CHILDREN, TRADITIONALISM IN THE DIVISION OF FAMILY WORK, AND MARITAL SATISFACTION - WHATS LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT

This research examines several of the factors related to the frequentl y cited finding that the presence of children in the home is related t o lower marital satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used to test whether the number of children at home and the length of marriag e predicted traditionalism in the division of family work, which, in t urn, was differentially associated with erotic, ludic, friendship-base d, and agapic love as well as marital satisfaction for 530 married men and women. For both men and women, the greater the number of children at home and the longer the marriage, the more traditional the divisio n of family labor. Traditionalism predicted lower levels of erotic and friendship-based love for women, which ultimately were related to low er marital satisfaction. For men, however, traditionalism was associat ed with stronger erotic and friendship-based love, a phenomenon linked to higher marital satisfaction. These findings clarify the connection between the number of children at home and reduced marital satisfacti on for the women in the sample and suggest that, for both men and wome n, it is how family work is divided, rather than the presence of child ren per se, that has meaning for the affective quality of the marriage .