Disagreements Over Household Chores and Men’s and Women’s Intention to Break Up

Liat Raz-Yurovich , The Hebrew University

This study investigates how disagreements over household chores and satisfaction with the division of domestic labor are associated with the intention to break up among heterosexual couples across seven European countries. Drawing on data from 13,164 individuals aged 25–65 from the Generations and Gender Programme (GGP-II), we examine whether frequent or very frequent disagreements about household tasks increase the likelihood of wanting to end the relationship and whether this association is moderated by satisfaction with the division of housework. Our findings demonstrate that household chores are the primary source of conflict between partners. Logistic regression models, estimated separately for women and men, show that conflicts related to division of housework and satisfaction with it are related but distinct dimensions. Frequent disagreements over chores are positively associated with the intention to separate, while higher satisfaction with their division is negatively associated with such intentions. Among women, satisfaction buffers the negative effect of disagreements, but this buffering is weaker among those experiencing frequent conflict. Among men, a similar pattern emerges, although the interaction between disagreement and satisfaction is not statistically significant. These findings highlight the gendered nature of domestic labor conflict and suggest that while equitable and satisfactory chore arrangements may enhance relationship stability, their impact differs by gender and the degree of conflict experienced. These results are discussed in light of a puzzle in previous research: despite persistent gender inequality in unpaid work, most men and women across developed countries perceive its division as fair.

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 Presented in Session 71. Domestic Labour and Partnership Satisfaction