The Journal of Psychology, 2001, 135(6), 639–650

The Role of Househusband and Housewife

as Perceived by a College Population
DIANE KEYSER WENTWORTH
ROBERT M. CHELL
Department of Psychology
Fairleigh Dickinson University

ABSTRACT. The research literature frequently conveys the notion that gender roles are
becoming less stereotypical. In this study the authors explored the question of how a col-
lege population views the role of househusband and housewife and if there are significant
differences in role expectations. A 51-item questionnaire was constructed and adminis-
tered to 526 college students. This sample was chosen because college students are likely
to be assuming these roles in the near future. As predicted, the role expectations for house-
husbands and housewives are not the same. Women tended to question the current struc-
ture of household roles more than did men, and the role of househusband was generally
more negatively perceived. Reasons for these findings are discussed.
Key words: gender role reversal, househusbands, housespouse, housewives

GENDER ROLES and their etiology have been heavily researched but few defin-
itive conclusions have been reached. What is agreed upon is the differentiation of
the terms sex (a biologically based distinction) from gender (personality traits,
activities, interests, and behavior; Beere, 1990). Thus, gender is a socially based
distinction and lends itself to myriad interpretations.
Fenstermaker, West, and Zimmerman (1991) and West and Zimmerman
(1987) suggested that one “does gender.” They distinguished gender from both
sex (determined by biological criteria) and sex category (adhering to socially
required displays of the appropriate sex). Gender affects most, if not all, phases
of life. Activities are viewed as either feminine or masculine in nature. Thus,
when one assumes a particular role it invariably has a gender cast attached to it.
If individuals challenge these roles by assuming a cross-gender activity, it is like-
ly they will be viewed negatively, and attempts will be made to enforce gender
appropriate activities.

Address correspondence to Diane Keyser Wentworth, Department of Psychology—

M-AB1-01, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, NJ 07940; diane_wentworth@fdu.edu
(e-mail).

639
640 The Journal of Psychology

Several studies have explored what happens when people experience a gen-
der role reversal. A study by Costrich, Feinstein, Kidder, Marecek, and Pascale
(1975), in which students evaluated men and women who behaved either in line
with gender role stereotypes or counter to them, found penalties for gender role
reversal behavior. Both popularity ratings and perceived psychological adjust-
ment were negatively affected when either a man or a woman performed behav-
iors antithetical to his or her traditional gender role stereotyped behavior.
A more recent study by Fitzgerald and Cherpas (1985) demonstrated the
continuing strength of gender stereotypes. They enlisted practicing or in-training
vocational counselors in their examination of gender role reversals. Counselors
were asked about the appropriateness of certain careers for men and women. As
expected, feminine-dominated careers, such as nursing, were viewed as much
more appropriate for female than for male clients. What is encouraging, though,
is that they found that women who aspired to traditionally male occupations,
such as becoming a physician, did not evoke a negative reaction.
Robertson and Fitzgerald (1990) conducted similar research. Practicing coun-
selors and therapists viewed videotaped simulations of a depressed male client.
When the client was nontraditional (described as a househusband) as opposed to
having a traditional occupation (engineer), the therapists assigned more severe
pathology to the client, behaved differently toward the client, and were more like-
ly to “attribute his depression to his life situation” (p. 6). Some even focused their
therapy on the nontraditional behavior as a remedy for the symptoms presented.
Martin (1990) explored the attitudes of current undergraduate students
toward “tomboys” and “sissies.” As she expected, the sissies were evaluated
more negatively than were the tomboys. The students were concerned about the
long-term outcomes of the sissies and felt that sissies could be expected to con-
tinue their behavior into adulthood, whereas this was not true for tomboys.
McCreary (1994) attempted to explain why male cross-gender behavior is
treated more harshly than female cross-gender behavior. He suggested that there
is a stronger link between gender roles and perceived sexuality for men than for
women. Thus, when men assume more traditionally feminine roles they are more
likely to be viewed as homosexual. His research with a group of student partici-
pants supported this theory.
Pleck, Sonenstein, and Ku (1994) argued that male roles are “conceptually
distinct from other gender-related attitudes.” They used the Male Role Attitude
Scale and discovered that it is not related to attitudes toward the female role.
Their argument supports the idea that the househusband role and the housewife
role are distinct.
Deutsch and Saxon (1998) found that there is a double standard in both the
praise and criticism working parents receive. As expected, mothers are criticized
more than fathers are for too little involvement at home or too much involvement
in paid work. Fathers experienced just the opposite, criticism for too much
involvement at home and too little involvement at work.
 Wentworth & Chell 641

