VARIABLES DIFFERENTIATING UNIVERSITY WOMEN CONSIDERING ROLE-SHARING AND CONVENTIONAL DUAL-CAREER MARRIAGES

This study examined 174 university women's perceptions of their future marital patterns of work and family integration, specifically their p lans for combining parenting and spousal roles with occupational roles . Two patterns of work and family integration were explored: role-shar ing marriages and a variation of conventional marriages in which the f emale spouse is employed. Three categories of variables were examined: those pertaining to dual-career-family issues, career commitment, and agentic personality characteristics. All variables were selected base d on their relationship to gender dynamics and their importance in bot h the women's career development and the dual-career literature. The r esults offer insight into different options for integrating work and f amily among career-oriented young women. (C) 1997 Academic Press.