Exploring Wives' Sense of Fairness About Family Work: An Initial Test of the Distributive Justice Framework

Keywords

justice, wives, husbands, family work, division of family work

Abstract

This study was designed to test empirically the value of the distributive justice framework in terms of understanding wives' sense of fairness about the division of family work, as recommended by Thompson. Operationalizations of many of the social-psychological cognitions suggested by the framework are presented. In a sample of 234 dual-earner wives randomly selected from metropolitan areas of the western United States, there was qualified support for the framework. Feelings of appreciation were the strongest predictor of fairness. Deciding together how things would be divided was also a strong predictor. Other effects on fairness were indirect, however; they affected the division of family work, which, in turn, influenced wives' sense of fairness. More psychometric work will be needed, and replication with different samples is necessary, but the distributive justice framework appears to have significant merit for understanding wives' perceptions of fairness about family work.

Original Publication Citation

Hawkins, A. J., Marshall, C. M., & Meiners, K. M. (1995). Exploring wives' sense of fairness about family work: An initial test of the distributive justice framework. Journal of Family Issues, 16, 693-721

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

1995-11

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/7017

Publisher

Journal of Family Issues

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Family Life

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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