AbstractIn family research, there have not yet been many attempts to grasp theoretically and empirically solidarity in couple relationships, a gap that this study addresses combining qualitative and quantitative strategies. One purpose of this article is to develop a theoretical framework to understand solidarity as an overarching structural element of cooperation in couples. We then propose, in the best possible way, a measurement of solidarity to be used in quantitative analysis. To this end, data from the German Family Panel (pairfam, waves 2008–2017) are used in a longitudinal design. We offer an empirical test of our measurement by employing autoregressive cross-lagged analyses with random intercepts (n = 2,588 couples) and establish the cause-and-effect relationship between solidarity and one important dimension of relationship quality, i. e. relationship satisfaction. The results of this analysis lend support to our assumption that couples cooperate on a basic rule of solidarity, having a unidirectional influence on relationship quality.

Objective: This study investigates the extent to which employed mothers and fathers scale back on working hours or job pressures in response to work-to-family conflicts (WFC). Background: Drawing on the concept of adaptive family strategies, it is assumed that WFC is an antecedent to a reduction in work demands. Considering partners’ gender ideology net of other resources and characteristics, we can expect to see gender differences in the adoption of this strategy. Relatively little research has been conducted on associations among WFC, gender ideology, gender, and work-related coping strategies. Method: We use six waves of the German Family Panel (pairfam, release 11.0), covering the survey years 2012-2019, to examine the effect of WFC and gender ideology on employed mothers’ and fathers’ work-related coping strategies (N=791 mothers and N=1292 fathers). OLS regression is used to estimate the effect of WFC at  and gender ideology  on changes in job pressure and working hours between  and . Results: Parents who experience WFC are more likely to reduce their job pressure and less likely to scale back on working hours. Gender differences in the reaction between mothers and fathers on WFC only occur in connection with traditional gender ideology. Conclusion: Scaling back seems not to be a commonly used strategy to react to WFC.

Objective: The study investigates how partner support affects different types of work-to-family and family-to-work conflicts in dual-earner couples divided by gender and parenthood. Background: In Germany, as in other Western Countries, interrole conflicts between work and family increase, especially within dual-earner couples. Only few studies focused on the effects of partner support on different types of these conflicts. Method: We use longitudinal data deriving from waves 6 to 10 of the German Family Panel (pairfam) to uncover the extent to which the perception of having a supportive partner reduces time- and strain-based work-to-family and family-to-work conflicts. We conduct longitudinal structural equation models based on information of 1,252 persons, which are full-time employed and live in a dual-earner relationship. Results: Whereas for men partner support helps reduce stress-based work-to-family conflicts, for women perceived partner support is not beneficial. Within a subsample of parents, the experience of work-to-family conflicts is likely irrespective of partner support. Overall, women’s family-to-work conflicts appear to be reduced by their partners’ support whereas for men this detrimental effect only applies in the case of stress-based family-to-work conflicts. Conclusion: To sum up the findings, the differences for men and women in the effect of partner support on different types of interrole conflicts indicate a still existing impact of traditional gender norms that connect femininity to house work and masculinity to employed work.

No abstract

The central theoretical assumption is that work-to-family conflicts are having a direct impact on parental self-efficacy, and thus, play an important role within the parent-child relationship. This study examines relationships between work-family conflicts and parental self-efficacy, taking into account two potential moderators: gender and cultural differences between East and West Germany. We analyze data on 1746 employed mothers and fathers from three waves of the Pairfam study (2013, 2015, 2017), using cross-lagged panel models. The findings suggest that gender and cultural background moderate the relationship between work-family conflicts and parental self-efficacy, provided that the risk of reverse causality bias is not ignored. The findings show that work-to-family conflicts are associated with lower levels of parental self-efficacy for women, especially in West Germany. Future research can serve to illustrate how relationships between work-to-family conflicts and parental self-efficacy affect children’s well-being and parent-child relationships.