| Summary: | The researcher 1) explored Thai employed wives' perceived fairness in the
division of household labor and child care, 2) investigated factors determining Thai's
working wives' perception of fairness in the division of household labor and child care,
and 3) developed a model of the determinants of wives' perceived fairness in the
division of household labor and child care. In the model above, relationships were
explored between perceived fairness and twenty independent variables. The data are
based on a survey administered to 600 employed wives from three different kinds of
workplaces in Bangkok, Thailand: Government sector (n=214), quasi-government
sector (n=191) and private sector (n=195). Employed wives were recruited by
purposive sampling from each workplace. In addition qualitative interviews were used
with a convenience sample of 30 employed wives selected by purposive sampling from
the large sample of 600. The interview data suggest explanations for wives' perceived
fairness in the division of household labor and child care. Stepwise multiple regression
was used to develop a model of the determinants predicting wives' perceived fairness in
the division of household labor and child care.
Findings are that perceived fairness was positively correlated with feeling
appreciated, marital happiness, within-gender comparisons, spending time together,
work hours/day, family harmony, and wife's ascription to traditional women's roles;
but was negatively correlated with wife's value of housework and men's incompetence
at housework. The results of the stepwise multiple regression on perceived fairness of
the division of household labor indicated that only 9 of 20 independent variables
(predictors) enter the regression model at the .05 level of significance or above,
accounting for 32% of the variability. The overall relationship of all predictors to
perceived fairness was fairly high. Feeling appreciated is the best predictor, followed by
marital happiness, within-gender comparison, wife's value of housework, spending time
together, work hours/day of wife, family harmony, wife's ascription of women's roles,
and men incompetence at housework.
The interview data also support the survey data in that outcome value influence
wives' perceived fairness. Wives value several outcomes in doing household work and
child care. Comparison referents and justifications are another mechanisms that
influence wives' perceived fairness. Most wives use several standards when they
evaluate fairness, and also use many reasons to justify lower participation of their
husbands. Even though gender ideology as measured, in the survey data, does not
contribute much to wives' perceived fairness, the interview data strongly suggest that
traditional values and culture in Thai society influence and guide wives' choices of
comparison referents and justifications to accept the unbalanced of division of labor as
fair for them.
Both data sets reinforce that wives' perceived fairness is a result of subjective
perception, influenced by emotional needs of wives. The study confirms that outcome
values, comparison referents and justifications, along with marital happiness and
spending time together with husbands all play important roles in explaining wives'
perceived fairness. Results are discussed in terms of the relationship between possible
determinants and wives' perceived fairness in the division of household labor and child
care. In additions, implications for future research, policy, and education/training are
discussed. === Graduation date: 2001
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