scholarly journals Gender Role Attitudes Cannot Explain How British Couples Responded to Increased Housework Demands during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312110643
Author(s):  
Ansgar Hudde ◽  
Karsten Hank ◽  
Marita Jacob
Keyword(s):  
Gender Role ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Gender Role Attitudes ◽  
Gender Ideologies ◽  
Exogenous Shock ◽  
Critical Life Events ◽  
Division Of Housework ◽  
Fixed Effects Regression ◽  
The Uk

Previous research has shown that gender role attitudes can predict changes in couples’ housework division over critical life events, but these studies might have suffered from endogeneity because such life events are anticipated and may be affected by gender role attitudes. In contrast, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic was a truly exogenous shock that hit couples unexpectedly. Estimating fixed-effects regression models, the authors examine the role of gender ideologies in how couples adjusted their division of housework during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compared with a prepandemic baseline observation. The data cover 3,219 couples from the UK Household Longitudinal Study. Both partners spent substantially more time on housework throughout the COVID-19 crisis than before, especially in the early stages. However, we found no evidence that individuals’ or couples’ precrisis gender role attitudes affected changes in men’s and women’s absolute or relative contributions to housework at any time during the lockdown.

scholarly journals Gender role attitudes cannot explain how British couples responded to increased housework demands during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ansgar Hudde ◽  
Karsten Hank ◽  
Marita Jacob
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Gender Role ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Gender Role Attitudes ◽  
Gender Ideologies ◽  
Exogenous Shock ◽  
Critical Life Events ◽  
Division Of Housework ◽  
The Uk

Previous research has shown that gender role attitudes can predict changes in couples’ housework division over critical life events, but these studies might have suffered from endogeneity because the occurrence of such life events is anticipated and may be affected by gender role attitudes. In contrast, the COVID-19 pandemic was a truly exogenous shock that hit couples unexpectedly. This study examines the role of gender ideologies in how couples adjusted their division of housework during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compared to a pre-pandemic baseline observation. The data cover 3,219 couples from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, with a baseline wave and four COVID-19 panel waves between April and September 2020. We found no evidence that individuals’ or couples’ pre-crisis gender role attitudes affected changes in men's and women's absolute or relative contributions to housework at any time during the lockdown. However, both partners spent substantially more time on housework throughout the COVID-19 crisis than before, especially in the early stages, and in relative terms, the pandemic seems to have contributed to at least a temporary, modest increase in gender equality in housework. We discuss our results against the background of previous research whose results may have suffered from endogeneity problems and argue that the COVID-19 ‘shock’ was likely perceived as a merely temporary disruption of couples' established housework arrangements.

scholarly journals Psychological distress associated with the second COVID-19 wave: Prospective evidence from the UK Household Longitudinal Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Daly ◽  
Eric Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
General Health Questionnaire ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Clinically Significant ◽  
Fixed Effects Regression ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Second Wave ◽  
Pandemic Wave

BackgroundIn late 2020 a second wave of COVID-19 infections occurred in many countries and resulted in a national lockdown in the UK including stay at home orders and school closures. This study aimed to compare the prevalence of psychological distress before and during the second COVID-19 wave in the UK. MethodsThis study drew on data from 10,657 participants from the nationally representative probability-based UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). The 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) assessment measure was used to detect the proportion of UK adults experiencing clinically significant psychological distress. Changes in distress levels associated with the second pandemic wave were examined between September 2020 and January 2021 using logistic regression and linear fixed-effects regression models. ResultsLongitudinal analyses showed that the prevalence of clinically significant distress rose by 5.8% (95% CI:4.4-7.2) from 21.3% in September 2020 to 27.1% in January 2021, compared with a 2019 pre-pandemic estimate of 21% in this cohort. Fixed effects analyses confirmed that the second COVID-19 wave was associated with a significant within-person increase in distress (d =0.15, p<.001). Increases were particularly pronounced among those with school-age children in the home. LimitationsA non-specific measure of mental health symptoms was utilized and it was not possible to separate the potential impact of the pandemic from other changes occurring in tandem within the study period. ConclusionClinically significant distress rose during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and reached levels similar to those observed in the immediate aftermath of the first pandemic wave.

scholarly journals (When) Do Critical Life Events Push People to the Populist Radical Right? Support for the Swiss People’s Party Following Relationship Dissolution, Unemployment or a Health Crisis

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 515-533
Author(s):  
Marieke Voorpostel ◽  
Ursina Kuhn ◽  
Gian-Andrea Monsch
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Relationship Dissolution ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Income Levels ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Critical Life Events ◽  
The Government

AbstractUsing the Swiss Household Panel, we examine whether experiencing relationship dissolution, unemployment, or a health crisis increases support for the Swiss People’s Party (SVP). Fixed effects models shows this to be the case. Changes in financial resources, attitudes or trust in the government cannot explain this effect. Finally, we test whether increased support for the SVP following these events is more likely among individuals with lower trust and income levels and with views similar of those of the SVP. We find that individuals with traditional gender values are more likely to support the SVP after separation.

