Chapter 9Work, Marriage, and Family

Chapter Sections

• 9-1 Effects of Employment on Spouses• 9-2 Effects of Employment on Children• 9-3 Balancing Work and Family• 9-4 Debt

Effects of Employment on Spouses

• How does employment affect marriage relationships?– The more money a partner makes, the more

power that person has in the relationship.– Wives typically make the decisions in more areas

of the relationship.– In ¼ of marriages, wives earn higher incomes than

husbands.

Effects of Employment

• Dual-earner marriage: both husband and wife work outside the home to provide economic support for the family– Over 2/3 of marriages involve 2 earners.

• Can you put a price on the amount of work a stay home partner provides?– A stay-at-home parent provides an estimated $50,000

in services.– What kind of problems are created by not estimating

such costs?

Effects of Employment

• Mommy track: stopping paid employment to spend time with young children

• Opting out: professional women leaving their careers and returning home to care for their children

• Careers may suffer from opting out.• Homemakers tend to be happier than full-time

working wives, but why?

Effects of Employment

• Dual-career marriage: a marriage in which both spouses pursue careers and maintain a life together that may or may not include dependents

Effects on Children

High quality day-care:• Produces less stress for children• Results in less depression for mothers• Is cost effective• Is safe

Balancing

Women deal with 3 shifts:• First shift: work• Second shift: house care

and child care• Third shift: expenditure of

emotional energy by a spouse or parent in dealing with various issues in family living

Debt

• The recession beginning in mid-2008 has resulted in job lay-offs, housing foreclosures, and fear about the financial future.

• Poverty has increased.• Cost of health care is a major cause of poverty.

Debt

• Poverty: the lack of resources necessary for material well-being

• Absolute poverty: the lack of resources that leads to hunger and physical deprivation.

• Relative poverty: a deficiency in material and economic resources compared with some other population

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Debt

Debt

Poverty is associated with:• Poorer physical and mental health• Lower personal and marital satisfaction• Lower life expectancy• Substance abuse, domestic violence, divorce• Questionable parenting practices• Teen pregnancy

Debt

• One way to keep from slipping deeper into debt or poverty is to use credit wisely.

• Credit can be very expensive.

Debt

• Money issues can have serious effects on the couple relationship and family.

• Discuss debt and money issues often.