Liat Kulik & Faisal Rayyan
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DUAL-EARNER SPOUSES,
STRATEGIES FOR COPING WITH HOME—WORK DEMANDS AND
EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING
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Jewish and Arab-Muslim women in Israel
Based on Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological approach, the present study examined attitudes
toward various aspects of marital life (gender-role attitudes, reported division of domestic labour and
perceived spousal support) among educated Jewish (n =59) and Arab-Muslim women (n =87)
from dual-earner families in Israel. Moreover, we compared the types of strategies used to cope with
stress resulting from conflicting home — work demands, as well as emotional well-being and its
relation to the other variables under study. Data were collected through structured questionnaires in
various parts of Israel, from women employed in the education system and in municipalities. Results
point to some cultural differences: Jewish women expressed more liberal gender-role attitudes and
reported a more egalitarian division of domestic labour. At the same time, both groups of women
tended to use the active coping strategy of concerted efforts to reduce role conflict. Moreover, similar
patterns were found regarding the variables that account for emotional well-being. The effect of
culture is particularly significant with regard to structural characteristics of marital life, such as
the division of domestic labour, but less significant with regard to spousal support and to variables
that explain various dimensions of well- being.
Keywords: division of domestic labour; spousal support; coping with role conflict;
ecological approach
Discussion
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This research was based on the ecological approach, according to which the
macrosystem, represented by cultural norms (Israeli Jewish as compared to Israeli
Arab-Muslim), affects and shapes the processes that occur in lower sub-systems in
which the individual takes part (the microsystem). In line with this theoretical
approach, we assumed that social systems differing in gender-role ideology would
have a differential impact on various aspects of marital relations: attitudes toward
gender roles, reported division of domestic labour and perceived spousal support. We
further hypothesized that the culture (on a macro level) would affect the choice of
strategies women use in their attempt to cope with stress, owing to conflicting
demands of home and work. Moreover, we assumed that cultural ‘blueprints’ would
also affect the variables that predict well-being among Arab-Muslim and Jewish
women.
The results of this study paint a rather complex picture, according to which
culture does affect some of the variables under investigation, but not others. The
revealed similarities can probably be ascribed to the similar lines of change that
different s ocieties undergo in the process of transition from a traditional way of life to a
modern
one.
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As expected, owing to the cultural differences between the two societies, Jewish
women reported more liberal gender-role attitudes than their Arab-Muslim
counterparts. Cultural disparities are also believed to account for the Jewish women’s
reports of more equality in the division of domestic labour. This difference was
detected, however, in only two out of three categories: household and outside tasks, but
not technical tasks, which both groups of women considered the husband’s domain.
Women’s choice of strategies for coping with the conflicting demands of home and
work also appear to be affected by cultural norms. Jewish women are more likely to use
the moderately active strategy of asking for help (from family members and work
colleagues) than their Arab-Muslim counterparts, whereas the latter tend to favour the
more passive form of coping by redefining the situation. However, no differences
between groups were found in the choice of the highly active effort strategy, which
was the most prevalent. Transcending cultural differences, working Jewish and ArabMuslim women alike appear to invest considerable efforts to meet the conflicting
demands of their homes and jobs.
Notwithstanding the cultural differences between the two societies, we also found
some similarities. These are likely to result from the common needs of dual-earner
families, regardless of cultural affiliation, exposed to a multitude of daily pressures.
For instance, women in both groups reported similarly high levels of support from
their husbands (averaging above 3 on a five-point scale, where 5 indicates highest
support). A possible explanation for this similarity may be that, regardless of cultural
effects, in order to meet the numerous demands of a dual-earner family, husbands’
support of their wives is a necessity.
To put these findings in the right interpretational context, we should bear in mind
that the Arab-Muslim women who participated in this study were educated and
employed. It is therefore very likely that in those particular families (which cannot be
regarded as representing the entire Arab-Muslim population in Israel) support is
needed from both spouses in order to meet the dual demands of home and work. Had this
study been conducted among families in which the husbands worked and their wives
stayed at home, the cultural differences between Jews and Arab-Muslims in this regard
might have been more considerable.
It should further be noted that women in both societies reported providing more
support to their husbands than they received. This is in line with other studies that
found women to offer more sympathy and emotional support for their husbands’
problems than vice versa (Brody, 1996; Steil, 1997). Thus, this shared tendency
between the two societies might result from the similar inherent nurturing and
socially oriented nature of women in most cultures, owing to the socialization
processes they undergo (Gilligan, 1982).
Cultural differences had no significant effect on aspects of emotional well-being
for women in both societies. This seems to support McCall’s (1975) claim that the
determinants of a person’s well-being are not culture-dependent. Since the needs of
individuals are universal and bear no relation to the cultural context, so the means of
fulfilling them (e.g. spousal support, assistance in domestic labour) have a similar
positive effect on the individual’s well-being regardless of her cultural affiliation.