scholarly journals Do people reduce compliance with COVID-19 guidelines following vaccination? A longitudinal analysis of matched UK adults

2021 ◽  
pp. jech-2021-217179
Author(s):  
Liam Wright ◽  
Andrew Steptoe ◽  
Hei Wan Mak ◽  
Daisy Fancourt
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Longitudinal Analysis ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Social Study ◽  
Vaccination Status ◽  
Perceived Risks ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Fixed Effects Regression ◽  
The Uk

IntroductionCOVID-19 vaccines do not confer immediate immunity and vaccinated individuals may still be at risk of transmitting the virus. Governments have not exempted vaccinated individuals from behavioural measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19, such as practising social distancing. However, vaccinated individuals may have reduced compliance with these measures, given lower perceived risks.MethodsWe used monthly panel data from October 2020 to March 2021 in the UK COVID-19 Social Study to assess changes in compliance following vaccination. Compliance was measured with two items on compliance with guidelines in general and compliance with social distancing. We used matching to create comparable groups of individuals by month of vaccination (January, February or not vaccinated by February) and fixed effects regression to estimate changes in compliance over the study period.ResultsCompliance increased between October 2020 and March 2021, regardless of vaccination status or month of vaccination. There was no clear evidence that vaccinated individuals decreased compliance relative to those who were not yet vaccinated.ConclusionThere was little evidence that sample members vaccinated in January or February reduced compliance after receiving vaccination for COVID-19. Continued monitoring is required as younger individuals receive the vaccine, lockdown restrictions are lifted and individuals receive second doses of the vaccine.

scholarly journals New spouse, same chores? The division of household labor in consecutive unions

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-191
Author(s):  
Miriam Beblo ◽  
Anne Solaz
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Domestic Investment ◽  
Domestic Sphere ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Division Of Household Labor ◽  
Childcare Time ◽  
Division Of Housework ◽  
Sources Of Variation ◽  
Fixed Effects Regression ◽  
Investment Patterns

Abstract This article investigates domestic sphere investments, that is, housework and childcare time, of spouses in two consecutive relationships and aims to identify potential sources of variation. Economic reasoning would predict a learning effect from one partnership to the next, and hence less specialization in the domestic sphere in the second relationship. Prevailing gender norms or institutions, on the contrary, may prevent such adjustments in the division of housework. In a fixed-effects regression analysis with the German Socio-Economic Panel, we compare time allocations of couples whose members experienced two consecutive partnerships from 1991 to 2012. Our results indicate that women’s and men’s successive matches differ from each other. Women and their new partners tend to reallocate time from housework to childcare while men’s individual domestic investment patterns remain similar across unions. Highly educated women conform most to the economic rationale by reducing their marital investments significantly in their next partnership.

The Effect of Regional Gender-Role Attitudes on Female Labour Supply: A Longitudinal Test Using the BHPS, 1991–2007

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 669-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilfred Uunk ◽  
Philipp M Lersch
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Gender Role ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Labour Supply ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
Gender Role Attitudes ◽  
Gender Role Attitude ◽  
Female Labour Supply ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Female Labour

Abstract Despite considerable variation in gender-role attitudes across contexts and its claimed influence on female labour supply, studies provide little support for a contextual gender-role attitude effect. In this study, we reassess the contextual gender-role attitude effect on female labour supply because earlier studies are hampered by two shortcomings: (a) they are cross-nationally comparative, which makes it difficult to distinguish contextual attitude from institutional effects; (b) they are cross-sectional, which may bias the contextual attitude effect. We aim to overcome these shortcomings by performing longitudinal panel analyses on data from the British Household Panel Survey 1991–2007, comparing 138 counties within the United Kingdom. Our fixed-effects regressions report no significant and substantial association of regional, egalitarian gender-role attitudes with individual women’s labour supply, a finding which both holds for women’s probability to be active in the labour market and employed women’s working hours, and for women with and without (young) children. Female labour supply appears to be much stronger associated with women’s own and partners’ gender-role attitudes, in particular for women with (young) children.

scholarly journals Did the UK COVID-19 Lockdown Modify the Influence of Neighbourhood Disorder on Psychological Distress? Evidence From a Prospective Cohort Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celine Teo ◽  
Chungah Kim ◽  
Andrew Nielsen ◽  
Thomas Young ◽  
Patricia O'Campo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Property Crime ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Social Stressors ◽  
Limited Mobility ◽  
Fixed Effects Regression ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Neighbourhood Disorder

