A comparative analysis of marital role expectations of paired husbands and wives seeking counseling and paired husbands and wives not seeking counseling
It was the purpose of this study to determine what differences, if any, existed between the husbands and wives seeking counseling and the husbands and wives not seeking counseling in eight specific role expectation categories. The role expectation categories examined were total role, authority role, homemaking role, care of children role, personal characteristics role, social participation role, educational role, and employment and support role. It was hypothesized that two groups composed of husbands and wives seeking counseling and husbands and wives not seeking counseling would differ in their specific role expectations. It was also hypothesized that the two groups would not differ in the number of couples which expressed equalitarian expectations and traditional expectations. Equalitarian expectations were defined as a sharing of roles disregarding sex. Traditional expectations were defined as a distinct dichotomy of role prescriptions played within the marriage and family based on sex as advocated by society. Finally, it was hypothesized that the group of husbands and wives not seeking counseling would have a significantly greater and positive correlation in their responses to items on a marriage role expectation inventory than those husbands and wives seeking counseling
