THE EFFECT OF SPOUSE PRESENCE ON APPRAISALS OF EMOTIONAL SUPPORT AND HOUSEHOLD STRAIN

Despite a preference for privacy, survey interviews are often conducte d in the presence of third persons such as family members and friends. This study examines the impact of the presence of a spouse on respons es to questions about the emotional support the respondent receives fr om the spouse and respondent's satisfaction with household arrangement s. It is hypothesized that respondents will offer more positive assess ments of household and marital relations when their spouse is present and that the effects of spouse presence are conditioned by the gender, emotional attitude, and ethnicity of the respondent. The study finds that, though spouses were frequently present in the interview situatio n, their presence did not significantly influence respondents' answers .