The roles people play based on their gender are both complex and multilay-
ered. One of these roles, that of housewife, has become well established over the
past century. Only recently has the male version of housewife, labeled househus-
band, come into existence as an alternative for men. Many would question whether
it truly is a viable alternative or merely something highlighted in the media. The
academic literature seems to support the latter. A recent literature search of Psych-
Lit (the computerized abstracts of psychology-related journals), covering the past
23 years, revealed hundreds of separate entries for the term housewives, but fewer
than 10 were found when househusband(s) was entered as the key term.
Hayghe (1990) cited Bureau of Labor statistics that reveal a slight increase
over a 13-year period in married couples with children (under 18 years old) with
only the mother in the labor force. These statistics show that in 1975, 1.6% of
families fit that model. By 1988, it had increased to 2.2%. Tang (1999), using
more recent Bureau of Labor statistics, reported that there has been an 82.6%
increase in men aged 25 to 54 years who did not work or look for work due to
home responsibilities, when the numbers from 1991 (4.6%) were compared with
those from 1996 (8.4%). Additionally, a front page article in The New York Times
(Marin, 2000) profiled a group of men attending a convention for at-home fathers
and examined the larger issue of men staying home to care for their children.
Because of the current media interest in this topic and its impact on dual-
career and single-parent families, we conducted a search of Internet sites during
the summer of 1999. Our search confirmed that there is a small but growing core
of men who have decided to stay at home with their children while their wives
work. One of the largest sites serving this community is slowlane.com. Robert
Frank (1998a, 1998b), a psychologist, has posted his research on stay-at-home
fathers there. In both 1994 and 1996 he conducted questionnaire research involv-
ing subscribers to an on-line newsletter (“At-Home Dad”). The average respon-
dent was a 38-year-old, married, suburbanite with two children, had been a
househusband for just less than 3 years, and was staying home because he did not
want daycare for his children and his wife made more money in the workplace
than he did. The majority were either extremely or somewhat satisfied with
being at home, as were their wives. However, they did report a sense of isolation
associated with their situation. A majority stated that their decision to stay home
had hurt their career either a lot or somewhat.
Frank’s survey also examined gender roles to determine if they had changed
as a result of the father being at home. In several core areas, the answer was no.
Men were still the primary drivers of the family vehicle and responsible for per-
forming mechanical tasks at home. Frank suggested that househusbands are not
looking for complete role reversals but are looking for more “equal balance in
parenting . . . with the result of less stereotypical attitudes” on the part of their
children (Frank 1998b).
Frank conducted another study involving 423 primary caregiving fathers and
602 primary caregiving mothers and their perception of workforce reentry prob-
642 The Journal of Psychology

