Reaction of Housewives to the Retirement of Their Husbands

This study investigated the reactions of housewives to the early years of theit husbands' retirement, Interviews were conducted with 36 housewives whose husbands had recently retired from a number of occupations at a midwestern university. Positive and negative aspects of retirement and a range of variables associated with life satisfaction and with three specific domains of satisfaction were investigated. All respondents reported positive aspects of their husbands' retirement, but a large majority also reported negative aspects. The most consistent correlate of satisfaction of wife was participation of husband in household tasks.