Masako Ishii-Kuntz

Predicting the Sharing of Household Labor: Are Parenting and Housework Distinct?

Using a representative sample of married couples with preschool-aged children in the United States, this study analyzes the conditions under which husbands share household tasks conventionally performed by wives. Survey data are analyzed using LISREL VII procedures, with proportional hourly contributions to child care (feeding, bathing, dressing, or putting child to bed) and housework (housecleaning, shopping, cooking, meal cleanup or laundry) treated as conceptually distinct dependent variables. Husbands perform an average of 26 percent of the child care and 21 percent of the housework and contribute more to both child care and housework if they are employed fewer hours than their wives. For housework, couples share more if wives earn a larger share of the family income, have more education, and hold more favorable attitudes toward maternal employment. For preschool-aged child care, couples share more if they have more and older children and husbands hold more favorable attitudes toward maternal employment. Theoretical explanations for the observed findings are discussed; we advocate modeling and measuring child care and housework as distinct, but interrelated activities.

Social Interaction and Psychological Well-Being: Comparison across Stages of Adulthood:

Using a national probability sample, this study examines the impact of social interaction on psychological well-being across stages of adulthood. Quality of social interaction measured by satisfaction with family life and friendship are found to be positively related to well-being of adults in all age groups. A further examination of this positive effect shows that the impact of family and friendship interaction on well-being are similar in each adulthood stage. These findings show that the positive impact of social interaction on psychological well-being is not unique to the elderly population but similar among all stages of adulthood.

Ordinal log-linear models

INTRODUCTION Ordinal Measures Log-Linear Models for Nominal Variables A Review ORDINAL LOG-LINEAR MODELS Row Effects Models Column Effects Models Uniform Association Models Assignment of Scores Row and Column Effects Models Odds Ratios for Two-Way Tables Summary Ordinal Log-Linear Models for Higher-Ordered Tables Multidimensional Log-Multiplicative Models Odds Ratios for Three-Way Log-Linear Models Summary Selection for Ordinal Log-Linear Models Advantages of Using Ordinal Log-Linear Models Summary CONCLUSION

Gender and social relationships among the never-married

This research explores the social networks among the growing numbers of men and women who have never married. We use a representative sample of 193 never-married men and 217 never-married women, of whom 73% of the men and 60% women of the were white and 16% of the men and 20% of the women were black. We hypothesize that single women have a more extensive social network than do men. Second, we investigate the impact of gender roles and norms of filial responsibility and selected sociodemographic variables upon social interaction by gender. Our findings indicate that gender differences are not as anticipated: (1) while never-married women interact more frequently with relatives than do never-married men, no differences were noted among friendship or neighborhood networks; (2) time spent in social interaction was more likely to differ by marital status than it was by gender; (3) compared to married persons, the never-married are overrepresented in the extreme categories of interaction, both isolated and very active; (4) gender role ideology and filial responsibility did not significantly predict social interaction for either men or women, with the exception that, among never-married men, those with lower expectations of filial responsibility spent more time with friends.

Work and Family Life Findings From International Research and Suggestions for Future Study

Studies focusing on interface between work and family life have increased over the past decade. Many of these studies advanced our understanding on the intricate work/family relationships that exist in the United States. This year, 1994, is the United Nations International Year of the Family. In observance of this special year, this article discusses dominant perspectives on work and family in the United States and suggests the ways to refine our views by reviewing comparative research and studies conducted in other countries on work and family life. I offer recommendations for further international and comparative research and encourage family scholars to expand their views on work and family by considering more global perspectives.

The Subjective Well-Being of Parents

Using a national sample of Americans, this study compares the effects of marital and parental statuses on three domains of well-being (marital quality, parental satisfaction, and global life satisfaction) by examining three types of parents: first-married biological parents, remarried biological parents, and stepparents. The results of a multiple classification analysis show that first-married biological parents report greater satisfaction with parenting than do the other two groups. On the other hand, the three types of parents reported similar levels of marital and global life satisfaction. These results are discussed and suggestions for future research are made.

Conjugal Roles and Social Networks in Japanese Families

In a study on family and social networks, Elizabeth Bott argued that conjugal role performance is primarily a function of the configuration of friends and relatives associated with each spouse. For over three decades, this relationship has been repeatedly tested with unresolved findings due, in part, to different research techniques and the ambiguity in Bott’s theory itself. To cast light on this intriguing issue, we transported Bott’s ideas to Japan and applied them to a sample of 40 husbands and wives. Strong support was found for Bott’s core hypothesis: Japanese couples who are each embedded in a high-density social network have segregated role relations; couples who are embedded in a low-density network have joint role relations. We then offer a causal model of Bott’s theory to help illuminate what we see as a trend in role sharing among Japanese couples.

Status of the Elderly: An Extension of the Theory.

Previous cross-cultural analyses have established that the status of the elderly, as a category, is affected by several economic and familial factors. This study builds on earlier work by adding two variables to the analysis: socialization values and ancestor worship. The results show that the status of the elderly is systematically higher in societies in which conformity is a primary socialization value than in those where self-reliance is emphasized. This effect is largely independent of the effects of other known antecedents of the status of the elderly. Ancestor worship is also positively correlated with the status of the elderly, but this correlation is attributable to the simultaneous correlation of ancestor worship with other antecedents. Results are interpreted in terms of exchange theory.

Work Environment and Japanese Fathers’ Involvement in Child Care

Previous studies mainly examined individual and family factors affecting Japanese fathers’ involvement in child care. Along with these factors, we examine how work-related factors such as father-friendly environment at work, workplace’s accommodation of parental needs, job stress, and autonomy are associated with Japanese men’s participation in child care. Using 2010 data collected from Japanese fathers with preschool children (N = 1,317), a theoretical model is tested on men who work for large or small/medium companies. We find that company’s accommodation of parental needs and job autonomy increase child care involvement of fathers in medium/small companies, and job stress reduces such involvement among men in large companies. Implications of these findings are discussed in light of recent public attention on child caring fathers in Japan.

A Cross-Species Application of Bott's Hypothesis on Role Segregation and Social Networks:

Elizabeth Botts hypothesis that the degree of role-segregation between husbands and wives is a function of the density in family networks is applied to a review of social relations among representative species from seven genera of Old World primates. On the whole, the hypothesis is supported. In seeking to apply Botts ideas to primate research, her theory is formalized and stated more abstractly, with the result that its structural dynamics are highlighted. These structural processes revolve around three phenomena: (a) the negative causal effect of network overlap on density of each actors networks; (b) the positive causal effect of network density on the degree of social support provided by, and a normative elaboration of, each actors networks; and (c) the causal effect of social support and normative elaboration on the segregation of each actors activities.