ENTENSITY OF FAMILY DISAGREEMENT OVER FINANCES AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS*

Results from survey research using regression techniques indicate that disagreement over family finances for men was a function of management practices (negative), years married (negative), and wife's employment, with those who had part-time employed wives reporting more disagreement than those with non-employed wives. Disagreement over family finances for women was a function of frequency of communication (negative), perceived future financial security (negative), and wife's employment, with full-time employed wives reporting less disagreement over finances than non-employed wives. Since the stress and reduced maximization of resources implied by the high percentage of families reporting intense disagreement over finances ultimately affect their well-being, it is imperative that the skills of financial management and communication be developed through counselling and education.     

Energy-saving attitudes and the behaviour of women in the use of electrical household appliances in Turkey

In this study, 270 women with different levels of education were investigated to determine energy-saving attitudes and the behaviour of women in the use of electrical household appliances. Their attitudes were measured by Likert-type sentences, and their behaviour by evaluating their answers to 33 questions that were oriented to energy saving. The effects of variables on attitudes and behaviour, such as number of individuals in the family, education level of the woman, length of marriage, employment status, family income and the number of electrical appliances were determined by analysis of variance. Effects of family income, education level of women, employment status and the number of electrical appliances on positive attitude, and effects of educational level of woman and employment status on positive behaviour were both found to be significant (P < 0.05).     

Expected and reported division of responsibility of household tasks among older wives in two residential settings

Literature on sex roles encompasses numerous studies on the division of responsibility in late-life marriages. Some older wives report that they continue to assume responsibility for mos: household chores and they actually perform most tasks. Other wives claim that following retirement, husbands increase their participation within the household arena. However, the increase tends to be in the level of activity involvement rather than in assuming responsibility for new or non-traditional chores. The trend toward egalitarianism in later life, especially for happy couples, is documented by numerous studies. It appears that while role expectations are less gender-specific among older people, they tend to follow the patterns established during middle-age. However, the research is not conclusive. No analysis has compared different living environments of older couples. A sample (n = 244) or older wives (mean age 72 years) living in two different residential settings were questioned via a mailed survey about their responsibility and behaviours regarding 12 household tasks: cooking meals, washing dishes, doing yard work, washing clothes, maintaining the car, writing letters, scheduling family events, getting or earning money, cleaning house, shopping, undertaking household repairs and making family decisions. High scores suggest a non-traditional approach to sex-role tasks, while low scores suggest egalitarian relationships. The views that wives have of division of responsibility of household tasks is explored: who should take responsibility for tasks and who does the tasks? Variables previously found to influence sex-role beliefs are examined. In particular, relationships between sex roles and marital quality, length of marriage, family income, frequency of interaction with children, residential environment and health are presented.     

FACTORS RELATED TO HOUSEHOLD AND CHILD CARE TASK RESPONSIBILITY OF SPOUSES IN HOUSTON,TEXAS

What are the differences in household and child care task responsibility by the employment role responsibility of spouses? What are the differences in the relationships between task preference, quality of task performance, and sex-role ideology and household and child care task responsibility of spouses by the employment role responsibility of the spouses? What are the most important variables in determining household and child care responsibility? Data were collected from a random sample of wives and husbands in Houston, Texas. The sample (n = 151) was generally characterized as white, middle-aged, upper income, and middle class. Wives who shared the employment role had less responsibility for female and child care tasks and husbands had more responsibility for female tasks than spouses in families in which the husband had total responsibility for the employment role. However, spouses who shared the employment role maintained major responsibility for their traditional household and child care tasks. Although liking of the tasks, quality of task performance, and sex-role attitudes were related to household and child care task responsibility, these relationships were not significantly different when the employment role was shared or was the total responsibility of the husband. Multiple regression analyses revealed that quality of task performance was the most frequent significant variable in determining household and child care task responsibility. Implications and recommendations are given.     