lems, career progress concerns, and estimated lost income associated with stay-
ing home. All were solicited from Internet newsletter subscribers for at-home
fathers and at-home mothers clubs. As expected, the men and women differed in
their perceptions, with the men generally more concerned about career issues
(Frank, 1998a).
Using a subsample of this larger group, Frank (1998a) also examined the
“contribution of gender compared to role in determining the division of family
labor.” He found that there has not been a role reversal, but rather a melding of
traditional and contemporary behaviors. Certain child-care activities such as
bathing of children remain tasks performed primarily by women, home repair
remains a task performed mainly by men, and other tasks such as shopping and
bill paying are not tied to a certain sex.
Lutwin and Siperstein (1985) also explored the househusband role. Their def-
inition of a househusband was “those husbands who actively are engaged in a role
reversal with their wives. Consequently, the husbands are responsible for the pri-
mary care of the children and home while their wives are the principal wage earn-
ers” (p. 273). Their study was based on the results of interviewing and question-
naire completion by 56 househusbands who met the following criteria: (a)
currently engaged in the full-time role of househusband, (b) married with at least
one minor child, (c) involved in the househusband role for at least 6 months. Their
sample proved to be fairly homogeneous and closely paralleled the 1996 Internet
survey discussed previously. The respondents were mainly White, well educated,
in their mid-30s, and married for at least 8 years. The vast majority had arrived at
their present role initially through an involuntary process; they had been either fired
from a job, laid off, or disabled while working. The level of adjustment to the new
role varied, and most found little societal support for their role. In a number of
cases there was active rejection of the husband in the housewife role.
Radin (1994) reviewed five studies plus her own research on primary care-
giving fathers within two-parent families. These studies were conducted interna-
tionally (Australia, Sweden, Israel, and two in the United States). The studies
took place in the 1970s or 1980s. One of the most interesting findings, across cul-
tures, was that there were two major determinants of fathers’ assuming the house-
husband role: (a) their perceptions of the fathering they had experienced as chil-
dren, and (b) the difficulty their fathers had in obtaining employment and
whether their mother worked and her career aspirations (Radin). These findings
suggest that it is a combination of forces that may determine whether a man
assumes the househusband role.
Rosenwasser, Gonzales, and Adams (1985) examined the effects of gender
on college students’ perceptions of housespouses. As hypothesized, househus-
bands were perceived less positively and homemakers of either gender were
viewed more positively when their role included paid work in addition to their
childcare and housekeeping activities.
Because there has been so little research in this area, we decided to direct-
 Wentworth & Chell 643

ly explore college students’ conceptions of the housewife and househusband

role. This sample was particularly appropriate to the topic because the majori-
ty of college students historically begin establishing long-term relationships
and family after completing their undergraduate education. Thus, they may
assume the housewife or househusband role in the near future. The literature,
although not extensive, suggests that the roles are conceptually distinct and that
U.S. culture currently does not fully support those men who choose to assume
the househusband role.

Hypotheses

We hypothesized that although there would be overlap between the two roles
and their concomitant role expectations, there would be greater differences than
similarities in the perceived role expectations. Also, we proposed that women
would view the househusband role in a more positive light than would men. This
hypothesis stems from previous research that has found that women, on the
whole, are more likely to hold egalitarian views than are men (Hochschild, 1989;
Mason & Lu, 1988).

Method

Participants

The sample comprised undergraduate and graduate psychology students. All

were attending a private university in the northeastern United States. A total of
526 students participated in the study during the 1995–1997 academic years.
The sample included 328 women (62%) and 196 men (37%). Two participants
did not indicate their sex. The students ranged in age from 17 to 55 years old, with
a mean age of 22 and a median age of between 19 and 20. Four participants did not
indicate their age. Thirty-five percent of the sample identified themselves as fresh-
men, 20% as sophomores, 18% as juniors, 11% as seniors, and 16% as graduate
students. Six people did not indicate their standing at the university.
Slightly more than half (51%) of the participants worked part-time, with
29% indicating they were not currently employed and 14% indicating full-time
employment. Six percent of the participants did not indicate their level of
employment.
The great majority (82%) was single, with 9% married or living with a sig-
nificant other, and 2% divorced or widowed. Seven percent did not indicate their
marital status. Because so many participants were single, it is not surprising that
88% indicated they had no children at home requiring care, with 5% indicating
they had children requiring care; 7% did not answer this question. Of those who
did have children needing care, 3% took care of them themselves, with the rest
indicating some other form of care (e.g., spouse, family member). These other
644 The Journal of Psychology

types of care were indicated by fewer than 2% of the participants, because so few
of the participants in total had children needing care.
The great majority (88%) of participants identified themselves as neither a
housewife nor a househusband. Three percent indicated they were housewives,
and 2% indicated they were househusbands. Eight percent did not answer this
question. However, 30% of the participants indicated they knew someone who
was a househusband, and 63% indicated they did not know any househusbands.
Seven percent did not answer this item.

