Gender, Time Use and Health - Bird y Fremont (1991)

Gender, Time Use, and Health
Author(s): Chloe E. Bird and Allen M. Fremont

Source: Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Jun., 1991), pp. 114-129
Published by: American Sociological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2137147 .
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Gender,TimeUse, and Health*

CHLOE E. BIRD
ALLEN M. FREMONT
University
ofIllinois
Journal
of Healthand Social Behavior1991, Vol. 32 (June):114-129
One of the continuing

paradoxesfacing social epidemiologists
concernssex
in morbidity
differences
and mortality.
womenlivelongerthanmen,they
Although
apparently
get sick more. We hypothesize
thatwomen'shighermorbidity
levels
resultfromless paid workand lowerwages combinedwithmorehoursspentin
householdlabor, childcare, and helpingothers,and fewerhoursof leisureand
sleep. Men and womenhold different
social roles; menhold mostof thehighly
rewardingroles. We operationalizesocial roles as timecommitments
to various
role-related
activities.Thisapproachprovidesinterval-level
measuressuchas time
spent in caringfor childreninstead of simple dichotomiessuch as parent!
nonparent.Wefindthatwhengenderdifferences
in social roles are controlled,
beingmale is associatedwithpoorerhealththanbeingfemale.Weconcludethatif
genderroles weremoreequal, womenwouldexperiencebetterhealththanmen,
moreconsistent
withtheirgreaterlongevity.
Althoughmuchtimeandenergyhavebeen
devoted to measuringsex differencesin
morbidity
andmortality,
farless
untilrecently
efforthas been applied to explainingwhy
thesedifferences
exist.Healthstatistics
show
thatwomenhave moreillnessand disabilities
thanmen,includingacuteconditions
suchas
respiratory
infections
and chronicconditions
such as arthritis
(NationalCenterforHealth
menhavehigher
Statistics1983). In contrast,
* We are indebtedto John Mirowskyand
CatherineRoss for theiradvice and encouragement. We thank Lowell Hargens, Beth Anne
Shelton,and Gray Swicegood for assistancein
variousphasesof thework.We wouldalso liketo
thank Alan Peshkin, Barbara Reskin, Gillian
Stevens, and anonymousreviewersfor helpful
comments
on earlierdrafts.
to Chloe E. Bird,
Direct all correspondence
of Sociology,University
of Illinois,
Department
326 LincolnHall, 702 S. WrightSt., Urbana,IL
61801. The dataused in thisarticlewerecollected
by ThomasJusteret al. (1983), and were made
available by the Inter-University
Consortiumfor
Politicaland Social Research.
An earlierversionof thispaperwas presented
at
the 1989 annual meetings of the American
SociologicalAssociation.The authorsare listedin
alphabeticalorder.
ratesof life-threatening
diseasessuchas heart
disease,whichcause morepermanent
disability and earlier death (Verbrugge 1985;
Wingard 1982). These differencespersist
even after illness related to reproductive
physiologyis excluded;moreover,theyare
notexplainedby differences
in tendenciesto
visitphysiciansor by reporting
bias (Cleary,
Mechanic, and Greenly1982; Gove 1984;
Verbrugge1985).
Sex differences
in morbidity
are consistent
with a stress-illness
model. Women have
higherratesof psychological
distressincluding anxiety,depression,worry,and demoralization(Gove and Tudor 1973; Kesslerand
McRae 1981; Mirowskyand Ross 1989).
Social scientistsfind consistently
that sex
differencesin psychologicaldistress are
caused by role stress,role conflict,and the
degreeof commitment
to genderroles(Gove
1984). For example,womentypicallybear
majorresponsibility
forhouseworkand child
care even when theyare employed(Ross,
Mirowsky,and Huber 1983). Though the
biochemicalmechanisms
are notwell understood,a largebodyof evidencesuggeststhat
distressanddepression
psychological
can lead
to physicalillness.For instance,researchhas
shownthatpsychological
distressand depres-
114

115
GENDER, TIME USE, AND HEALTH
Model of Gender,
sion suppresstheimmunesystem,makingan FIGURE 1. Hypothesized
Time Use in VariousActivities,
individualmoresusceptibleto disease (JemWages,and Health
mottand Locke 1984; Lazarus and Folkman
Wages
1984; Solomon1985).
dison
theliterature psychological
Although
Paid Work
+
about
theories
tresshasdevelopedmorerefined
Housework
thecausal impactof social rolesthanhas the
meacrudeandindirect
literature,
health
physical
ChildCare
_
///
suresof social roleshamperresearchin both Male
Health
areas.Forexample,theroleofparenttypically
HelpingOthers
an
status(i.e., whether
is measuredas parental
ActiveLeisure
of
measures
Similarly,
haschildren).
individual
Passive Leisure +
arebasedon questionssuch
childcaretypically
as "Who does mostof thechildcare,you or
Sleep
yourspouse?" Althoughsuch questionsmay
responthe
whether
yieldreliablemeasuresof
dentis a parent,or whichspouseis primarily being?Gove and Hughes(1979) arguedthat
andempiricalgroundsfor
givelittleinfor- therearetheoretical
forchildcare,they,
responsible
is actually assumingthatcertainsocial roles are related
mationon howmuchtimeandeffort
In addition, to poormentalhealth,whichin turnis linked
spentintakingcareofthechildren.
typeof
acrossindividuals to mildphysicalillness-the primary
suchdataarenotcomparable
experiencedby women. The auindividualsor couplesmay morbidity
because different
amountsof timeto childcare thorsreasoned that women typicallyhave
devotedifferent
dependingin parton theage more role obligationswhich require conand housework,
stantlycaringforothers,such as childrenor
and numberof children.
roleobligationscan
We employ time-use measures as an spouses.These nurturant
with women's abilityto care for
of social roles. interfere
operationalization
alternative
For example,theextentto whichan individ- themselvesproperlyand can affecttheir
ual fulfills the role of "housewife" is healthnegatively.When theycontrolledfor
role activitiesas well as formarital
operationalizedas the amountof time that nurturant
and psychiatric
arrangements,
living
status,
in
activities
week
each
individualspends
related to the role (e.g., cleaning, doing symptoms,Gove and Hughes found that
betweenmen and women
laundry,cooking). In contrastto data typi- healthdifferences
cally used, data fromtime-usestudiesoffer disappeared.In a relatedstudy,Kesslerand
more precise measures and thus provide McLeod (1984) foundthatwomen'stendency
involvedin thelives
on how roles influence to be moreemotionally
clearerinformation
of social of those around them made them more
healthand allow greatercomparison
thanmento negativelifeeventsin
vulnerable
rolesacrossindividuals.have
is thattimespentin theirsocial network;otherresearchers
Our generalhypothesis
social rolesexplainstheeffectsof genderon linkednegativelifeeventsto physicalillness
health(see Figure1). We expectthatwomen (Holmesand Rahe 1967).
(1989) analyzedsex differences
Verbrugge
spend moretimein housework,child care,
controllingfor an unusually
and helpingothers,and less time in paid in morbidity,
work,leisure,and sleep. In turn,we expect wide varietyof variablesin additionto social
and
thatspendingmoretimein housework,child roles.She foundthatstress,unhappiness,
associated
were
of
in
levels
employment
time
low
less
and
others,
and
helping
care,
in
sleep, worsens health, whereas spending withpoorerhealth,whereasparticipation
roleswas
and personallyfulfilling
moretimein paid workand leisureimproves productive
for
or maintainshealth.In addition,we expect associatedwithbetterhealth.Controlling
thatmenwill have higherwagesthanwomen these and other social factorscaused sex
in healthto narrowand oftento
and thathigherwages will be associatedwith differences
on
In fact,sex differences
vanishstatistically.
betterhealth.
a numberof healthmeasures(six out of 67)
Verwere reversed,albeit nonsignificantly.
PREVIOUS RESEARCH
bruggeconcludedthatthesereversalsindicate
formen.
healthdisadvantage
How do social roles affectphysicalwell- an underlying
+

