THE ORIENTATION TOWARD DOMESTIC LABOR QUESTIONNAIRE - EXPLORING DUAL-EARNER WIVES SENSE OF FAIRNESS ABOUT FAMILY WORK

This study explored the psychometric properties of the Orientation Tow ard Domestic Labor Questionnaire (ODL-Q) with a sample of 622 dual-ear ner wives. Adequate internal consistency reliability was obtained for most of the constructs in the ODL-Q. In addition, construct validity f ar the ODL-Q was provided with multiple regression and discriminant an alyses of the constructs' relationships to wives' sense of fairness ab out family work. The ODL-Q scales accounted for 57% of the variance in wives' sense of fairness. Effective communication about domestic labo r (expressions of appreciation, sympathetic listening, mutual decision making) was by far the most powerful predictor and discriminator of f airness. Further validity was demonstrated in a cluster analysis ident ifying 3 groups of dual-earner wives suggested by A. Hochschild's (198 9) qualitative study of family work. Implications for the construction of gender through domestic labor ate discussed.