Household Work and Marital Quality in Same-Sex and Different-Sex Marriages

Asya Saydam , University of Texas at Austin

This study examines the association of the division of household work on marital quality among midlife same- and different-sex married couples, focusing on gender differences and highlighting routine, non-routine, and cognitive tasks. Data is drawn from the U.S. Health and Relationships Project (HARP) 2014-2015, with a final analytical sample of 838 respondents, 419 couples aged 35-65. Preliminary results from multilevel regression models indicate that men in different-sex relationships and women in same-sex marriages exhibit higher dependence on their partners for routine tasks compared to their counterparts in different-sex and same-sex relationships. Conversely, concerning non-routine tasks, men in different-sex relationships demonstrate lower reliance on their partners compared to women in different and same-sex relationships. For cognitive tasks, when married to women, respondents express higher dependence on their partner for these decision-making involved responsibilities, while women themselves don't exhibit substantial reliance on their partners for these cognitive tasks. Importantly, for marital outcomes, routine tasks indicate a positive correlation with higher marital quality for the less dependent partner, while non-routine tasks show no significant association. Cognitive tasks highlight a negative link between higher dependence on partners and marital quality in different-sex relationships. However, in same-sex relationships, these tasks seem to enhance marital quality, deviating from traditional gender norms. These insights highlight the persistent gendered dynamics in the division of household work, emphasizing nuanced variations across household task types and couple compositions.

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 Presented in Session 4. Same-sex Couples and Queer Identities