116
JOURNALOF HEALTH AND SOCIAL BEHAVIOR
researchon sex differences and containsdetailed information

Moregenerally,
on how
spenttheirtimein thehomeand
in physicalhealthhas focusedon theimpact respondents
employ- theworkplace,demographic
ofthreemajorsocialroles:marriage,
information,
and
reportsof theirhealth.
ment, and parenthood.Most researchhas respondents'
The 1981 studyis a follow-upof a 1976
foundthat marriedmen and women have
lower morbidityand mortalityrates than study. In the original study, data were
sample
unmarriedpersons, though men tend to collectedfroma nationalprobability
benefitmore from marriagethan women of adults living in the contiguousUnited
(Sorensenand Verbrugge1987; Verbrugge States(N= 1,519). Bothstudiesused a panel
and Madans 1985). Some research,however, designwithfourwaves of data, collectedin
has foundthatdivorcedwomenare healthier 1976 and again in 1981. The 1981 sample
who were at least
than unhappilymarriedwomen (Wingard includesonlyrespondents
tendsto 18 yearsold at thetimeof theoriginalstudy.
1982). Like marriage,employment
forbothmenandwomen In addition,only those respondentsfrom
yieldhealthbenefits
(Verbrugge1985). Researchon theimpactof whomat least threewaves of data had been
on physicalhealthhas produced collectedin 1976 wereeligibleforinclusion
parenthood
(Wingard1982), though inthe1981follow-up.
Fromthisgroupof920
inconsistent
findings
620 personswerecontactedand
in a reviewMcLanahanand Adams (1987) respondents,
concludethatchildrenhave a smallnegative interviewed.
Attritionbetween the original and the
well-being.
impacton psychological
Researchbasedon time-usedatashowsthat follow-upstudyresultedin some disproporof household tionateloss of low-incomeand less-educated
womenstilldo thevastmajority
Even so, comparisonsbetween
tasks and child care, regardlessof their respondents.
status(Shel- theoriginalandthe1981sampleon important
educationallevelor employment
ton 1989; Sheltonand Coverman1988). Hill demographic
characteristics
(e.g., meaneduand Stafford(1980) found that college- cationallevel) revealedno large deviations
educatedmotherswho workedmorethan20 (Sheltonand Firestone1988). Althoughthe
hoursa week spentless timein child-related 1981datamayhavelostsomegeneralizability
activities;the reductionswere surprisinglyin comparisonto the 1976 data, thisloss is
small, however. Furtheranalysis by the offsetby a large and highly significant
in thequalityof the 1981 data.
authorsrevealed that a workingmother's improvement
and Stafford
(1985) reportthatchanges
abilityto workand to sustaintimespentin Juster
child care was "financed"by reductionsin in data collectiontechniquesimprovedthe
sleep)andin qualityof the 1981 data 20 percentoverthat
herpersonalcaretime(including
passive leisure,such as watchingtelevision. of the 1976 data.'
withBerkand
is consistent
As mentioned
above,datawerecollectedin
This observation
thatwomentakingcare fourwavesinthe1981study.Each ofthefour
Berk's(1979) finding
was conductedduringa
have significantly
fewer"pleasant waves of interviews
of children
were
minutes" than either their husbands or different
season; two of the interviews
marriedwomen withoutchildren.Although conductedon weekdays,the othertwo on
Hill and Stafforddid not examine the weekends.This approachgreatlyincreased
databydecreasing
relationshipbetween time use and health thevalidityofthetime-use
outcomes, they speculated that working the possibilitythat the data reflectedan
mothers' reallocationsof their time are atypicalday. Althoughtheuse of fourwaves
Justerand Stafford(1985)
achievedat the expenseof theirhealthand caused attrition,
who remainedin the
foundthatrespondents
well-being.
panel for all fourwaves producedhigherquality diaries on the initial wave than
who appeared in Wave 1 but
respondents
METHOD
subsequently
droppedout. In addition,the
qualityof diariesforlaterwaves was higher
Data
than for earlier waves when the authors
forattrition.
We use data fromthe 1981 Studyof Time standardized
Timeuse was assessedbytimediaries.ReUse, collected by the Institutefor Social
Research(Justeret al. 1983). The time-use spondentswereasked to recountin as much
datasetconsistsofdatafrom620 respondents detail as possible how theyhad spenttheir

117
timeduringtheprevious24-hourperiod.They more,usingsuchspecificindicesto examine

