Undergraduate Research Journal

Perceived Division of Labor and Work-Family Conflict Among U.S. Married
and Cohabiting Women in Heterosexual Couples
Genevie Co 1,2 , Tanya Nieri 1
1
Department of Sociology
2
School of Business Administration
University of California, Riverside
ABSTRACT
To increase our understanding of gendered roles in cohabiting and married couples, this study
aimed to determine 1) whether married women differed from cohabiting women in levels
of perceived fairness of the division of household and paid labor, and 2) whether married
women differed from cohabiting women in the amount of conflict between family life and paid
work. The nationally representative U.S. sample was composed of heterosexual married and
cohabiting women between the ages of 18 to 64. It was hypothesized that cohabiting women
would report a more fair division of labor and less work-family conflict than married women.
Other variables were also hypothesized to have an effect. 73% of married women and 66%
of cohabiting women reported a fair division of labor. 37% of married women and 24% of
cohabiting women reported no work-family conflict. Logistic regression analyses showed
that, controlling for other individual and couple characteristics, there were no statistically
significant differences between married women and cohabiting women in the likelihood of
either perceiving an unfair division of labor or reporting conflict between family life and paid
work. Income, the number of minor children in the household, current employment, highest
level of education completed, and number of times married were associated with the likelihood
of reporting conflict. However, none of the covariates in the model predicting the likelihood of
perceiving an unfair division of labor were statistically significant.
Faculty Mentor
Tanya Nieri
Department of Sociology
A U T H O R
Genevie Co
Sociology
Genevie Co is a second-year University
Honors student with a double major in
Sociology and Business. Her interest
in family and couple relationships and
dynamics prompted her to conduct this
research, and she is passionate about
helping underprivileged families and
children. Actively involved in feeding
homeless people and providing those
in transitional homes with hygiene
supplies and groceries, Genevie aims
to start a non-profit organization that
will focus on children in poverty in our
community. Genevie thanks Professor
Nieri for her invaluable help and
mentoring and for taking Genevie under
her wings, as well as her mother for her
enthusiastic and continual support.
Tanya Nieri is an assistant professor of Sociology and a faculty affiliate of
UCR’s Presley Center for Crime and Justice Studies and Center for Family
Studies. Her research examines causes and consequences of acculturation; the
etiology and prevention of youth problem behaviors, particularly substance use and violence;
and community-based intervention and health promotion. The populations that she examines
include immigrants and ethnic minorities, especially U.S. Latinos, Mexican cultures and
communities, and families and youths. I immensely enjoyed my experience working with
Genevie on her research project. Genevie is bright, motivated, and destined to continue to do
great things.
U C R U n d e r g r a d u a t e R e s e a r c h J o u r n a l 5