Race, Class, and Gender Differences in Marital Satisfaction and Divisions of Household Labor Among Dual-Earner Couples

Abstract

Previous attempts to account for varying levels of marital satisfaction have considered many factors. Yet, these attempts have rarely looked at the connections among race, class, and gender as explanations for differences in satisfaction. This article illustrates the importance of examining unique race-class-gender locations of individuals when studying marital satisfaction. The authors introduce a more complex analysis of the connections among race, class, and gender effects in the production of marital satisfaction. The authors' data, which are drawn from a national survey, consist of 492 individuals in dual-earner couples. Study results provide information on variations in marital satisfaction across groups and substantial evidence that we must move beyond analyses that concentrate only on race, class, or gender differences by themselves. The authors' discussion addresses possible reasons why race-class-gender connections are important factors in determining marital satisfaction. The authors conclude that an analysis of connections among structural inequalities is one of the best directions for future research.