Abstract
Traditional gender ideology, which refers to individuals’ expectations for the gendered segregation between work and family responsibilities, is a well-documented predictor for marital quality. Using three annual-wave, dyadic data from 240 Chinese dual-earner heterosexual couples surveyed during the early years of their marriage, we (a) examined how husbands’ and wives’ endorsement of traditional gender ideology interact with each other to predict marital quality and (b) tested work-to-family and family-to-work conflict as potential mediators to delineate the mechanisms via which traditional gender ideology shapes marital quality. We found that, among couples in which wives endorsed weaker traditional gender ideology at Wave 1, husbands’ stronger endorsement of traditional gender ideology at Wave 1 predicted lower levels of husbands’ marital quality at Wave 3 via higher levels of husbands’ family-to-work conflict at Wave 2. Further, husbands’ stronger endorsement of traditional gender ideology at Wave 1 predicted higher levels of their own work-to-family conflict at Wave 2 and their wives’ family-to-work conflict at Wave 2. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the discrepancy between two partners’ endorsements of traditional gender ideology in practice work to promote marital well-being. Furthermore, our findings suggest the necessity of promoting husbands’ endorsement of less traditional gender ideology for improving marital well-being in contemporary Chinese society.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acock, A. C. (2005). Working with missing values. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 1012–1028. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2005.00191.x.
Akçabozan, N. B., McDaniel, B. T., Corkery, S. A., & Curran, M. A. (2017). Gender, sacrifices, and variability in commitment: A daily diary study of pregnant unmarried cohabitors and their male partners. Sex Roles, 77, 194–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-016-0716-9.
All China Women's Federation, & National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2011). The national data analyses and report on social status of Chinese women, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.wsic.ac.cn/staticdata/84760.htm
Amato, P. R., & Booth, A. (1995). Changes in gender role attitudes and perceived marital quality. American Sociological Review, 60, 58–66. https://doi.org/10.2307/2096345.
Amstad, F. T., Meier, L. L., Fasel, U., Elfering, A., & Semmer, N. K. (2011). A meta-analysis of work–family conflict and various outcomes with a special emphasis on cross-domain versus matching-domain relations. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 16, 151–169. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022170.
Arriaga, X. B. (2013). An interdependence theory analysis of close relationships. In J. A. Simpson & L. Campbell (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of close relationships (pp. 39–65). New York: Oxford University Press.
Bakker, A. B., Demerouti, E., & Dollard, M. F. (2008). How job demands affect partners’ experience of exhaustion: Integrating work family conflict and crossover theory. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 901–911. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.4.901.
Behson, S. (2002). Coping with family-to-work conflict: The role of informal work accommodations to family. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 7, 324–341. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.7.4.324.
Beijing Bureau of Statistics. (2011). Beijing statistical yearbook 2011. Beijing: China Statistics Press.
Bianchi, S. M., & Milkie, M. A. (2010). Work and family research in the first decade of the 21st century. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 705–725. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2010.00726.x.
Bolger, N., Zuckerman, A., & Kessler, R. C. (2000). Invisible support and adjustment to stress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 953–961. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.79.6.953.
Bourne, H. (2006). Gender ideology, depression, and marital quality in working-class, dual -earner couples across the transition to parenthood (doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest dissertations and theses database. (AAT 3215756)
Bowen, G. L., & Orthner, D. K. (1983). Sex-role congruency and marital quality. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 45, 223–230. https://doi.org/10.2307/351312.
Bradbury, T. N., Fincham, F. D., & Beach, S. R. (2000). Research on the nature and determinants of marital satisfaction: A decade in review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62, 964–980. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00964.x.
Brannon, L. (2005). Gender: Psychological perspectives (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Brody, G., Yu, T., Miller, G., & Chen, E. (2016). Resilience in adolescence, health, and psychosocial outcomes. Pediatrics, 138, E20161042–e20161042. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-1042.
