GENDER AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARITAL-ROLE QUALITY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS - A STUDY OF WOMEN AND MEN IN DUAL-EARNER COUPLES

In this paper, we estimate the association between marital-role qualit y and psychological distress in a sample of 300 full-time employed wom en and men in dual-earner couples. We control for such individual-leve l variables as age, education, occupational prestige, and job-role qua lity, and for such couple-level variables as length of marriage, paren tal status, and household income. We then compare the magnitude of thi s effect for men and for women and for parents and nonparents. Results indicate that in dual-earner couples marital-role quality is signific antly negatively associated with psychological distress for women as w ell as men and that the magnitude of the effect depends little, if at all, on gender or on parental status. These findings challenge the vie w that marital experiences more significantly influence women's mental health states than men's. The results are discussed in the context of identity theory.