in morbidity
wereaskedwheretheywere,whomtheywere causes of overallsex differences
they may be confoundedby differences
between
with,whattheyweredoing,andwhether
processesin men and in
were doing morethanone thingat a time. pathophysiological
Robinson(1985) concludesthat24-hourrecall women(Waldron1983).5
meth- Althoughthereare disadvantagesinherent
diarieswereas reliableas otherdiary-type
of health, they are
ods such as electronic"beeper" studies,and in using self-reports
general probablyno greater
thanthoseassociatedwith
wereclearlysuperiorto respondents'
ofhowmuchtimetheyspentin var- using"objective"measuresof healthsuchas
estimates
discussionof the physicians'assessments.Indeed,forgeneral
ious activities.(For further
oftimediariessee Juster measuresof health,self ratingsmay be as
validity
andreliability
1985,pp. 63-88 andRobinson1985,pp. 33- valid as ratingsby physicians.The assumption thatphysician-based
measuresare the
59.)
shouldbe
Juster
et al. (1983) combinedand weighted standardagainstwhichself-reports
time-usedatacollectedduringthefourwaves evaluatedis notwell supported.Not onlydo
-in theirspecito computea weeklyaverage or synthetic clinicalmeasuresvarywidely
sensitivity,
and abilityto predictfuture
week offersa strong ficity,
week.2 The synthetic
measureof how timeis actuallyused over a healthstatus,but researchhas demonstrated
whole week ratherthan on a given day manybiases in theway in whichphysicians
ages,
(Robinson1980). We use only respondents assess and treatpatientsof different
week could be con- sexes, incomes, physicalappearances,and
for whom a synthetic
structed(i.e., theycompletedat least three ethnicbackgrounds(Eisenberg1979, 1986;
and forwhomthereare Kaplan and Camacho 1983). Moreover,
waves of interviews)
healthis a
The researchhas shownthatself-rated
no missingdata on variablesof interest.
1981 data are limitedto Whitesonlybecause strongerpredictorof mortalitythan are
of thesmallnumberof Blacks who remained physicians'assessments;only age predicts
morestrongly
(Mossey and Shapiro
in the study.Our finalsample size is 469, morality
with186 menand 283 women(see appendix 1982). Self-ratedhealth is a significant
evenwhenhealthstatus
of mortality
for a table comparingcharacteristicsof predictor
used withthose of respondents measuresare controlled.For instance,Idler,
respondents
Kasl, and Lemke (1990) found that poor
excludedfromtheanalysis).3
self-ratedhealthwas a strongpredictorof
mortalityover a four-yearperiod despite
extensivecontrolsforbaselinehealthstatus.
Measures
is made, we
unless a distinction
(Hereafter,
Dependentvariable. The dependentvari- use the terms "self-rated health" and
healthas assessedbytheques- "health"interchangeably.)
ableis self-rated
Independentvariables. Independentvarition, "Comparedto otherpeople yourage,
wouldyousaythatyourhealthis (1) poor,(2) ables used in theanalysisincludesociodemofair,(3) good,or(4) excellent?"Thismeasure graphicvariablesand indicesof timespentin
of generalhealthis bothreliableand repro- activitiesrelatedto variousroles. Sex and
withmore maritalstatusare dummyvariables.Sex is
strongly
ducible,and is correlated
"objective"measuressuchas physicians'as- coded 1 formales; maritalstatusis coded 1
personswithspousepresent.Age
sessments
(MaddoxandDouglass 1973;Mos- formarried
seyandShapiro1982;OkunandGeorge1984). and educationare measuredin years. "ChilWe use a generalhealthmeasurebecausewe dren" is the numberof childrenaged 17 or
overallhealthrather
than under in the household.Wages, including
focusonrespondents'
on specificdiseases.4Researchon stressand salaryand bonuses, are measuredin thouillnesssuggeststhatstresscan increasean in- sandsof dollarsperyear.
All time-usevariables are measuredin
to disease. This individual'ssusceptibility
creasedsusceptibility,
however,does notnec- hoursperweek; theyincludeindicesof time
essarilyproducespecificpatternsof disease spent in paid work (i.e., employment),
childcare, and caringforothers,
and Locke 1984; housework,
acrossindividuals(Jemmot
specificindicesof as well as timespentin active and passive
Selye 1985). Consequently,
diseasesmay leisureandin sleep.Table 1 liststheactivities
healthor measuresof particular
be less valid thangeneralmeasures.Further- includedin each time-usevariable.We adopt

118
TABLE 1. ActivitiesIncludedin Time-UseVariablesa

Paid workb
Housework
Childcare
Helpingothers
Passiveleisure
Activeleisure
Sleep
Employment
Meal preparation;
meal cleanup;miscellaneouschores;indoorcleaning;laundry;indoorrepair
and maintenance
(e.g., paintinga room,plumbing);applianceand furniture
repair
Babycare;childcare;helping/teaching
children
(e.g., makingcookies);helpingwithhomework;
givingchildorders/instructions;
disciplining,
readingto children;
conversations
with;indoorand
outdoor playing with; giving or obtainingmedical care for; babysitting(unpaid) for
nonhouseholdchildren;coordinating/facilitating
child's social or instructional
activities;
miscellaneous
activities
relatedto childcare(e.g., makingphonecalls aboutchild);child-related
travel
Medicalcareto adultsin household(HH); nonmedical
careto adultsin HH (e.g., rana bathfor
husband);helpcare to relativesnotlivingin HH; help and care to neighbors
and friends;help
and care to others(unrelated);watchingpersonalcare activitiesof others;travelrelatedto
helpingothers
Radio; television;listeningto music;reading;conversations
(includingphoneconversations);
conversation
withhouseholdmemberswritingletters;readingmail; relaxing;thinkingand
planning;sitting;miscellaneouspassiveleisure
Team sports;racquetsports;golfing;swimming;skating;skiing;bowling;pool; ping-pong;
pinball;frisbee;catch;exercises;yoga; hunting;
fishing;boating;sailing;walkingforpleasure;
hiking;jogging; running;bicycling;horsebackriding;dance; gymnastics;lessons in sports,
gymnastics,
ordance;pleasuredrives;rideswithfamily;picnicking;
photography;
working
on or
leisureequipment;collectionsor scrapbooks;carpentry
repairing
and woodworking
as hobby;
preserving
foodstuffs;
knitting;
needlework;sewing;animalcare (if not farmer);art; writing
literature
or diary;playinginstrument;
singing;acting;playingcards;boardgames;social games
(e.g., scavengerhunt);going campingor to the beach; puzzles; lessons in music; crafts;
miscellaneous
travelrelatedto activeleisure
Nightsleep
All time-usevariablesare measuredas thenumberof hoursperweekspentby respondents

in a givenactivity
or
set of activities.Withtheexceptionof paid work,values forall variableslistedhereare synthetic
week estimates
derivedfromtimediaries.
b
Hoursofpaid workare assessedby thequestion,"Abouthowmanyhoursdo youworkon yourjob in an average
week,including
bothpaid and unpaidovertime?"Because somerespondents
workpart-time,
we expectthismeasure
of employment
to be morereliablethana synthetic-week
estimate.
a
Juster
et al.'s (1985) measuresof activeand
passiveleisure.Activeleisureincludesa wide
varietyof recreational
activities,all of which
requirephysicalor mentalexertion,such as
team sports,swimming,horsebackriding,
picnicking,
and boardgames. Passive leisure
includes recreationalactivitiesthat do not
requirephysicalor mentalexertion,such as
watchingtelevision,listeningto recordsor
tapes,readingnewspapers,and talkingwith
others.
negativelywithpassive leisure(r = -. 15)