Cao, H., Li, X., Chi, P., Du, H., Wu, Q., Liang, Y., ... Fine, M. A. (2019). Within-couple configuration of gender-related attitudes and its association with marital satisfaction in Chinese marriage: A dyadic, pattern-analytic approach. Journal of Personality. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12467.
Carlson, D. S., & Kacmar, K. M. (2000). Work family conflict in the organization: Do life role values make a difference? Journal of Management, 26, 1031–1054. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600502.
Carroll, S. J., Hill, E. J., Yorgason, J. B., Larson, J. H., & Sandberg, J. G. (2013). Couple communication as a mediator between work–family conflict and marital satisfaction. Contemporary Family Therapy, 35, 530–545. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10591-013-9237-7.
Caughlin, J., & Vangelisti, A. (1999). Desire for change in one's partner as a predictor of the demand/withdraw pattern of marital communication. Communication Monographs, 66, 66–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637759909376463.
Chen, F. (2005). Employment transitions and the household division of labor in China. Social Forces, 84, 831–851. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2006.0010.
Chen, M. (2018). Does marrying well count more than career? Personal achievement, marriage, and happiness of married women in urban China. Chinese Sociological Review, 50, 231–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/21620555.2018.1435265.
Chesley, N., & Flood, S. (2017). Signs of change? At-home and breadwinner parents' housework and child-care time. Journal of Marriage and Family, 79, 511–534. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12376.
Cunningham, M. (2005). Gender in cohabitation and marriage: The influence of gender ideology on housework allocation over the life course. Journal of Family Issues, 26, 1037–1061. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X04273592.
Davis, S. N. (2011). Support, demands, and gender ideology: Exploring work–family facilitation and work–family conflict among older workers. Marriage & Family Review, 47, 363–382. https://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2011.594216.
Davis, D. S. (2014). Privatization of marriage in post-socialist China. Modern China, 40, 551–577. https://doi.org/10.1177/0097700414536528.
Davis, S. N., & Greenstein, T. N. (2009). Gender ideology: Components, predictors, and consequences. Annual Review of Sociology, 35, 87–105. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-115920.
Davis, S. N., & Wills, J. B. (2010). Adolescent gender ideology socialization: Direct and moderating effects of fathers' beliefs. Sociological Spectrum, 30, 580–604. https://doi.org/10.1080/02732173.2010.496106.
Falconier, M. (2013). Traditional gender role orientation and dyadic coping in immigrant Latino couples: Effects on couple functioning. Family Relations, 62, 269–283. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12002.
Fellows, K. J., Chiu, H. Y., Hill, E. J., & Hawkins, A. J. (2016). Work–family conflict and couple relationship quality: A meta-analytic study. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 37, 509–518. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-015-9450-7.
Fincham, F. D., & Bradbury, T. N. (1987). The assessment of marital quality: A reevaluation. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49, 797–809. https://doi.org/10.2307/351973.
Fincham, F. D., & Rogge, R. (2010). Understanding relationship quality: Theoretical challenges and new tools for assessment. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 2, 227–242. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-2589.2010.00059.x.
Frone, M. R. (2003). Work family balance. In J. Campbell Quick & L. E. Tetrick (Eds.), Handbook of occupational health psychology (pp. 143–162). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Gaetano, A. M. (2017). Women, work, and marriage: Challenges of gendered mobility in urban China. In Z. Tang (Ed.), China’s urbanization and socioeconomic impact (pp. 109–124). Singapore: Springer.
Gibbons, J. L., Hamby, B. A., & Dennis, W. D. (1997). Researching gender-role ideologies internationally and cross-culturally. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 21, 151–170. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-6402.1997.tb00106.x.
Gonçalves, G., Sousa, C., Santos, J., Silva, T., & Korabik, K. (2018). Portuguese mothers and fathers share similar levels of work family guilt according to a newly validated measure. Sex Roles, 78, 194–207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0782-7.