北京市城乡老年人生活状况和生活满意度的比较

利用北京居民生活状况调查的数据资料 ,对北京城乡老年人五个方面的需求状况及生活满意度做了比较 ,发现在经济状况、医疗状况、照料需求方面 ,城镇老年人的生活条件及满意度都高于农村老年人 ;心理感受方面城乡老年人没有大的差别 ;日常生活条件虽然是城镇较好 ,但农村老年人的满意度更高。总体满意度城乡老年人没有明显差别 ,对此的解释尚需要进一步的研究。     

Factors That Contribute to Becoming Unbanked

The proportion of US families that are unbanked (i.e., have no type of checking or savings account) has steadily declined for more than two decades. Nonetheless, more than nine million families still do not participate in the financial mainstream, and roughly half these unbanked families previously held a traditional bank account. This study uses the 2004 longitudinal Survey of Income Program Participation to examine the dynamic process within which changes in families' circumstances contribute to their becoming unbanked. Our findings suggest that families are significantly more likely to become unbanked when there is a decline in family income, loss of employment, or loss of health insurance coverage. Race and ethnicity, level of education or family income, and marital or housing status are also important determinants of whether families participate in the financial mainstream or not. To our knowledge, this is the first analysis of the dynamic process by which families change bank status.     

Teenager Influence on Family Grocery Purchases

The purpose of this study was to: (1) fully conceptualize teenager influence on family grocery purchases; (2) develop appropriate measures for such influence; and (3) investigate teenager influence on grocery purchases in terms of several relevant socio-economic and dempgraphic trends (e.g., dual-income families, single-parent famlies, and working teenagers). Results show teenager influence being higher- for minor, rather than major grocery trips; for teenagers who live in single-parent, rather than dual-parent families; and for female teenagers. Teenagers who were employed longer hours of employment did not effect the amount of influence on major trips. The employment status of their parents (dual income vs. single income families), and the roles orientations of their parents (tradition-purchases. Teenager perceptions of their influence were consistently higher than their mothers'.     

Health Insurance,Job Lock,and the Supply of Self‐Employment

Unlike most wage earners, self‐employed Americans have limited access to health insurance and face higher costs. Thus, social commentators and policymakers argue that many potential entrepreneurs are “locked” into their current jobs for fear of losing their health coverage even though they could be more productive in self‐employment. Using a large data set for the period 2000–2008, we find the availability of employer‐provided health insurance to be negatively correlated to the likelihood of self‐employment in the long run, but the effect to be mediated by individual and family health status. However, we find employer‐provided health insurance to have no significant effect on the probability of switching in the short run. Finally, we find differences in the magnitude of the effects between our samples of husbands and wives.     

Social factors and company location decisions: Technology,quality of life and quality of work life concerns

A number of factors must be considered in facility location decisions. Recent research on job design suggests that the effects jobs may have on quality of work life and quality of life in general should be considered in facility location decisions in addition to other normal factors. The present study was designed to examine quality of work life and quality of life factors of residents in a low income and low education area. The intent was to determine what types of jobs might have the most positive effect on people in this type of region. Data were collected from 409 households in a low income/education region. The results showed that people from this region were as satisfied with their quality of work life and quality of life as people in other regions with better jobs, higher incomes, and better general life situations. Results are discussed in light of facility location decisions and types of jobs having the most positive impact.     

Social class: a multivariate analysis of its effect on expenditures for household services

Multivariate statistical techniques were used to explore two major conceptual issues in consumer behaviour research involving social class: (1) the importance of income, as compared to social class, in determining household behaviour, and (2) the effect of the status of wives on the behaviour of their households. A subsample of expenditure data, collected from 5,994 husband-wife families, as part of the 1973 Consumer Expenditure Survey, was used in the analysis. The dependent variable was expenditures for household services. The independent variables included total consumption expenditures (a proxy for income), the status of the wife, the status of the husband, family type, location, and characteristics of the dwelling. The results of an Ordinary Least Squares regression procedure demonstrated that total consumption expenditures were the most important variable in determining expenditures for household services. The size of the effect of the status of the wife was comparable to that of the status of the husband. In both cases, the effect was significant but small.     

Income and Quality of Life: Does the Love of Money Make a Difference?

