceptions of fairness in both spouses' paid labor and domestic roles. Issues of fairness are shown to significantly affect husbands' and wives' evaluations of marital quality, yet these effects are limited to a noncomparative form (e.g., wives' evaluations of marital quality are not substantially affected by husbands' perceptions of unfairness). Implications of these findings for contemporary couples are discussed.