and timespentin sleeping(r = - .2 1). We
suspectthatthese negativeassociationsare
due in partto the cumulativenatureof time
use. For example, the alternativeto time
spent in passive leisure or sleepingis not
merelybeingawake,butpursuingsomeother
activity
thatmayhavegreaterhealthbenefits.
The benefits
of passiveleisureand sleep may
diminish
at highlevels,indicating
a nonlinear
relationship.
To whatextentdo conventional
categorical
measuresof social roles explain sex differences in health?Figures2 and 3 illustrate
RESULTS
the
effects
of marriage
andemployment
on men's
for
Table 2 shows the correlationsof all and women's healthwithoutcontrolling
measuredvariables.Self-rated
healthis asso- timeuse.6Figure2 showsthedeviationfrom
ciatedpositivelywithbeingmale (r = .07), theoverallmeanhealthlevel formenand for
marriage(r = .10), education(r = .31), womenby maritalstatus.7Thoughmarriage
number
ofchildren(r = .07), paid work(r = has positive effectsfor both sexes, men
.26), and wages (r = .26), and negatively benefitmorethanwomen.
Figure 3 shows the deviationfromthe
with age (r = - .19) and time spent in
household labor (r = - .15). Self-rated overall mean healthlevel of men and for
healthis not relatedsignificantly
to hours womenwho wereemployedfull-time
and for
spentin childcare, activeleisure,or helping thosewhowerenotemployed.Like marriage,
others. Surprisingly,health is associated employment
has a positiveeffect
on healthfor

TABLE 2. Correlations,All Measured Variables

Health
Health
Married
Education
Age
Sex
(Male = 1)
Children
Sleep
Paid work
Housework
Childcare
Passive
leisure
Wages
Activeleisure
Helpingothers
tp<=
.099*
.306***
Married
Education
Age
Male
Children
Sleep
Paid
Work
.079*
-.330***
-.256***
.074*
- .209***
.262***
-. 153***
-.035
.222***
.349***
-.043
.174***
.005
.167***
.157***
.023
-.160***
.292***
-. 187***
.002
-.051
-.534***
.246***
-.531***
.046
-.395***
.029
-.102
.378***
-.585***
-.221***
-.112**
.182***
.139***
.492***
-.307***
.041
-.039
-.445***
-.122**
- .152***
- .158***
- .201***
.356***
-.050
-.140***
.370***
- .298***
.100
.138***
.043
.498***
-.008
-.001
- .218***
.082*
-.063
-.073
.071
- .257***
.033
-.043
- .372***
.667***
-.158***
-.166***
-.188***
.069t
.259***
-.039
.028
.10; *p<=
.158***
.001
-.026
.05; **p<=
.01; ***p <=
.001; one-tailedtests.

- .
- .
.
.
120
men averagedonly 3.1 hours.Althoughthe

males in the sample had slightlymore
childrenon average,womenspentmorethan
0.7
twiceas manyhourson childcare(4.3 hours,
comparedto 1.7 formen). On averagethere
married
0.5
2
notmarried
in timespentin
was no significant
difference
0.3
helpingothers,passiveleisure,activeleisure,
0.1
X
or sleep.
Table 4 presentshierarchicalregression
-0.1
of self-rated
health,in whichvarianalysis
-0.3
ables were enteredin steps. Step 1 includes
-0.5
Step2 adds
sociodemographic
characteristics.
in hoursofpaid workand wages. Step3 adds
-0.7
male
female
in time spent in unpaid work, sleep, and
Sex
terms
leisure.Step 4 adds in sex interaction
foractiveand passiveleisure.
FIGURE 3. Deviation from Overall Mean
In Step 1, when we controlfor age,
HealthLevel, by EmploymentSta- education,maritalstatus,and children,the
tus and Sex
effectof genderon healthbecomesinsignifi0.7 remainsposicant, althoughthe coefficient
0 employedfull-time
0.5
tive. In addition,being older is associated
notemployed
with poorer health, whereas having more
0.3 yearsof educationis associatedwithbetter
0.1
health.Educationremainshighlysignificant
-0.1
areentered
into
evenwhenall otherpredictors
theregression.
-0.3 Whenwe add in wages and hoursof paid
-0.5work in Step 2, the effectof being male
-0.7 at thesame
becomesnegativeand significant;
male
female
level of paid work and wages, men report
Sex
worsehealththanwomen,even whenage is
bothpaid work
controlled.As hypothesized,
bothsexes. Whereasmarriagehad relatively and wages exertstrongpositiveeffectson
health.Yet the independent
effect
littlepositiveimpacton women,employed self-rated
womenand menreportequallyhighlevelsof of paid workon healthbecomesinsignificant
health.Womenwho werenotemployedhad when time spent in other social roles is
below-averagehealth levels. Though men controlled.
In Step 3, we enter in the time-use
who were not employedappearto have the
men
worsthealthof all groups,the men in our variables.Whentimeuse is controlled,
samplewhowerenotemployedareolderthan have worsehealththanwomen.The negative
the women who were not employedand effectof beingmale on healthincreasesand
maybe sicker(x = 66.33 years becomes more significant.This increase
consequently
old formen,x = 57.41 yearsold forwomen; showsthatthepositiveeffectof beingmale
on healthis due in partto genderdifferences
p ' .000).
timespentin
in social roles, as mea- in social roles. As anticipated,
Can differences
sured by time spent in various activities, houseworkhas a negativeeffecton health.
explaintheassociationamongwork,family, This findingsupportsour hypothesisthat
and men's and women's health?Table 3 female gender roles, particularlythat of
showsthatmen spentnearlytwiceas many housewife,have a negativeimpacton health.
however,time
hoursin thelaborforceas womenand earned In contrastto our hypothesis,
more than 3.5 times as much in annual spent in child care is not significant.In
in the
wages. Women averaged 16.9 hours of addition,we foundno sex difference
household labor, compared to men's 4.4 amountof timespentin helpingothers,and
hours. Among employedrespondentswho foundthatsuch timeis associatedpositively
workedmorethan30 hoursa week, women withhealth.
We employedparabolictermsforsleepand
averaged12.3 hoursof housework,whereas
FIGURE 2. Deviation from Overall Mean

