The Effects of Dual Career Participation on Men: Some Determinants of Variation in Career and Personal Satisfaction

Little is known about the ways in which men's professional and personal lives are affected by participation in dual career families. This paper presents findings from an exploratory, in-depth interview study which investigated this issue by probing the individual perceptions of husbands in dual career families. A majority of male respondents reported positive professional, familial, and marital consequences of dual career membership. A small group was less satisfied. Sources of variation in satisfaction are presented and five factors which appear to be linked to subjects' differential reactions are identified.