Instrument

The questionnaire (a gender roles questionnaire constructed by the authors)

consisted of 51 items. On the basis of a review of the literature, we designed the
questions to assess participants’ perceptions of the househusband and housewife
roles and to determine if there were differences in role expectations. Thus, the
majority of questions, 32 (63%), were paired: The stem was the same but the
word housewife or househusband served to differentiate the questions (e.g.,
“Men who are househusbands are to be admired,” “Women who are housewives
are to be admired”). The items were scaled with a Likert-type response scale
ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Twenty-two items
(43%) were reverse-scored so that response set problems would be avoided. The
questionnaire was scored in the direction of traditional conceptions of gender
roles; that is, women are more suited for the domestic role and men are more suit-
ed for the breadwinning role. Participants with high scores agreed with the tradi-
tional gender role concepts, and those with lower scores did not agree or agreed
less with these concepts.
Nine demographic questions were included at the end of the questionnaire.
These included standard demographic questions (sex, age, year in college,
employment status, and marital status) as well as child-care and househusband
questions (children needing care; type of child-care used; know any househus-
bands; and how the respondent classified himself or herself—housewife,
househusband, neither).

Procedure

The questionnaire was completed during a class period or at home and

returned to class. Students were solicited by us or by graduate assistants. A vari-
ety of both undergraduate and graduate psychology classes were included. Par-
ticipation was totally voluntary and anonymous. In some classes, extra credit
points were awarded if students participated, but their names were separated
from the questionnaires to ensure anonymity for the data. Those participants
desiring feedback on the results received it after the analyses were completed.
 Wentworth & Chell 645

Results
Factor Analysis

Data from all 526 participants were subjected to a principal-components fac-

tor analysis. There was a clear break in the scree plot between Factor 4 and Factor
5. This analysis produced four factors. Additionally, each of the four factors had an
eigenvalue greater than 1.0. Varimax and oblique rotations were carried out and the
results were compared. Both types of rotation produced the same four factors.
Only questions loading at the .399 level or higher were retained (see Table 1
TABLE 1
Factor Loadings by Question

Factor
Question loading

Factor 1: Negative Perceptions of Househusbands

1. Men who are househusbands are to be admired. (reverse coded) .45
2. In general, I think children prefer women to be their caregivers rather
than men. .51
3. Being a househusband is not really the same role as being a housewife. .49
4. Men are not really domestic and cannot care for a house or children as
well as a woman. .52
5. Women who are married to househusbands experience a loss of
self-esteem. .49
6. Men who are househusbands are typically individuals who were not
successful in their careers. .53
7. Men should stay home and raise their children if they are going to have
children. (reverse coded) .43
8. Women are better temperamentally suited to being housewives than men
are to being househusbands. .62
9. Being a househusband is an acceptable occupation for a man. (reverse
coded) .57
10. Men who are househusbands are not “real” men. .49
11. Women should stay home and raise their children if they are going to
have children. .41
12. Women who are married to househusbands may be embarrassed when
their husbands are introduced at parties. .41
13. Men who are househusbands typically experience a loss of self-esteem. .42
14. I believe men should make more money than women should in a family. .66
15. Being a househusband puts a strain on a marriage. .42
16. I would prefer a child be raised by a “nanny” as opposed to a
househusband. .48
17. Househusbands should be responsible for “heavy duty chores,” i.e., lawn
mowing, snow shoveling, etc., and not responsible for clothes washing,
housecleaning, etc. .49
(table continues)
646 The Journal of Psychology

TABLE 1 (continued)

Factor
Question loading

Factor 2: Negative Effect on Spousal Relationship

1. I believe men may begin to resent their housewives because they get to
spend more time with the children. (reverse coded) –.46
2. Men may resent their housewives because they do not have the stresses
of a career. (reverse coded) –.55
3. Women who are housewives typically experience a loss of self-esteem.
(reverse coded) –.58
4. I think women who are married to househusbands feel guilty that they
are not the one staying home with their children. .54
5. Being a housewife puts a strain on a marriage. (reverse coded) –.44
6. I think women who are housewives might be embarrassed when they
meet new people to tell them that their occupation is a housewife.
(reverse coded) –.59
7. Women who are married to househusbands may be embarrassed when
their husbands are introduced at parties. .41
8. I believe women may begin to resent their househusbands because they
get to spend more time with the children. .63
9. Women may resent their househusbands because they do not have the
stresses of a career. .58
10. Men who are househusbands typically experience a loss of self-esteem. .43
11. Being a househusband puts a strain on a marriage. .49

