Objective: This study examines how subjective perceptions of fairness in partners' division of labor-encompassing housework and employment-are associated with relationship satisfaction. Background: Prior research has extensively explored dissatisfaction from unequal task distribution in relationships. However, not all deviations from equality are perceived as unfair. We focus on the underexplored role of perceived fairness for relationship satisfaction-with a particular focus on cases where a partner perceives to contribute less than their fair share. We draw on two theoretical models as potential interpretative frameworks for the studied correlation between perceived fairness and relationship satisfaction: the distributive justice model, which posits that satisfaction peaks at perceived fairness and is lower in the case of unfair imbalance, whether one contributes more or less of their fair share, and the selfinterest model, which proposes that relationship satisfaction is always higher when personal contributions are lower. Method: This study uses data from the first wave of the German Family Demography Panel Study (FReDA) collected in 2021. We restrict the sample to respondents cohabitating with a different-sex partner (N = 11,012), regress relationship satisfaction on the perceived fairness of the division of labor, and test for differences in this relationship by gender. Results: Perceived unfairness is associated with lower relationship satisfaction. This holds both for individuals who perceive to contribute more and those who perceive to contribute less than their fair share. This pattern of association is in line with the distributive justice model. Moreover, lower relationship satisfaction is more strongly associated with perceived undercontribution among women and with perceived overcontribution among men. Conclusion: Results underscore the nuanced role of fairness perceptions in relationship dynamics, highlighting the importance of gendered perspectives on relationship satisfaction.
Objective: We provide the first empirical evidence on the relationship between joint physical custody (JPC) and the extent to which work limits time for caregiving among separated parents across 10 European countries. Background: Many single parents report significant conflicts between paid work and the amount of time they would like to spend with their children. One recent arrangement that may help is JPC, in which children of separated parents live with both parents, rather than one parent with sole physical custody (SPC). Method: We used logistic regressions on data from 2,980 separated working parents in 10 countries in the 2021 European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions Survey (EU-SILC). Results: Our results for the full sample suggested limited difference between JPC and SPC parents in work-family conflict. However, our results suggested fathers with JPC and French parents with JPC have less work-family conflict than SPC parents. Conclusion: Based on our results, we argue that JPC is likely to have a gendered ‘effect’ on parents’ work-family conflict. Our research adds new information on a potential benefit of JPC using a large sample across multiple countries and controlling for other characteristics.
Objective: This qualitative phenomenological study examines how loneliness and non-loneliness are experienced within long-term marriages in Israel, where marriage is the most common relationship status among adults in the third age. Background: Previous research on loneliness within long-term marriage has focused on quality of life, relationship quality, security, belonging, and intimacy, typically examining the presence or absence of these dimensions at specific points in time. The phenomenological trajectory of loneliness and non-loneliness as a continuous, transformative experiential sequence across long-term marriage remains largely unexplored. In this study, non-loneliness refers to participants’ descriptions of togetherness, not being alone, belonging, security, protection, feeling understood, and being “as one body.” Method: Ten couples (aged 60–74) married for 30–53 years participated in filmed joint interviews (n=10; audio and video) and individual audio-recorded interviews (n=20), yielding 30 interviews in total. Data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and dyadic interview analysis. Results: Four distinct themes concerning the dynamics of loneliness/non-loneliness within couplehood emerged based on three inductively derived parameters: (1) fundamental experiences of loneliness/non-loneliness within couplehood, (2) their transformation through meaningful life events, and (3) their emotional intensity. The analysis revealed that loneliness and non-loneliness can coexist within a shared relational space despite incongruence, differing emotional intensities, or contradictory experiences. Conclusion: Methodological triangulation enriched the phenomenological understanding of couples’ experiences. The findings advance a theoretical understanding of couplehood as a dynamic process in which experiences of loneliness/non-loneliness are continuously reshaped, particularly at existentially significant junctures.
Objective: This study explores Nepali migrant women's experiences of what I call transnational matrescence in Australia, aiming to add nuance to assumptions that migration diminishes the quality of maternal care by examining how transnational care circulation and kinship reconfigurations facilitate positive maternal experiences. Background: Nepal is a patrilineal society, and women typically move into their in-laws' households after marriage and are expected to care for their in-laws thereafter. During matrescence, the liminal period of transition into motherhood, these dynamics are particularly significant for Nepali women, as they are weaved into relational hierarchies of care. In diaspora, matrescence is further marked by cultural and physical distance, which the literature tends to link to poorer early motherhood experiences than are experienced in a homeland setting. Findings presented here complicate this depiction by highlighting relational strengths of transnational family-making. Method: The analysis draws on a multi-sited ethnographic study conducted between Sydney and Kathmandu, combining participant observation with in-depth interviews. Forty-one participants took part, comprising migrant mothers in Sydney and their extended families in Nepal. Results: The findings reveal that transnational family care-giving, its negotiation through presence and absence and its culturally complex dynamics of care are re-shaping the ways Nepali matrescent women negotiate patriarchal family structures and reconfigure some of the gendered barriers to accessing quality care. Conclusion: Ultimately, the study captures how these emerging dynamics contest both the medicalized version of matrescence and deficit-based views on transnational care.
Objective: We aim to explore the association between sexual minority orientation, singlehood, and subjective well-being employing a between-group design. Background: Previous research largely neglected sexual minority singles, who may be ‘doubly stigmatized’, being stereotyped based on their sexual orientation and their single status. This might translate into particularly low levels of subjective well-being. Method: We use data from the German Family Demography Panel Study (FReDA; n = 17,344) to compare the life satisfaction of sexual minority (gay/lesbian or bi-/pansexual) singles with (a) their sexual minority partnered counterparts, (b) heterosexual singles and (c) heterosexual partnered individuals. Results: OLS regressions revealed that singles and people with sexual minority orientation exhibited lower levels of life satisfaction than partnered and heterosexual individuals. Singlehood was substantially more negatively associated with life satisfaction than sexual minority orientation. We observed an at most weak cumulation of disadvantage in life satisfaction among sexual minority singles. Conclusion: Deviating from the normative ideal of living in a heterosexual relationship is associated with lower well-being. The lack of stronger evidence supporting expectations that sexual minority singles might face disproportional disadvantages questions previous theoretical assumptions about potential adversities in subjective well-being resulting from the ‘dual challenges’ that sexual minority singles often face. Further research, ideally taking a longitudinal perspective and delving deeper into specific mechanisms underlying well-being disparities, would be valuable for practitioners developing targeted interventions.
