Husbands' Attitude and Wives' Commitment to Employment

Primacy of home duties and a dependent relationship on her husband have been traditional role expectations for American wives. Two current trends challenge the image of dependent homemaker. First, the dual role of home and employment is increasingly popular among married women; for some this means career-commitment. Second, the new wave of feminism stresses autonomy (self-determination) for women. These two factors may be important in recasting or shattering the mold ofAmerican family life, especially through their impact on the marital relationship. Repeatedly, research has indicated how crucial the husband's attitude is for adjustments necessitated by the wife's employment. This research attempted to determine whether married women seek to make their role preference congruent with that of their husband. The study also examined the effect of wives' attitude to autonomy for women on their expectations as to which partner should adjust when there is tension or conflict over her role. Secord and Backman's theory of interpersonal congruency provided the theoretical model for the research. This theory suggests that behavioral stability and change are determined by one's desire for congruency in the interpersonal matrix formed by (S) self-concept, (B) relevant behavior, and (0) the perceived reaction of significant others. When incongruency threatens, adjustment is made among the components S, B, and/or 0. A purposive selection of women's clubs was made, and members were given mail-back questionnaires for themselves and their husbands. The women surveyed covered a broad range in terms of commitment to employment and attitude to autonomy for women. Two hundred thirty-five questionnaires were returned; most included the husband's also. The hypothesis that shared husband-wife role preference leads to role continuity or change, depending on whether this preference was for her present role or a different one, was strongly supported. The hypothesis that women with a liberal attitude to autonomy expect their husbands to make more adjustments and those with a conservative attitude expect to make more adjustments themselves was supported in general interaction but not when wives occupied roles in defiance of their husbands. Women moderate in attitude to autonomy evidenced more ambiguity over their roles than either the conservative or liberal women.