Changing Attitudes toward the Male Breadwinner, Female Homemaker Family Model: Influences of Women's Employment and Education over the Lifecourse

Declines in support for the male breadwinner, female homemaker family model in recent decades have been thoroughly documented, but research into the way such attitudes change over the lifecourse remains limited. Drawing on panel data and latent growth curve modeling techniques, the study identifies patterns and predictors of attitude change from 1977 through 1993. Women's support for gender specialization in marriage declined rapidly from the late 1970s through the mid-1980s, but this was followed by an interval of stability until the mid-1990s. Education is negatively associated with support for the male breadwinner model, but there was educational convergence in attitudes between the late 1970s and the early 1990s. The results highlight the critical role of women's employment for explaining the pattern of attitude change across the lifecourse.