This paper examines a model of income and quality of life that controls the love of money, job satisfaction, gender, and marital status and treats employment status (full-time versus part-time), income level, and gender as moderators. For the whole sample, income was not significantly related to quality of life when this path was examined alone. When all variables were controlled, income was negatively related to quality of life. When (1) the love of money was negatively correlated to job satisfaction and (2) job satisfaction was positively related to both income and quality of life, income was negatively related to quality of life for full-time, high-income, and male employees. When these two conditions failed to exist, income was not related to quality of life for part-time, median- or low-income, and female employees. This model provides new insights regarding the impact of the love of money and job satisfaction on the income–quality of life relationship. Thomas Li-Ping Tang (Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University) is a Full Professor of Management in the Department of Management and Marketing, Jennings A. Jones College of Business at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU), Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 37132. He has taught Industrial and Organizational Psychology at National Taiwan University and at MTSU. Professor Tang teaches (has taught) EMBA courses in China and France. He serves (has served) on the editorial review board of six journals and as a reviewer for 26 journals around the world. Professor Tang’s research interests focus upon people’s work motivation, compensation, money attitudes, the Love of Money, pay satisfaction, turnover, stress, and cross-cultural issues. He has published more than 100 journal articles in top behavior sciences and management journals, including Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Human Relations, Journal of Management, Management Research, Management and Organization Review, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Managerial Psychology, European Sport Management Quarterly, Journal of Higher Education, and others. He has presented more than 185 papers in professional conferences and invited seminars in Austria, China, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, the UK, the US, and other countries. His research has been cited in many languages, textbooks of several fields (e.g., Management Organizational Behavior, Human Resources Management, Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Human Relations, Compensation, and Statistics), and popular books. He was the winner of two Outstanding Research Awards (1991, 1999), and Distinguished International Service Award (1999) at Middle Tennessee State University. He also received the Best Reviewer Award from the International Management Division of the Academy of Management in Seattle, WA (2003).     

Impact of wife's employment on service expenditures

Data from the 1986 Consumer Expenditure Survey were used to examine the relationship between wife's employment and spending on services that are expected to be sensitive to the value of time. Tobit regression analysis indicated that wife's employment status was influential in explaining expenditure on food away from home, child care and total services only. Other independent variables, such as income, education and age. were more influential in explaining expenditure than was wife's employment status.     

Life satisfaction and self-employment: a matching approach

Despite lower incomes, the self-employed consistently report higher satisfaction with their jobs. But are self-employed individuals also happier, more satisfied with their lives as a whole? High job satisfaction might cause them to neglect other important domains of life, such that the fulfilling job crowds out other pleasures, leaving the individual on the whole not happier than others. Moreover, self-employment is often chosen to escape unemployment, not for the associated autonomy that seems to account for the high job satisfaction. We apply matching estimators that allow us to better take into account the above-mentioned considerations and construct an appropriate control group (in terms of balanced covariates). Using the BHPS dataset that comprises a large nationally representative sample of the British populace, we find that individuals who move from regular employment into self-employment experience an increase in life satisfaction (up to 2 years later), while individuals moving from unemployment to self-employment are not more satisfied than their counterparts moving from unemployment to regular employment. We argue that these groups correspond to “opportunity” and “necessity” entrepreneurship, respectively. These findings are robust with regard to different measures of subjective well-being as well as choice of matching variables, and also robustness exercises involving “simulated confounders”.     

WIFE'S EMPLOYMENT—ITS INFLUENCE ON MAJOR FAMILY EXPENDITURES

This study was undertaken to examine the influence of wife's employment on major family expenditures. Tobit analysis of data from the 1972–73 Consumer Expenditure Surveys found no relationship between wife's employment and outlays on twelve categories of expenditures. Family income had the greatest overall influence on the expenditure categories examined. Therefore, it appears that the absolute amount of income was more important than its sources in determining expenditures.     

Financial management attitudes and behaviour of husbands and wives

In spite of recent economic events which suggest that families are having much difficulty managing their financial resources, little research has focused on spouses' attitudes and behaviour regarding family financial management. This study addressed three questions: (1) What are spouses' attitudes toward and behaviour regarding family financial management? (2) To what degree do husbands and wives agree in their attitudes and report similar behaviour regarding financial management? and (3) What factors effect the attitudes and behaviour of spouses regarding management of their financial resources? While spouses' attitudes were generally supportive of family resource management principles and philosophy regarding financial management, their reported behaviour indicated relatively few families acted on their beliefs. Correlations between husbands' and wives' attitudinal and behavioural scores were positive and statistically significant; however, the modest coefficients indicated much room for disagreement between spouses regarding family management. The family characteristics which were the best predictors of positive financial management attitudes and effective behaviour included: number of years married; completion of a course in consumer education by a spouse; and occupational status of wives.     

