The Things I Do for You… and for Myself: Dyadic and Dynamic Effects of Social Support in Dual-Earner Couples

Historically, men were expected to be the financial providers, whereas women—in their role as homemakers—were seen more as dependents. However, with the rise of dual-earner families, this economic asymmetry has long been overturned in much of the world. Nevertheless, integrating social role theory with social support resource theory, we argue that a similar asymmetry exists in the realm of social support in response to heavy demands at work faced by dual-earner couples. We used a daily diary design to address the everyday challenges faced by members of dual-earner couples in providing support to one another. We found that both husbands and wives provide less spousal support on days characterized by work-to-family conflict. When a spouse feels emotionally exhausted due to work, wives are more likely than husbands to increase support. Although both partners benefit from providing and receiving support, men benefit most when they are the provider and women benefit most when they are the receiver, consistent with traditional gender norms. Our work-family study identifies a novel gender dynamic in social support and extends social role theory in a new direction.