Health Level, by Marital Status
and Sex

121
ofTotalSampleand bySex
TABLE 3. Meansand StandardDeviations
TotalPopulation
N = 469
Demographics
Health
Excellent
Good
Fair
Poor
Sex
Female
Male
Age
25 to 39
40 to 59
60t
Education
< 12 years
12 to 15 years
16+ years
Married
Children
0
1+
Wages
TimeUse
Paid work
Notemployed
1-20 hours
21-39 hours
40+ hours
Housework
Childcare
Helpingothers
Passiveleisure
Activeleisure
Female
N = 283
Male
N = 186
(.79) t
3.21 (.78)
40.6%
42.8%
13.8%
2.8%
3.32
48.9%
37.6%
10.2%
3.2%
60.0%
40.0%
48.60 (16.03)
39.2%
31.8%
29.0%
12.73 (3.04)
20.0%
56.9%
23.0%
.68 (.47)
1.15 (1.34)
47.1%
52.9%
11.78 (14.90)
49.25 (16.60)
38.9%
30.7%
30.4%
12.35 (2.80)
20.8%
62.9%
16.3%
.60 (.49)
1.11 (1.30)
47.3%
52.7%
5.77 (7.27)
47.60 (15.10)
39.8%
33.3%
26.9%
15.10 (13.32)***
18.8%
47.8%
33.3%
.81 (.39)***
1.19 (1.39)
46.8%
53.2%
20.94 (18.49)***
25.18 (22.12)
37.3%
6.8%
11.9%
43.9%
11.62 (10.34)
3.30 (5.74)
1.88 (4.10)
22.31 (13.58)
5.20 (6.82)
18.41 (19.61)
47.0%
9.9%
14.5%
28.6%
16.91 (10.11)
4.33 (6.73)
1.88 (3.93)
21.85 (12.90)
5.24 (7.07)
35.47 (21.79)***
22.6%
2.2%
8.1%
67.2%
4.36 (5.22)***
1.74 (3.18)***
1.88 (4.36)
23.02 (14.55)
5.13 (6.44)
3.26
43.9%
40.7%
12.4%
3.0%
(.79)
of femalesto males.
Mean comparison
.10; * p <= .05; ** p <= .01;
tp <=
*** p <=
tests.
.001; one-tailed
for passive and active leisure to test for benefit more than women from passive
at highlevels. We founda leisure.
decreasingreturns
timespentin activeleisure
As anticipated,
decreasingpositiveeffectof sleep on health.
Above85 hoursof sleepperweek,additional is also associated with betterhealth (see
timespentin sleep has a negativeimpacton Figure5). As withpassiveleisure,spending
health.This paraboliceffectrelatesto the timein activeleisureimproveshealthonlyup
on
returns
of time; an additionalhour of to a point,afterwhichthemarginal
constraints
sleep is financedby spendingless time in activeleisurebecomenegative.We foundsex
in theeffectof activeleisure.In
sicker differences
some other activity.Furthermore,
to
passive leisure, however, the
contrast
more.
sleep
peoplemay
of activeleisureare smallerformen
Similarly,we founda decreasingpositive benefits
effectof passive leisureon health.Passive thanforwomen.
leisureincludesactivitiesthatrequirelittleor
no mentalor physicalexertion(see Table 1).
health DISCUSSION
We foundthatpassiveleisureimproves
on passive
up to a point;themarginalreturns
The findingslargelysupportour model.
leisure,however,decrease steadilyand becomenegative(see Figure4).8 In addition,in When we controlfortimespentin genderin theeffect typedroles, men reportpoorerhealththan
Step4 we foundsex differences
of passive leisureon health. Men tend to women.Men spendmoretimethanwomenin

122
TimeUse,and Wages
Characteristics,
TABLE 4. Regression
ofHealthon Sociodemographic
Step 1
b
(Se b)
Sex
(Male= 1)
Age
Education
Married
Children
Paid work
Step2
betaa
.019
(.073)
- .005*
(.003)
.071***
(.012)
.068
(.083)
-.001
(.032)
Wages
Housework
.012
-.105
.274
.040
- .002
b
(Se b)
-.148*
(.084)
.0002
(.003)
.060***
(.012)
.087
(.082)
.013
(.031)
.005*
(.002)
.006*
(.003)
Childcare
Helpingothers
Passiveleisure
Passiveleisure2
Activeleisure
Activeleisure2
Sleep
Sleep2
Sex x passive
leisure
Sex x active
leisure
Constant
R2
2.261
.139
21.551
.108
Step4
Step3
beta
-.092
.005
.234
.052
.021
.137
.122
b
(Se b)
-.255**
(.096)
.0006
(.003)
.052***
(.012)
.100
(.081)
.029
(.033)
.002
(.003)
.006*
(.003)
-.010*
(.005)
-.006
(.008)
.015*
(.008)
.Ollt
(.007)
-.0002*
(.0001)
.020*
(.011)
.0009**
(.0004)
.038t
(.026)
- .0005*
(.0002)
beta
-.159
.012
.200
.059
.050
.062
.111
-.128
-.046
.076
.195
.173
b
(Se b)
-.378**
(.169)
.0004
(.003)
.053***
(.012)
.089
(.080)
.038
(.033)
.003
(.003)
.007*
(.003)
-.010*
(.004)
-.008
(.008)
.013*
(.008)
.OlOt
(.007)
-.0002**
(.0001)
.038***
(.012)
beta
-.236
.008
.206
.053
.064
.076
.135
-.131
-.060
.070
.165
.328
-.0011**
.420
1.754
.189
(.0004)
.032t
(.026)
- .0004*
(.0002)
.011*
(.005)
-.032***
(.010)
1.904
.216
.352
b = unstandardized
coefficient
Se b = standard
errorof b
beta = standardized
coefficient
z = parabolicterm
p <=.001, one-tailedtest
a Coefficients
of nonlinearrelationshipswere standardizedaccordingto Stolzenberg(1980). Standardized
shownare calculatedon thebasis of thepopulationmean.
coefficients
t p <=
10, one-tailedtest
* p <=.05, one-tailed
test
** p <= .01, one-tailed
test
paid work with higherwages, and higher

wages are associated with betterhealth.
Women spend more time in housework,
which is associated with poorer health.
Althoughwomenspend moretimein child
to
care,childcare is notrelatedsignificantly
women
to our expectations,
health.Contrary
do notspendmoretimethanmenin helping
others. Moreover, time spent in helping
othersimprovesratherthanworsenshealth.
Neithersex spends much time in helping
elderlyparents,friends,or relatives(x =
1.88 hoursper week). Men and womendo

not differin time spent in sleepingor in
passiveleisure,bothof whichimprovehealth
up to a point.Nor do menand womendiffer
in timespentin activeleisure,although
active
leisureis morebeneficialto women.
Our findings
to a growingbody
contribute
of literature
thatidentifies
genderdifferences
in social roles as a significantcause of
women'shighermorbidity.
Our findingof a
reversalin sex differences
in morbidity
when
social roles are controlledis consistent
with

