Husbands' Relative Income, Husbands' Household Chores Sharing, and Grandparental Support Among Dual-Income Couples with Children

Background : South Korea ranks among the lowest in gendered household chore distribution among OECD countries. According to relative resource theory, wives' lower income compared to husbands results in less bargaining power, leading to a heavier burden of household chores. However, the research findings on the impact of income ratio on household chores sharing ratio within couples have been inconsistent in South Korea. One factor influencing chore distribution could be assistance from grandparents, common in Korea. If grandparents help with household chores, the workload for the couple may decrease, reducing women's burden and making chore distribution fairer. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the impact of relative income on the division of household chores among dual-income couples with underage children and explore the moderating effect of grandparental support.

Methods : For this study, we utilized the 8th Korean Women and Families Panel collected by the Korea Institute for Women's Policy Research in 2021. The study included 1,212 dual-income women with underage children. The husband's income ratio within the couple was measured as the proportion of his monthly average income to the total monthly average income of the couple. The husband's household chores sharing ratio was measured by the proportion of his household chore time to the total household chore time of the couple. Grandparental support was determined by whether grandparents assisted with household chores or spent at least one hour per week caring for the children. The moderating effect of grandparental support on the relationship between husband's income and household chores sharing was analyzed using SPSS PROCESS Macro. Work hours, age, years of education, occupational status of wife and husband, and number of preschool-aged children living in the house were controlled in the analysis.

Results : The husband's income proportion averaged 66%, and the husband's household chores sharing ratio averaged 16%. A little bit less than 10% received household chores or childcare support from grandparents. Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant negative association between husband's income ratio (β = -.134, p < .001) and his household chores sharing ratio. Additionally, there was a moderating effect of grandparental support on this relationship (β = -.203, p < .05). As husband's relative income increased, he tended to do fewer household chores, and this effect was further strengthened when there was grandparental support.

Implications : The study's results aligned with relative resource theory, emphasizing that grandparental support reduced household chores for higher-income husbands. Despite being dual-income couples, household chores were often perceived as a flexible choice for husbands but as a non-negotiable responsibility for wives. These findings suggest that even with support from grandparents or other external sources, if gender norms or women's income proportions do not change, chore division cannot be altered. On the other hand, grandparental assistance can potentially reduce total household chores for dual-income couples. Since this study focused on the proportion rather than the absolute amount of household chores, it couldn't directly analyze this aspect. Further research should consider both the division ratio and the absolute amount of chores.