Factor 3: Negative Perception of Housewives

1. Women who are housewives are not “real” women. (reverse coded) .42
2. Men who are married to housewives as opposed to career women are
viewed negatively in our society. (reverse coded) .40
3. I believe it is important for women to have a career if they are going to
experience self-pride. (reverse coded) .47
4. I would be able to go to work and not worry about my children if my
wife were taking care of them instead of someone else. .51
5. Being a housewife is an acceptable occupation for a woman. .61
6. Women are not really domestic and cannot care for a house or children
as well as a man. (reverse coded) .40
7. Women who are housewives are typically individuals who were not
successful in their careers. (reverse coded) .42

Factor 4: Psychological Effects

1. Men should stay home and raise their children if they are going to have
children. (reverse coded) .45
2. I believe it is important for women to have a career if they are going to
experience self-pride. (reverse coded) .52
3. I believe a woman has to have a strong “ego” to be a housewife. –.50
4. I believe a man has to have a strong “ego” to be a househusband. –.43

Note. Four questions loaded on more than one factor; thus, 39 items are listed for the four factors but
only 35 items are unique. N = 52; loadings > .3999.
 Wentworth & Chell 647

for questions by factor with their factor loadings). Factor 1, labeled Negative Per-
ceptions of Househusbands, included a total of 17 questions, 3 of which were
reverse-coded. Factor 2, labeled Negative Effect on Spousal Relationship, includ-
ed a total of 11 questions, 5 of which were reverse coded. Factor 3, labeled Neg-
ative Perception of Housewives, contained 7 questions, 5 of which were reverse-
coded. Factor 4 contained 5 questions, 3 of which were reverse-coded. This
factor was labeled Psychological Effects.
Four questions loaded on more than one factor, with the result that only 35
separate questions were included in the factors. Thus, 16 of the total 51 questions
were eliminated because of their low factor loadings.
Of those questions that were paired (i.e., when househusband or housewife
was substituted using the same question stem), 1 question (11%) and its pair
did load on Factor 1, whereas 8 questions (89%) and their pairs did not load on
Factor 1. Factor 2 displayed a different picture. Four (57%) of the questions
that were paired loaded on Factor 2, and 3 (43%) did not. For Factor 3, all 5
questions (100%) and their pairs loaded on this factor. In Factor 4, only 2 ques-
tions were paired; of these, 1 loaded on the factor, and the other did not. Over
all four factors, 52% of the pairs did not load on a factor (or the same factor),
and 48% did. Thus, it seems that in some areas the roles overlapped greatly,
whereas in other areas they were viewed as distinct, giving support to our first
hypothesis.

Gender Differences

When scores for the women were compared with scores for the men for all
35 of the retained questions combined, a significant difference was obtained,
t(522) = –6.75, p < .01. Women’s mean scores (M = 2.98) were slightly lower
than men’s mean scores (M = 3.17), indicating a greater disagreement with the
traditional role structure on the part of the women. We also conducted t tests by
factor. Similar results were found for Factor 1 (Negative Perception of House-
husbands), t(522) = –8.27, p < .015, women—M = 2.37, men—M = 2.77; Factor
2 (Negative Effect on Spousal Relationship), t(522) = –3.95, p < .01, women—
M = 3.11, men—M = 3.24; and Factor 3 (Negative Perception of Housewives),
t(522) = 2.98, p < .01, women—M = 4.17, men—M = 4.03. Factor 4, Psycho-
logical Effects, did not reveal a significant difference between the male and
female participants, t(522) = –.70, ns, women—M = 3.11, men—M = 3.15 (see
Table 2).
These results demonstrate that the women and men differed in their percep-
tions of the househusband role, the negative effect on the spousal relationship,
and the negative perception of the role of housewives. The only areas in which
they agreed were the psychological effects of these roles. However, women
always had lower levels of endorsement of the traditional gender role, a finding
that supports our second hypothesis.
648 The Journal of Psychology

TABLE 2
Gender Differences by Factor

n M SD
Variable Women Men Women Men Women Men df t

Factor 1 328 196 2.37 2.77 .52 .53 522 –8.27*

Factor 2 328 196 3.11 3.24 .36 .35 522 –3.95*
Factor 3 328 196 4.17 4.03 .48 .56 522 2.98*
Factor 4 328 196 3.12 3.15 .55 .48 522 –.70
Total 328 196 2.98 3.17 .30 .31 522 –6.75*

*p < .01.