FIGURE 4. Effectsof Passive Leisure on

Health,bySex
123
thedifficulty
in obtainingchildcare, factors
for whichwe have no data. An additional
4.0
explanationis that the potentialpositive
effectsof childrenon healthare counterbalanced by the negativeeffectsof parents'
women
increasedobligations.Consequently,
the im3.5
pact of childrenand child care may be
co
explained partiallyby other variables for
men
which we controlled,such as housework.9
3.0Dow and Juster(1985) foundthatalthough
parentsenjoyedtime spentwiththeirchildren,havingchildrenrequiredthatparents,
2.5
..
particularly
mothers,spendmoretimedoing
40
50
20
10
30
0
thingstheydisliked.Hill and Stafford
(1980)
Hours of Passive Leisure
reportthateach additionalchildunderage 5
added six to seven hours per week of
FIGURE 5. Effectsof Active Leisure on housework for women. When
husbands
Health,bySex
contributed
to childcare, theytypically
took
4.0 part in directcare, such as playingwith
children or watching them, rather than
women
indirect
care, suchas cleaningup afterthem.
3.5
The positiveeffectof helpingotherson
healthis surprising.
Accordingto Gove and
Hughes (1979), women's nurturant
roles
men
3.0
should be associated with poorer health
because womenwouldhave less timeleftto
care forthemselves.By separatingthe time
2.5
spentin childcare and householdlaborfrom
4
8
0
12
16
20
time spentin helpingothers,we may have
Hours of Active Leisure
removedthemoreonerousandless rewarding
tasks. Consequently,time spentin helping
Verbrugge's(1989) findingof nonsignificantothers reflectsa more limited group of
reversalsof sex differences
on severaldiffer- altruistic
activitiessuch as helpingor caring
ent health status measures. Our study is for one's spouse, relatives,or unrelated
frompreviousresearchby our individuals.Anecdotalevidencesuggeststhat
distinguished
use oftime-use
measuresofsocialroles.Most altruisticbehaviorcan contribute
to health
research uses categoricalor dichotomous and well-being(Justice1987). Clearly,acting
measuresof social roles, such as whethera as a primary
caregiverfora chronically
ill or
is a parent.In contrast,
time-use debilitatedadultcan be stressful
respondent
and is not
measuresprovidemorepreciseinterval-levelnecessarilyconduciveto one's own health.
dataand allow formoremeaningful
compari- Yet in view of our samplesize and the low
son of the impactof particular
roles across mean on timespentin helpingothers(x =
individuals.We suspectthatweak measures 1.88 hours per week), we doubt that our
of social roles preventedpreviousresearch, sample includes a sufficientnumber of
such as Verbrugge's(1989) and Gove and respondents
who providesignificant
amounts
ill personto allow
Hughes's (1979), fromfindinga significant of care fora chronically
sex reversalin morbidity.
thiseffectto showup.
In contrast
to ourhypothesis,
we foundno
Because women'srole obligationsinclude
effectof childrenor timespentin housework,childcare, and employment,
significant
we
caringforchildrenon health.In fact,most expectedwomento have less timethanmen
otherresearchon the impactof childrenon for passive leisure. We found no sex
or physicalwell-being difference
parents'psychological
in timespentin passiveleisure,but
findseitherinsignificant
or inconsistent
ef- we did finda significant
interaction
effect
fectsof children(Ross and Mirowsky1988; betweensex andpassiveleisureon health(see
Wingard1982). The effectof childrenon Figure4). Men's returnson passive leisure
healthmayvarywiththe age of childrenor were nearly twice as high as women's,

124
possiblyin partbecause of the differencesin lightof the effectsof passive leisure.As

betweenwhat men and women reportas discussed above, the returnson passive
leisuretime.Shaw (1986) foundthatearlier leisureforhealthare lowerforwomenthan
studiesof leisureactivitiesand leisuretime for men. We believe thatstructural
factors
allocationsusually classifiedresidual time may limit women's opportunity
to enjoy
(timeleftaftersubtracting
paid worktime, passive leisurefully.Such leisuretypically
householdlabor time,and sleep) as leisure takesplace in thehome,wherewomenmay
time.It is unclear,however,whetherall of feelmorepressure
thanmentodo housework.
thistimeshouldbe consideredleisure."Free Thoughwe analyzedonly respondents'
pritime" conceals many managementtasks maryactivity,womenwho reportthatthey
associatedwithrunning
a household(suchas wereengagedin passiveleisure(e.g., watchnotingrecipes frommagazinesfor use in ingtelevision)also maybe doinghousework
futuremeal preparation).
As a result,time- (e.g., foldinglaundry)at the same time.
budgetcategorizations
may overstatewom- Because activeleisure,suchas picnicking
or
en's leisuretime.Also, spendingleisuretime painting,requiresrespondents
to be focused
aroundthe house can be self-defeating
for on theiractivity,it may precludesecondary
manywomen,particularly
housewives;Oak- activitiessuch as housework.In addition,
ley (1974) foundthatbeingat homecreated manyof theactivitiesincludedin our active
psychologicalpressure in women to do leisure measuretake place away fromthe
housework.
home,thusproviding
an escape fromhouseWe also foundsignificant
sex differenceshold labor. Whereasthe positiveeffectsof
in theimpactof activeleisureon health(see passive leisure for women are offsetby
Figure 5). Active leisurehas a decreasing pressureto do houseworksimultaneously,
positiveeffecton healthfor both men and participating
in activeleisureallows women
women,but the positiveeffectfor men is to reapmorebenefitsfromleisuretime.
smaller. This findingis consistentwith
In interpreting
ourfindings,
readersshould
researchon theeffects
ofphysicalexerciseon takeaccountof severalpossiblelimitations
of
self-rated
health.In herstudyoftheimpactof our study.These limitations,
discussedbephysical exercise on well-being, Hayes low, include the possibilitythat the sex
(1988) found that men and women are differences
in morbidity
are merelyartifacts
involvedin different
typesof active leisure of sex differences
in the tendencyto seek
activities.Men tendedto spendmoretimein medicalcare; thatthereare significant
sex
team sports,such as basketballor football, differences
in individuals'responsesto queswhilewomentendedto spendmoretimein tionsabouttheirhealth;and thatrespondents'
individualsports,such as bikingand aero- preference
foror satisfaction
witha givenrole
bics. Thoughphysicalexercisein generalwas may mediatethe effectsof those roles on
associatedpositively
withhealth,theeffectof health.
team sportson healthwas not significant. Are sex differences
in morbidity
explained
Hayesspeculatedthatthebenefits
of physical by the difference
betweenmen's and womexerciseforhealthmay have been offsetby en's propensitiesto seek medical care? A
therelatively
highpotential
forinjuryassoci- numberof researchers
have arguedthatsex
ated with team sports. We are unable to differencesin morbidityare artifactual,
separateout the negativeeffectsof some causedbywomen'sgreater
to utilize
tendency
activitieswitha higherpotentialfor injury. health services. Accordingto this view,
Hayes's interpretation
explainsonlypartially womenare socializedto take bettercare of
ourfinding
of higherreturns
on activeleisure themselves
whenill and thusare morelikely
forwomen.In contrastto Hayes's measures to seek care. Also, takingtimeoutto see the
of activeleisure,whichincludesonlyactivi- doctoris easier forwomenbecause women
tiesrequiring
physicalexertion,suchas team are less involved in the labor force and
sports,our measurealso includesactivities becausetheyface fewertimeconstraints
and
mentalbutnotnecessarilyphysical financialconsequencesthanmen (Mechanic
requiring
exertion,such as workingon a hobby(see 1976). Althoughit is truethatwomen are
Table 1). Hence our findingof theeffectof employedless thanmen(in oursample67.2%
activeleisureon healthmaybe influenced
by of the men and only 28.6% of the women
activitiesotherthanphysicalexercise.
worked full-time),our researchand other
Our explanation
is understood
mostclearly researchon timeuse suggestthatwomenface

