Patterns of Work and family involvement among single and Dual Earner Couples: Two Competing Analytic Approaches

This article proposes a general typology of dual- and single-earner couples based on each spouse's involvement in work and family roles. The study investigates two research questions: the prevalence of the various theoretical patterns and types in a sample of 136 dual-earner and 103 single-earner couples and the relationships between four patterns of couples (i.e., symmetric all roles, asymmetric all roles, symmetric family-asymmetric work and symmetric work-asymmetric family) and attitudes toward and behavior in work and family roles. Canonical analyses showed six significant dimensions (two behavioral and four attitudinal) among dual-earner couples and three significant attitudinal dimensions among single-earner couples. The dual-earner couples' dimensions corresponded to patterns in the typology; the single-earner couples' dimensions did not.