Type of Employment

When type of employment (full-time, part-time, or unemployed) was

examined, there were no significant differences found, F(2, 490) = .02, ns.
There were also no differences found between college class levels: Freshmen,
sophomores, juniors, seniors, and graduate students were compared, F(4, 515) =
.97, ns.

Age Differences

Differences in responses for various age ranges were also explored. When
participants’ responses were placed into four age categories (under 22, 22–30,
31–40, over 40) and compared using analyses of variance, no significant differ-
ences were found, F(3, 522) = 1.25, ns.

Knowing Househusbands

There appeared to be a slight trend in that those participants who knew a

househusband had less traditional views than did those who did not know any
househusbands, t(487) = 1.67, p < .10, if the more liberal significance level of .10
was used. Almost one third (30%) of the respondents reported knowing at least
one househusband, and 63% did not know any. The large number who knew at
least one househusband was surprising in itself.

Discussion

As hypothesized, women indicated greater disagreement with traditional

role structures than men did. However, although the differences between the
 Wentworth & Chell 649

men’s and women’s perceptions were significantly different statistically overall

and for three of the four factors, the actual numerical differences were quite
small. What is more interesting is the difference in perceptions of both men and
women on their ratings of househusbands and housewives. Factor 1 (Negative
Perceptions of Househusbands) received the lowest mean scores from both men
and women, whereas Factor 3 (Negative Perceptions of Housewives) received
scores much higher, indicating greater agreement with this traditional role. This
finding supports (a) our hypothesis that people view the two roles distinctly and
(b) the research that has shown negative consequences of cross-gender behavior
(Costrich et al., 1975; Fitzgerald & Cherpas, 1985; Martin, 1990; Robertson &
Fitzgerald, 1990). We believe women are perceived as having greater flexibility
in career choice and are able to venture into nontraditional career directions with
less difficulty than men are.
Perhaps, as McCreary (1994) suggested, househusbands are seen as hav-
ing their sexuality questioned because their sexuality is so closely tied to their
gender role. One could also argue that West and Zimmerman’s (1987) notion
that all activities are gender typed caused respondents to be highly uncom-
fortable with those men who were clearly venturing into a feminized activity.
Their punishment for violating gender rules is a negative rating of the house-
husband role.
Our results indicate that not only is the role of househusband not posi-
tively viewed but also the role of housewife is not positively viewed. It is
viewed as acceptable if it is associated with child rearing. However, our results
indicate that once child-rearing responsibilities are over, the role of housewife
is not highly valued. The research conducted by Frank (1998a, 1998b) sup-
ports this view because a majority of the househusbands he sampled planned
to return to work and career once their primary child-rearing responsibilities
were over.
The concept of the dual-career family is now viewed as commonplace in our
society. Decisions about careers are made not only with regard to the position
holder but also with regard to the impact they would have on both careers as well
as finances. Issues regarding salary, relocation, time allocation, and child care are
indicative of those constraints that must be addressed. For those families who do
not want to use daycare facilities, and in which the wife makes more money than
the husband, or the wife has a greater desire for a career, the concept of house-
husband would have great appeal.
Our results indicate that women and men differ in their rating of the house-
husband role as well as the guilt expressed about children. Women have lower
levels of endorsement of the traditional gender roles than men do. Thus, women
seem to be more comfortable with the concept of househusband than are men.
Although women sometimes joke that it would be nice to come home to a “wife”
and all the accouterments associated with this concept, this is not likely to be the
case. The househusband is not the mirror image of the housewife.
650 The Journal of Psychology

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Received June 2, 2000