125
on theirfreetime, who ratedtheirhealthas good or excellent

considerableconstraints
faced by tendedto reportmoreconditionsthanmen
oftengreaterthan the constraints
men(see Berkand Berk 1979; Firestoneand (Fillenbaum 1979; Mossey and Shapiro
and Stafford
1985). This 1982).10
Shelton1988;Juster
Our view is that response differences
view is supportedby Cleary et al. (1982),
whofoundthatwomenareas likelyas mento betweenmen and women-regardlessof the
reportinconveniencein arrangingmedical direction-areminorand do not affectour
We believe that the
results significantly.
appointments.
findingsof studieswhichhave
Our resultsdo not addressthe argument inconsistent
aredue largely
that sex differencesin morbidityare ex- examinedresponsedifferences
measuresof health,
to seek to the use of different
plainedby women'sgreatertendency
of symptoms,
dishelpfora givenhealthproblem.The evidence rangingfromself-reports
fromempiricalresearchis clear, however, ability days, and medical utilizationto
forthisview.Rather, assessmentsby physicians. All of these
andprovidesno support
clinical and epidemiologicalstudies have measureshaveproblemsas validand reliable
thateven afterreproduc- measuresof healthstatus;all maybe biased
foundconsistently
aretakenintoaccount,women somewhatby thesex of therespondent."As
tiveconditions
healthhas provedto
experiencean excess in certaintypes of notedearlier,self-rated
strongpredictorof subsediseases, includinggallbladderconditions, be a remarkably
The significance
of self-rated
liver problems, diseases of the urinary quentmortality.
the
system, hemorrhoids,thyroidconditions, healthin predictingmortality-perhaps
diabetes,allergies,varicoseveins, arthritis,only objectivemeasureof healthstatus-is
is male or
and cancers(Clearyet al. 1982; Verbrugge the same whetherthe respondent
1985;Waldron1983;Wingard1982). In their female. In fact, the significanceof this
study of factorspredictinguse of health measure is the same whetherone is in
services,Cleary and his colleagues (1982) excellentor poor objectivehealth,old or
in healthare young(Mosseyand Shapiro1982).
concludedthatsex differences
Finally,thoughtime-usemeasuresprovide
real and not simply differencesin help
an accurateestimateoftheextentto whichan
seeking.
Some authorsalso havearguedthatwomen individualoccupiesa givenrole, the use of
reportmorbiditymore readily than men. thesemeasuresassumesthattimespentinthese
Accordingto this view, women are more roles is equallydesirableforall individuals.
findactivities
suchas leisure
andare Mostindividuals
likelythanmento perceivesymptoms
at least to a
satisfying,
more willing to articulatethem. Conse- pursuitsintrinsically
quently, comparingmen's and women's point(Robinson1985). However,thesatisfacresponsesto questionsabout theirhealthis tionassociatedwithotheractivities,such as
on a responmayvarydepending
not valid because women's reportsmay be housework,
Researchemploying
time
in relationto men's (Mechanic1976; dent'sexpectations.
inflated
respon1976). As use could be improvedby examining
PhillipsandSegal 1969;Verbrugge
withtime
fororsatisfaction
in the help-seekingexplanation,empirical dents'preferences
roles. In addition,research
research does not supportdifferencesin spentin different
fordifferent
genas an explanation
of sex differenceson theimpactofpreferences
reporting
well-being
suggests
in morbidity.Studies find no general sex derroleson psychological
of a respondent's
spouse
to reportmorbid- thatthepreferences
in predisposition
differences
as well.Ross,Mirowsky,
in reporting
vary shouldbe considered
ity.Instead,sex differences
mea- and Huber(1984) foundthatthe effectof a
dependingon the particularmorbidity
onherdepression
level(and
sureconsidered(Clearyet al. 1982; Waldron wife'semployment
1983). Researchthat specificallyexamines thatof herhusband)dependson therelationrein responseto the self-rated shipbetweenthetwopartners'
preferences
sex differences
and on whether
the
healthquestionshows mixed results.After gardingheremployment,
reviewingrelevantstudies,Waldron(1983) husbandhelpedwiththehousework.
concludedthatwomen'sselfratingsof health
are more pessimisticthan men's. Other
researchers,however, have reportedthat CONCLUSION
women tend to be more optimisticin
Our results show that women receive
theirhealththanmen;evenwomen
evaluating

126
slightlyless educationthanmen,earnlower
wages, spend less time in paid work, and
spendmoretimedoinghousework
and caring
forchildren.These differences
favormen's
health because higher education, higher
wages,and morehoursof paid workimprove
health,whereashouseworkworsensit. Even
womenwho workfull-time
do a disproportionateamountof houseworkand childcare.
In contrast,men benefitfromtheirprimary
role as breadwinner
both directlythrough
higherwagesand indirectly
through
less time
spent in more onerousroles. Justas men
benefit
fromthegenderdivision
economically
of social roles, they also accrue health
benefitsfromgreaterparticipation
in more
roles.'2 Althoughthesedata were
rewarding
collecteda decade ago, we believethattime
use has changedlittlesince 1981.
If men'sandwomen'ssocialroleswerethe
same- if menand womenspenttheirtimein
the same way and werepaid equallyforthe
work they do-women would have better
self-rated
healththanmen.The disadvantage
thatwomenfacein morbidity
is due to social
roles. We concludethatif genderroleswere
moreequal, womenwouldexperiencebetter
healththanmen, moreconsistent
withtheir
greaterlongevity.
NOTES
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
variableand 38 on theother.Hence thevalue

of comparing
themeansis doubtfulon these
variables.
The self-ratedhealth question was asked
duringthe second wave of interviews.The
secondwave, forall practicalpurposes,was
the halfway point in the data collection
because respondentshad to completeonly
threewaves to allow a synthetic
week to be
computed.
In the case of rheumatoidarthritis,for
example,womenshow an excess formedically evaluatedjoint swellingbut not for
rheumatoid
factoror X-rayevidence;all three
signs are medical indicatorsof rheumatoid
arthritis
(Waldron1983).
The bivariateassociationbetweenparenthood
and good healthis spuriousbecauseof strong
associationsof marriageand age withparenthood and health. Consequentlywe do not
display a figure illustrating
the effectof
parenthood
on health.
Figures2 and 3 are based on meanreported
healthlevels by sex. Figure2 shows mean
healthby maritalstatusand sex. Respondents
werenotconsideredmarriedunlesstheywere
marriedwithspouse present.Figure3 compares the mean health of full-timeand
nonemployed
respondents
by sex. Full-time
was measuredas 40 or more
employment
house of paid work per week; respondents
wereconsiderednotemployedif theyhad no
hoursof paid workperweek.
The decreasingreturnson leisuremay be a
resultof selectionas well as causation.Sicker
peoplemayspendless timein workand other
activitiesand moretimein variousformsof
1. Because the 1981 studyis a follow-upto the