Greenhaus, J. H., & Beutell, N. J. (1985). Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review, 10, 76–88. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1985.4277352.
Greenstein, T. N. (1996a). Husbands' participation in domestic labor: Interactive effects of wives' and husbands' gender ideologies. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 3, 585–595. https://doi.org/10.2307/353719.
Greenstein, T. N. (1996b). Gender ideology and perceptions of the fairness of the division of household labor: Effects on marital quality. Social Forces, 74, 1029–1042. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/74.3.1029.
Gutek, B. A., Searle, S., & Klepa, L. (1991). Rational versus gender role explanations for work family conflict. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 560–568. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.76.4.560.
Hare-Mustin, R. T. (1987). The problem of gender in family therapy theory. Family Process, 26, 15–27. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.1987.00015.x.
Hengstebeck, N., Helms, H., & Rodriguez, Y. (2015). Spouses’ gender role attitudes, wives’ employment status, and Mexican-origin husbands’ marital satisfaction. Journal of Family Issues, 36, 111–132. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X14547416.
Ho, M., Chen, X., Cheung, F., Liu, H., & Worthington, E. (2013). A dyadic model of the work–family interface: A study of dual-earner couples in China. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 18, 53–63. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030885.
Huffman, A. H., Olson, K. J., O’Gara Jr., T. C., & King, E. B. (2014). Gender role beliefs and fathers’ work family conflict. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 29, 774–793. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-11-2012-0372.
International Labor Office. (2011). Economically active population, estimates and projections (6th ed). Retrieved from http://laborsta.ilo.org/applv8/data/EAPEP/eapep_E.html.
Ji, Y. (2015). Asian families at the crossroads: A meeting of east, west, tradition, modernity, and gender. Journal of Marriage and Family, 77, 1031–1038. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12223.
Ji, Y., & Wu, X. (2018). New gender dynamics in post-reform China: Family, education, and labor market. Chinese Sociological Review, 50, 231–239. https://doi.org/10.1080/21620555.2018.1452609.
Ji, Y., Wu, X., Sun, S., & He, G. (2017). Unequal care, unequal work: Toward a more comprehensive understanding of gender inequality in post-reform urban China. Sex Roles, 77, 765–778. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-017-0751-1.
Jose, A., O'Leary, K. D., & Moyer, A. (2010). Does premarital cohabitation predict subsequent marital stability and marital quality? A meta-analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 105–116. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00686.x.
Kelly, E. L., Moen, P., Oakes, J. M., Fan, W., Okechukwu, C., Davis, K. D., … Mierzwa, F. (2014). Changing work and work family conflict: Evidence from the work, family, and health network. American Sociological Review, 79, 485–516. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122414531435.
Kenny, D. A. (2012). Mediation. Retrieved from http://davidakenny.net/cm/mediate.htm
King, R., Karuntzos, G., Casper, L., Moen, P., Davis, K., Berkman, L., … Kossek, E. (2012). Work family balance issues and work-leave policies. In R. Gatchel & I. Schultz (Eds.), Handbook of occupational health and wellness (pp. 323–339). New York: Springer.
Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). New York: Guildford.
Korabik, K., McElwain, A., & Chappell, D. (2008). Integrating gender-related issues into research on work and family. In K. Korabik, D. S. Lero, & D. L. Whitehead (Eds.), Handbook of work- family integration: Research, theory, and best practices (pp. 215–232). San Diego, CA: Elsevier.
Kroska, A., & Elman, C. (2009). Change in attitudes about employed mothers: Exposure, interests, and gender ideology discrepancies. Social Science Research, 38, 366–382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2008.12.004.
Lye, D. N., & Biblarz, T. J. (1993). The effects of attitudes toward family life and gender roles on marital satisfaction. Journal of Family Issues, 14, 157–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/019251393014002002.
MacCallum, R. C., & Austin, J. T. (2000). Applications of structural equation modeling in psychological research. Annual Review of Psychology, 51, 201–226. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.51.1.201.
