Relationship between Gender equality in household labor, Marital stability and quality

The main goal of this research was to examine how important the gender equality in the distribution of household labor is for marital stability and the perception of marital quality. The study included 498 couples from the Republic of Serbia who lived together for a period ranging from 6 months to 57 years and 6 months (M= 14.02, SD= 11.85). The data was collected during 2015 and 2016 as part of a broader research project. Both partners provided responses on the household labor workload, satisfaction with the division of housework, dimensions of marital quality (Dyadic consensus, Dyadic satisfaction, Affectional expression and Dyadic cohesion) and the degree of marital instability. Differences in the household labor workload between women and men were examined using a series of t-tests for dependent samples. The structure of differences between couples who perform housework equally and those in which one spouse mainly performs the majority of work in the degree of satisfaction with the division of housework, assessment of the marital quality and stability was examined using discriminant analysis. The results indicate that the traditional division of household labor is still present in our society and that women are more engaged in housework related to feeding and hygiene, while husbands are more engaged in repair work. Caring for the children, pets, garden and lawn, are household tasks that both spouses are equally engaged in. The results also indicate that an equal distribution of household labor is important for women's satisfaction with the division of housework, and also for the degree of dyadic cohesion and dyadic satisfaction of both spouses. Based on the results, we can assume the existence of different mechanisms that connect the division of household labor, satisfaction with the division of housework, and the quality and stability of the relationship in men and women. The factors that influence satisfaction with the division of household labor in men should be further investigated, since they are not determined by the spouse's actual engagement in the housework.