1976 study,it would be possibleto examine
passive leisure.
whether
changesintimeuse predicted
changes
also can be attributed
in health.Yet in viewof thesmallsize of the 9. The-lack of significance
in partto our relativelysmall sample size.
1981 sample,we believethe 1976 datawould
When we controlledfor time use, the
yield measures of change inadequate for
coefficient
forchildcare becamenegativebut
examining
theeffects
ofchangein timeuse on
was notlargeenoughto be significant.
Witha
health.
largersample, and thus more parentswith
2. For example, if two weekdaydiaries were
children,particularlyyoung children,we
collected,theywere multipliedby 2.5 and
believethecoefficient
forchildcarewouldbe
addedto theweekenddiaries;if one weekday
significant.
diarywas collected,itwas multiplied
by5 and
10. On the one hand, if Waldronis correctin
addedto theweekenddiaries.
3. We foundonly minordifferences
concludingthatwomen rate theirhealthas
when we
poorerthando men even when "objective"
comparedthe 151 cases excludedfromthe
measures show their health status to be
analysisto the469 cases analyzed.Thesetwo
groupsshowed no significant
differences
in
equal, then our results are strengthened
respondents'health, sex, age, numberof
because it would be moredifficult
to obtain
children,or wages. Respondentswho were
thesignificant
reversalin sex differences.
On
excludedfromthesample,however,tendedto
theotherhand,if womeninflatetheirratings
be less educated(p <= .05) and were less
of healthrelativeto men's our resultsare
likelyto be married(p <= .001). Although
more questionable. The sex reversal in
thegroupsdiffered
on themean
significantly
couldresultfromwomen'spositive
morbidity
valuesof two of thesix time-usevariablesresponsebias. Given the resultsof previous
houseworkand child care-the excluded
studies,we believe thatif thereare systemgroupconsistedof only 18 validcases on one
atic differences
betweenthe ways in which

127
health
men and womenrespondto self-rated
strongestsex differenceoccurredon more
"objective" and more specific indicators,
questions, the former scenario is more
whereasthemoresubjectiveand moregeneral
plausible. In these studies(e.g., Gove and
measuresof healthshowedthe smallestsex
Hughes 1979; Verbrugge 1989) a wide
varietyof variables,includingsocial roles,
differences.
reversal 12. Ourfindings
were controlled.Yet no significant
support
differential
roletheory
of
in morbidity
levels occurred:men were still
sex difference
in healthratherthana differentialvulnerability
predictedto heave self-ratedhealth levels
explanation.Onlyactiveand
passive leisure had significantly
equal to or higherthanwomen's. If women
different
impactson menandon women.In bothcases,
do ratetheirhealthsignificantly
higherthan
we attribute
thisdifference
do menwiththesame actualhealth,previous
to sex differences
inthetypeofactivities
studieswould have been morelikelyto find
reported
as leisure.We
a significant
reversal.
suggestthatwomen's primaryresponsibility
by Cleary,Mechanic,
fordomesticworkaffectsthequalityof their
11. Our view is supported
and Greenly's (1982) observationthat the
leisuretime.
APPENDIX. Comparisonof Means and Counts of Sample Subsets
Demographics
Health
Sex
Female
Male
Age
25 to 39
40 to 59
60+
Education
<12 years
12 to 15 years
16+ years
Maritalstatus
Married
Not married
Children
0
1+
Wages
Time Use
Paid work
Notemployed
1-20 hours
21-39 hours
40+ hours
Housework
Childcare
Helpingothers
Passiveleisure
Activeleisure
TotalPopulation
SampleAnalyzed
SampleExcluded
3.26 (N=542)
(N=620)
59.5%
40.5%
48.80 (N=620)
37.6%
34.2%
28.2%
12.57 (N=618)
23.1%
54.5%
22.3%
(N = 620)
63.1%
36.9%
1.16 (N=620)
46.3%
53.7%
11.52 (N=584)
3.26 (N=469)
(N=469)
60.3%
39.7%
48.59 (N=469)
39.2%
31.8%
29.0%
12.73 (N=469)
20.0%
56.9%
23.0%
(N =469)
68.4%
31.6%
1.15 (N=469)
47.1%
52.9%
11.78 (N=469)
3.29 (N=73)
(N= 151)
57.0%
43.0%
49.44 (N= 151)
32.5%
41.7%
25.8%
12.05 (N= 149)*
32.9%
47.0%
20.1%
(N= 151)***
46.4%
53.6%
1.19 (N=151)
43.7%
56.3%
10.43 (N=115)
25.90 (N=620)
36.1%
6.6%
11.6%
45.6%
11.32 (N = 507)
3.14 (N=507)
1.94 (N= 507)
22.26 (N=507)
5.07 (N=507)
25.18 (N=469)
37.3%
6.8%
11.9%
43.9%
11.62 (N = 469)
3.30 (N=469)
1.88 (N =469)
22.31 (N=469)
5.20 (N=469)
28.17 (N= 151)

32.5%
6.0%
10.6%
51.0%
13.56 (N = 18)**
1.15 (N=38)***
2.75 (N=38)
21.64 (N=38)
3.55 (N=38)
of femalesto males.
Mean comparison
** p <=.01;
* p <=.05;
*** p <.001; two-tailed
tests.

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Chloe E. Bird is a Ph.D. candidatein sociologyat theUniversity
of Illinois,Urbana-Champaign.
Her
mainresearchinterests
focuson genderdifferences
in healthand genderstratification
in thelaborforce.
Her dissertation
examines women's gains in threemedical professions:dentistry,
medicine,and
veterinary
medicine.
Allen M. Fremontis a medicalstudentand a Ph.D. candidatein sociologyin the Medical Scholars
Programat the University
of Illinois,Urbana-Champaign.
His primary
researchinterests
includethe
impactof socialpsychological
factorson healthandtheinfluence
of organizational
factors
on physicians'
decision making.His dissertation
examinesfactorsaffecting
physicians'practicestylesin a large
multispecialty
grouppractice.


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