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His and Her Perspectives: Gender Ideology, Work-to-Family Conflict, and Marital Satisfaction

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Abstract

This study examines the relationships between gender ideology, work-to-family conflict, and marital satisfaction. We hypothesize that gender ideology will moderate relationships between both the respondent’s work-to-family conflict and their spouse’s work-to-family conflict in predicting marital satisfaction, and that spouses’ gender ideologies will interact in predicting marital satisfaction. The hypotheses are addressed using data from a random sample of U.S. dual-earner couples (N = 156) in a western state. The findings indicate that the more egalitarian women’s gender ideologies, the stronger the negative relationship between women’s marital satisfaction and women’s work-to-family conflict. The results also indicate that the dependence of men’s marital satisfaction on wives’ gender ideologies varies according to men’s own gender ideologies. Implications of the study are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, USA

    Krista Lynn Minnotte, Michael C. Minnotte & Daphne E. Pedersen

  2. Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA

    Susan E. Mannon & Gary Kiger

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  1. Krista Lynn Minnotte
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  2. Michael C. Minnotte
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Correspondence to Krista Lynn Minnotte.

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Minnotte, K.L., Minnotte, M.C., Pedersen, D.E. et al. His and Her Perspectives: Gender Ideology, Work-to-Family Conflict, and Marital Satisfaction. Sex Roles 63, 425–438 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9818-y

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