Marsh, H. W., Hau, K.-T., Wen, Z., Nagengast, B., & Morin, A. J. S. (2013). Moderation. In T. D. Little (Ed.), Oxford handbook of quantitative methods (Vol. 2, pp. 361–386). New York: Oxford University Press.
Maslowsky, J., Jager, J., & Hemken, D. (2015). Estimating and interpreting latent variable interactions: A tutorial for applying the latent moderated structural equations method. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 39, 87–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025414552301.
Matthews, L. S., Conger, R. D., & Wickrama, K. A. S. (1996). Work family conflict and marital quality: Mediating processes. Social Psychology Quarterly, 59(1), 62–79.
Maxwell, S. E., Cole, D. A., & Mitchell, M. A. (2011). Bias in cross-sectional analyses of longitudinal mediation: Partial and complete mediation under an autoregressive model. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 46, 816–841. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273171.2011.606716.
Meeussen, L., Van Laar, C., & Verbruggen, M. (2019). Looking for a family man? Norms for men are toppling in heterosexual relationships. Sex Roles, 80, 429–442. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-018-0946-0.
Michel, J. S., Kotrba, L. M., Mitchelson, J. K., Clark, M. A., & Baltes, B. B. (2011). Antecedents of work family conflict: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 32, 689–725. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.695.
Minnotte, K. L., Minnotte, M. C., Pedersen, D. E., Mannon, S. E., & Kiger, G. (2010). His and her perspectives: Gender ideology, work-to-family conflict, and marital satisfaction. Sex Roles, 63, 425–438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-010-9818-y.
Minnotte, K. L., Minnotte, M. C., & Pedersen, D. E. (2013). Marital satisfaction among dual-earner couples: Gender ideologies and family-to-work conflict. Family Relations, 62, 686–698. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12021.
Minnotte, K. L., Minnotte, M. C., & Bonstrom, J. (2015). Work family conflicts and marital satisfaction among US workers: Does stress amplification matter? Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 36, 21–33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s1083.
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2012). Chinese Statistical Yearbook: 2011 data [Data set]. Retrieved from http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2011/indexch.htm.
Netemeyer, R. G., Boles, J. S., & McMurrian, R. (1996). Development and validation of work family conflict and family-work conflict scales. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 400–410. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.81.4.400.
Nitsche, N., & Grunow, D. (2016). Housework over the course of relationships: Gender ideology, resources, and the division of housework from a growth curve perspective. Advances in Life Course Research, 29, 80–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alcr.2016.02.001.
Noller, P., & Feeney, J. A. (2004). Studying family communication: Multiple methods and multiple sources. In A. L. Vangelisti (Ed.), Handbook of family communication (pp. 31–50). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Norton, R. (1983). Measuring marital quality: A critical look at the dependent variable. Journal of Marriage and Family, 45, 141–151. https://doi.org/10.2307/351302.
Pimentel, E. E. (2006). Gender ideology, household behavior, and backlash in urban China. Journal of Family Issues, 27, 341–365. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X05283507.
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40, 879–891. https://doi.org/10.3758/BRM.40.3.879.
Preacher, K. J., Curran, P. J., & Bauer, D. J. (2006). Computational tools for probing interactions in multiple linear regression, multilevel modeling, and latent curve analysis. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 31, 437–448. https://doi.org/10.3102/10769986031004437.
Preacher, K. J., Rucker, D. D., & Hayes, A. F. (2007). Addressing moderated mediation hypotheses: Theory, methods, and prescriptions. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 42, 185–227. https://doi.org/10.1080/00273170701341316.
Qian, Y., & Qian, Z. (2015). Work, family, and gendered happiness among married people in urban China. Social Indicators Research, 121, 61–74. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0623-9.
Qian, Y., & Sayer, L. C. (2016). Division of labor, gender ideology, and marital satisfaction in East Asia. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78, 383–400. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12274.