Background: National lockdown in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic severely restricted the mobility of residents and increased time spent in their residential neighbourhoods. This is a unique opportunity to understand how an exogenous factor that reduces mobility may influence the association between neighbourhood social environment and mental health. This study investigates whether the COVID-19 lockdown may modify the effect of neighbourhood disorder on psychological distress.Methods: We tracked changes in psychological distress, using the UK household longitudinal survey across the pre-COVID and lockdown periods in 16,535 adults. Neighbourhood disorder was measured along two subscales: social stressors and property crime. Fixed-effects regression was used to evaluate whether the widespread reduction in mobility modifies the association between the subscales of neighbourhood disorder and psychological distress.Results: The effect of neighbourhood social stressors on psychological distress was stronger in the lockdown period compared to the pre-COVID period. Compared to the pre-COVID period, the effect of being in neighbourhoods with the highest social stressors (compared to the lowest) on psychological distress increased by 20% during the lockdown. Meanwhile, the effect of neighbourhood property crime on mental health did not change during the lockdown.Conclusion: The sudden loss of mobility as a result of COVID-19 lockdown is a unique opportunity to address the endogeneity problem as it relates to mobility and locational preferences in the study of neighbourhood effects on health. Vulnerable groups who have limited mobility are likely more sensitive to neighbourhood social stressors compared to the general population.

scholarly journals The Association between Norms and ActionsThe Case of Men’s Participation in Housework

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Grunow ◽  
Nina Baur
Keyword(s):  
Gender Role ◽  
Gender Norms ◽  
Gender Role Attitudes ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Gender Ideologies ◽  
Gender Role Beliefs ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Vacuum Cleaning ◽  
Men’S Involvement

Gender and family researchers are often puzzled by the differences between gender norms and actual behaviour. For example, many previous studies have shown that since the 1970s, attitudes have changed toward more modern gender role beliefs. However, this is generally not reflected in behaviour, this being especially true for men’s involvement in housework and care work. In this paper, we analyse to what extent gender norms correspond with men’s participation in housework. We examine in particular cooking, vacuum-cleaning and doing the laundry, because these activities reflect pronounced variation in norms and actions with regard to modern and traditional gender role attitudes. Going beyond previous research, which assesses the general influence of norms on practices, we investigate the relative impact of different types of gender ideologies, namely the strength with which respondents endorse (1) the male provider and female homemaker model, (2) women’s employment, (3) employment as men’s primary role, and (4) men’s participation in unpaid work. Our empirical findings indicate that positive attitudes towards male contributions to housework are a key predictor of men’s housework.

Gender role attitudes and the division of housework in young married couples in northern Vietnam

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Thanh Thi Vu
Keyword(s):  
Gender Role ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Gender Ideology ◽  
Married Couples ◽  
Gender Role Attitudes ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Northern Vietnam ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Division Of Housework

This article investigates the gender role attitudes and domestic division of labour of young couples in northern Vietnam. Based on separate interviews with 30 couples living in rural and urban areas, it explores young people's thoughts about the roles of a wife and a husband and how these translate into their allocation of housework. Analysis of the interviews indicates that the perceptions and expectations of young people remain influenced by traditional gender ideology, in that wives are still considered mainly responsible for housework. However, in practice, gender roles are highly flexible and demonstrate significant mutual support. In addition, the similarities or differences between spouses in terms of gender role attitudes contribute to levels of relative satisfaction regarding the current division of labour in households.

scholarly journals US Parents’ Domestic Labor Over the Course of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel L. Carlson ◽  
Richard Petts
Keyword(s):  
Labor Force ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Domestic Labor ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Paid Work ◽  
Gender Ideologies ◽  
Long Term Consequences ◽  
Fixed Effects Regression ◽  
Full Time Employment

•Objective: This study assesses changes in parents’ divisions of housework and childcare over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. •Background: Assessing the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for gender equality requires understanding how and why labor arrangements shifted as the pandemic progressed. Yet, we know little about US parents’ domestic arrangements beyond the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic or how simultaneous changes in men’s and women’s employment, earnings, telework, gender ideologies, and access to care supports may have altered domestic labor arrangements.•Method: This study assesses change in parents’ domestic labor using fixed-effects regression on data from a longitudinal panel of 700 different-sex partnered US parents collected at three time points: March 2020, April 2020, and November 2020.•Results: Partnered parents’ divisions of housework and childcare became more equal in the early days of the pandemic, but reverted toward pre-pandemic levels by the fall of 2020. Changes in parents’ divisions of domestic labor were largely driven by changes in parents’ labor force conditions, and especially by fathers’ labor force conditions. Decreases in fathers’ labor force participation and increases in telecommuting in April portended increases in partnered fathers’ shares of domestic tasks. As fathers increased time in paid work and returned to in-person work by fall, their shares of domestic labor fell.•Conclusion: Overall, results suggest that promoting full-time employment among mothers and greater time at home for fathers are key in facilitating a more equal division of domestic labor within families post-pandemic.

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