Managerial Life Without a Wife: Family Structure and Managerial Career Success

The model of the successful manager was based on the 1950's family. Thus career demands assumed the presence of a spouse at home to handle family responsibilities. This study seeks to determine whether women and men in alternate family structures will be able to succeed in managerial careers. Data were analyzed from two MBA alumni cohorts: one older cohort with three waves of data collected over a thirteen-year period and a second younger cohort with data collected in the most recent wave. A typology of family structure was utilized to categorize the managers into one of twelve family structures based on marital status, parental status, and spousal employment status. The post-traditional family where both parents are employed was found to be most prevalent for both men and women. A small percent of the MBAs were in the traditional family where the father is employed and the mother is not employed. Family structure in early career appears to be stable over the thirteen-year study period. Analyses reveal that for men, those in traditional families are most rewarded in their careers in terms of income and salary progression. Women had no family structure that achieved career success comparable to traditional family men. Despite increased acknowledgement of the varied family structures of managers and the adoption of family friendly policies by companies, rewards are not distributed equally. This has implications for managers, organizations, and society.     

Husbands' and wives' household work: moving towards egalitarianism?

Whether husbands are increasing their time in household tasks, especially when their wives are employed, has been a topic of debate in recent years. Several studies have found that husbands are participating in more child care now than in the past. But are husbands also doing other tasks now? Is there any relationship between the amounts of time that husbands and wives allocate to various household tasks? Are there any weekday versus weekend differences? A small sample of husbands and wives recorded their time spent in various activities for 7 consecutive days. The findings reveal that wives spent more time in general doing household tasks than did their husbands. Employed wives and their husbands both decreased their total time in household work, compared with full-time homemakers and their husbands. At weekends, however, both employed wives and homemakers decreased their overall time in household work while the husbands increased theirs. The t-test revealed that at weekends there were no significant differences in the times allocated to various household tasks by employed wives and their husbands, and significant differences only in time spent in child care and food preparation/clean-up by homemakers and their spouses. There appears to be a more egalitarian approach by husbands and wives to household tasks at weekends than on weekdays, even when the wives are not employed. Although these findings should not be generalized to the population, they indicate an intriguing possible trend which deserves further investigation.     

Impact of family income in early life on the financial independence of young adults: Evidence from a matched panel data

This study investigates whether the family income level in early life influences the financial independence of young adults. Using a large nationally representative U.S. sample (constructed based on the data from the 1999 to 2015 Panel Study of Income Dynamics, its 2009 to 2015 Transition to Adulthood Supplement and its 1997 to 2007 Child Development Supplement), we find that the relationship between one's family income level during adolescence and the financial independence of young adults follows an inverted U‐shape. We find that the college graduation status plays an important role in determining the financial independence of young adults. Once young adults graduate from the college, their financial independence is no longer influenced by their family income level during adolescence. The results show similar patterns after controlling for cognitive and noncognitive abilities and financial behaviours of young adults when they were children or teenagers. The findings of this study have significant implications for policymakers and educators.     

Food Shopping Profiles of Career-oriented,Income-oriented,and At-home Wives

The purpose of this study was to develop comprehensive food shopping profiles of career-oriented, income-oriented, and at-home wives. Discriminant analysis revealed distinct profiles for the career-oriented and at-home wives. However, income-oriented wives were similar to career-oriented wives regarding some demographic characteristics, shopping patterns, and some shopping strategies, and similar to at-home wives for other shopping strategies. Income-oriented wives were more likely to have husbands who shared the food shopping role. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that measures of food shopping strategies be refined and that replication of the methodology be used with samples varying in family structure.     

The Structure of Subjective Well‐being: A Vector Autoregressive Approach

We use panel vector autoregressions to analyze the underlying structure of changes in subjective well‐being and its coevolution with changes in income, health, worries, marital status and employment status for the German Socio‐Economic Panel (SOEP) data set. We find that positive changes in the named life domains are followed by decreases in subjective well‐being (except for health, which is followed by well‐being increases). Positive changes in well‐being are followed by positive changes in most life domains. We also examine how the structure of subjective well‐being differs with respect to different Big Five personality traits.