Gender Roles and Marriage: A Fact Sheet.

This fact sheet explores how gender roles and expectations impact couple interaction, family decision-making, and perspectives on marital satisfaction. Background information is provided on traditional gender roles and behaviors in the United States and attitudes of men and women toward gender roles. Trends revealing Americans are moving away from patriarchal marriages are discussed, as well as findings from studies that indicate more decision-making by women, the impact of gender role expectations on relationships, and differences in Hispanic and African American couples. Graphs compare husbands' and wives' mean scores on a scale of conservative gender attitudes in 1980 and 2000, and the percentage of housework performed by husbands in 1980 and 2000. 2 graphs and 13 references.