Rajadhyaksha, U., Korabik, K., & Aycan, Z. (2015). Gender, gender-role ideology, and the work family interface: A cross-cultural analysis. In M. J. Mills (Ed.), Gender and the work family experience (pp. 99–117). New York: Springer.
Rakwena, K. H. (2010). Marital satisfaction and intimacy: Gender role attitudes and spousal support in Botswana (doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest dissertations and theses database. (AAT 3415727)
Rogers, S. J., & Amato, P. R. (2000). Have changes in gender relations affected marital quality? Social Forces, 79, 731–753. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/79.2.731.
Shockley, K. M., & Singla, N. (2011). Reconsidering work family interactions and satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Management, 37, 861–886. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310394864.
Shockley, K. M., Shen, W., DeNunzio, M. M., Arvan, M. L., & Knudsen, E. A. (2017). Disentangling the relationship between gender and work–family conflict: An integration of theoretical perspectives using meta-analytic methods. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102, 1601–1635. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000246.
Sun, S., & Chen, F. (2015). Reprivatized womanhood: Changes in mainstream media's framing of urban women's issues in China, 1995–2012. Journal of Marriage and Family, 77, 1091–1107. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12219.
van Steenbergen, E. F., Kluwer, E. S., & Karney, B. R. (2014). Work–family enrichment, work–family conflict, and marital satisfaction: A dyadic analysis. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19, 182–194. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036011.
Voydanoff, P. (2005). Social integration, work–family conflict and facilitation, and job and marital quality. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 666–679. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2005.00161.x.
Xu, A. (2010). Changes in family gender roles in China’s economic transition. In X. Meng (Ed.), The state of women’s conditions and social mentality (pp. 182–214). Beijing: Women Research Center at China Social Sciences Academy.
Xu, X., & Lai, S. C. (2004). Gender ideologies, marital roles, and marital quality in Taiwan. Journal of Family Issues, 25, 318–355. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X03257709.
Xu, A., Xie, X., Liu, W., Xia, Y., & Liu, D. (2007). Chinese family strengths and resiliency. Marriage & Family Review, 41, 143–164. https://doi.org/10.1300/J002v41n01_08.
Yu, Y. (2015). The male breadwinner/female homemaker model and perceived marital stability: A comparison of Chinese wives in the United States and urban China. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 3, 34–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-014-9417-0.
Zhang, Z. (2017). Division of housework in transitional urban China. Chinese Sociological Review, 49, 263–291. https://doi.org/10.1080/21620555.2017.1295809.
Zhao, X., Lynch Jr., J. G., & Chen, Q. (2010). Reconsidering baron and Kenny: Myths and truths about mediation analysis. Journal of Consumer Research, 37, 197–206. https://doi.org/10.1086/651257.
Zuo, J. (2013). Women’s liberation and gender obligation equality in urban China: Work/family experiences of married individuals the 1950s. Science & Society, 77, 98–125. https://doi.org/10.1521/siso.2013.77.1.98.
Acknowledgements
Preparation of this article was supported by: the Lang Summer Fellowship from the Francis McClelland Institute on Children, Youth, and Families and the Janet and Barry Lang Lab to Xiaomin Li; the funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31571157 and No. 31971017) to Xiaoyi Fang; and the funding from the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2018NTSS06) to Nan Zhou and (No. 2019NTSS04) to Hongjian Cao.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
The research was carried out in accord with APA ethical standards and within the terms of the institutional review board at the study’s home institution.
Informed Consent
For each couple and across all three waves of data collection, trained research assistants described the study and obtained informed consent from both partners.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
ESM 1
(DOCX 23 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, X., Cao, H., Curran, M.A. et al. Traditional Gender Ideology, Work Family Conflict, and Marital Quality among Chinese Dual-Earner Couples: A Moderated Mediation Model. Sex Roles 83, 622–635 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01125-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01125-1