Cultural differences were insignificant in regard to the relation between
choice of coping strategy and emotional well-being in both societies. Two of the
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strategies * redefining the stressful situation and requesting help * correlated
somewhat with the components of well-being for both Jewish and Arab-Muslim women, but
the most active strategy, effort, did not correlate with any of the well-being
components in either group. This suggests that the use of an extremely active form of
coping with stressful demands over long periods of time might deplete the physical and
mental resources of any woman, and thus be more than likely to neutralize the effect of
coping on her feelings of emotional well-being.
Special attention should be paid to the relationship found between gender- role
attitudes and life satisfaction among the women of both groups. The more liberal their
attitudes, the greater their life satisfaction. It seems therefore that ‘gender-role attitudes’
is a meta-variable, with implications that exceed the mere expression of a person’s
attitude. Some studies, for instance, point to a connection between liberal gender-role
attitudes and a low inclination toward dogmatism (Troldahl & Powell, 1965) or
between liberal attitudes and the tendency to adopt an active style of coping with daily
pressures (Kulik, 1999). It is possible that individuals who exhibit liberal attitudes with
regard to gender roles are also the ones whose personalities are flexible, open and more
adaptive to life’s circumstances, which in turn increases life satisfaction. It is also
possible that women with liberal gender-role attitudes are more educated and career
oriented and are therefore able to develop higher levels of life satisfaction. It would
be worthwhile to explore this explanation further in future studies.
It should be noted that perceptions of egalitarian division of domestic labour by
Jewish as well as Arab-Muslim women were moderately correlated with emotional well-being (although with different components of it). In this context, it is
worthwhile to consider the relation between equality in the performance of technical
tasks and (lowered) marital satisfaction among Jewish women. Israeli Jewish society
tends to regard domestic technical tasks as predominantly within the realm of male
responsibilities (Kulik, 1999). Equality in the division of labour regarding this type of
task may indicate that the woman is performing physical work that she does not
consider her responsibility, perhaps because her husband is unwilling to do so. This
may indicate extensive stress and conflict in the marital relationship, which in the
present study takes the form of negative correlations between reports of egalitarian
division of domestic labour and satisfaction with marital life among Jewish women.
Taken together, all the independent variables (including background variables)
predict only a small proportion of the perceived stress among women in both
societies, as opposed to a higher percentage of variance for marital satisfaction and
satisfaction with life. In other words, the independent variables were found to be
better predictors of the more stable aspects of emotional well-being that are formed
throughout a person’s life cycle (i.e. general satisfaction from life, marital satisfaction)
rather then the more ‘fluid’ ones, defined in this study as recent feelings of immediate and
temporary stress.
The results of this study lead us to a few main conclusions. First, the effects of the
macrosystem are more pronounced with regard to the structural characteristics of
marital life (e.g. the division of domestic labour) and to a lesser extent with regard to
variables that explain the relation between women’s well-being and these characteristics. Second, the ultimate nature of the marital relationship is a complex one, shaped and
melded not only by the macrosystem, as demonstrated
in cultural no
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ideologies which make up the infrastructure of all marital relationships, but also by the
uniqueness of the dyadic unit itself.
Despite differences in cultural norms that dictate family life, the dyadic unit is
characterized by expressiveness, intimacy and dependency (Katz, 1988), as reflected in the
considerable spousal support reported by the women participating in this study. This finding
applies to Jewish as well as to Arab-Muslim society in Israel. Despite the relatively low
status of the woman in Arab society, she enjoys support from her husband, which
contributes to her sense of well-being. Thus, the dyadic unit creates adaptation mechanisms
(mutual spousal support) in order to facilitate spousal life and compensate for strict norms
regarding the status of women in traditional contexts.
As for future research, it would be worthwhile to expand examinations of
the effects of the ecological systems on the well-being of working women, and to
incorporate the additional sub-systems that were not included in the present study
(mesosystem and exosystem). The mesosystem, which reflects the relationship between
different components of the microsystem, can be examined through the relationships
between husbands and children and the contribution of those relationships to the woman’s
well-being. The exosystem, which reflects the indirect influence of variables from systems
outside of the individual’s immediate environment, can be examined through the impact
of the husband’s work on his wife’s well-being (e.g. extent of the husband’s work).
Incorporating these ecological sub-systems in a comprehensive research design is likely to
promote a better understanding of both the shared and culture-dependent determinants of
well-being among women in egalitarian vs. patriarchal — hierarchical societies.
Regarding the practical implications of the study, practitioners in the field should
be sensitive to cultural differences, and encourage women to adopt coping strategies that
enhance their well-being without contradicting social norms. Because the most prevalent
coping strategy for reducing role conflict among both groups of women was ‘concerted
efforts’, it would be worthwhile to help women channel those efforts effectively so that
their well-being will not be harmed.