Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Extreme Financial Strain: Emergent Chores, Gender Inequality and Emotional Distress

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Family and Economic Issues Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the gendered division, and emotional effects, of household financial labor among severely indebted couples prior to filing consumer bankruptcy. Interviews with 19 newly bankrupt couples in Spokane, Washington, illustrate how, before bankruptcy, the peripheral and mundane chore of paying bills transforms into multiple arduous core chores: micro-management of money, debt collector negotiations, and researching and deciding to file bankruptcy. These newly emergent low-control chores are gendered and the wives’ responsibility. Gendering occurs for two reasons. Some women retain responsibility for emergent chores because husbands exhibit financial irresponsibility. Others request their husbands’ assistance, but the men refuse because the financial chores are upsetting or bothersome. Many wives who manage the newly emergent financial chores experience negative emotional effects.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Virtually all consumer bankruptcies are either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. In Chapter 7, which is also called “liquidation bankruptcy,” unsecured debts (such as credit card and medical bills) are discharged (eliminated) and the bankruptcy is completed in a matter of months. Chapter 13 is a debt repayment plan, which typically lasts for 5 years. At the time of this study, filings for Chapter 7 outnumbered Chapter 13 by about two to one (U.S. Courts 2009). For a thorough discussion of the types of consumer bankruptcy, the leading reasons for bankruptcy, and the recent changes in bankruptcy law, see Lown (2008).

References

  • Antill, J. K., Goodnow, J. J., Russell, G., & Cotton, S. (1996). The influence of parents and family context on children’s involvement in household tasks. Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, 34, 215–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, R. C., & Shen, Y.-C. (1997). Gender, high- and low-schedule-control housework tasks, and psychological distress: A study of dual-earner couples. Journal of Family Issues, 18, 403–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berk, S. F. (1985). The gender factory. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi, S. M., Milkie, M. A., Sayer, L. C., & Robinson, J. P. (2000). Is anyone doing the housework? Trends in the gender division of household labor. Social Forces, 79, 191–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi, S. M., Robinson, J. P., & Milkie, M. A. (2006). Changing rhythms of American family life. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird, C. E., & Fremont, A. M. (1991). Gender, time use, and health. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 32, 114–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blair, S. L., & Lichter, D. T. (1991). Measuring the division of household labor: Gender segregation of housework among American couples. Journal of Family Issues, 12, 91–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2009). Economic news release: Employment situation summary [Electronic version]. Washington, DC: United States Department of Labor.

  • Chang, Y., & Lee, K. Y. (2006). Household debt and marital instability: Evidence from the Korean labor and income panel study. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 27, 675–691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coltrane, S. (2000). Research on household labor: Modeling and measuring the social embeddedness of routine family work. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 1208–1233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conger, R. D., & Conger, K. J. (2002). Resilience in Midwestern families: Selected findings from the first decade of a prospective, longitudinal study. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 361–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dennis, J. M., Parke, R. D., Coltrane, S., Blacher, J., & Borthwick-Duffy, S. A. (2003). Economic pressure, maternal depression, and child adjustment in Latino families: An exploratory study. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 24, 183–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dew, J. (2007). Two sides of the same coin? The differing roles of assets and consumer debt in marriage. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 28(1), 89–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Draut, T., Brown, A., James, L., Keest, K., Robinson, J., & Schloemer, E. (2005). The plastic safety net: The reality behind debt in America [Electronic version]. New York: Demos.

  • Drentea, P. (2000). Age, debt and anxiety. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 41(4), 437–450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ElBoghdady, D., & Trejos, N. (2007, June 14). Foreclosure rate hits historic high. Washington Post. Retrieved June 3, 2008, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/14/AR2007061400513.html

  • Estes, S. B., Noonan, M. C., & Maume, D. J. (2007). Is work-family policy use related to the gendered division of housework? Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 28, 527–545.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glass, J., & Fujimoto, T. (1994). Housework, paid work, and depression among husbands and wives. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 35, 179–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gudmunson, C. G., Beutler, I. F., Israelsen, C. L., McCoy, J. K., & Hill, E. J. (2007). Linking financial strain to marital instability: Examining the roles of emotional distress and marital interaction. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 28(3), 357–376.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hochschild, A. (1983). The managed heart: Commercialization of human feeling. Los Angeles: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hochschild, A., & with Machung, A. (1989). The second shift: Working parents and the revolution at home. New York: Avon Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keister, L. A. (2000). Wealth in America: Trends in wealth inequality. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Komarovsky, M. (1962). Blue-collar marriage. New York: Vintage Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Komter, A. (1989). Hidden power in marriage. Gender & Society, 3, 187–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lown, J. M. (2008). Consumer bankruptcy. In J. J. Xiao (Ed.), Handbook of consumer finance research (pp. 363–374). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Malone, K., Stewart, S. D., Wilson, J., & Korsching, P. F. (2010). Perceptions of financial well-being among American women in diverse families. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 31(1), 63–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mano-Negrin, R., & Katz, R. (2003). Money management patterns of dual-earner families in Israel. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 24(1), 49–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mederer, H. J. (1993). Division of labor in two-earner homes: Task accomplishment versus household management as critical variables in perceptions about family work. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 55(1), 133–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakhaie, M. R. (2009). Professors, ideology, and housework. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 30, 399–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noonan, M. (2001). The impact of domestic work on men and women’s wages. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 1134–1145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pahl, J. (1990). Household spending, personal spending and the control of money in marriage. Sociology, 24, 119–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peirce, R. S., Frone, M. R., Russell, M., & Cooper, M. L. (1996). Financial stress, social support, and alcohol involvement: A longitudinal test of the buffering hypothesis in a general population survey. Health Psychology, 15(1), 38–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Presser, H. B. (1994). Employment schedules among dual-earner spouses and the division of household labor by gender. American Sociological Review, 59, 348–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Risman, B. J. (2004). Gender as a social structure: Theory wrestling with activism. Gender and Society, 18(4), 429–450.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rooney, B. (2009, June 16). Credit card defaults keep climbing. CNNMoney.com. Retrieved October 3, 2009, from http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/16/news/companies/credit_card_losses/index.htm

  • Rubin, L. B. (1976). Worlds of pain: Life in the working-class family. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shelton, B. A., & John, D. (1996). The division of household labor. Annual Review of Sociology, 22, 299–322.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stanley, D. T., & Girth, M. (1971). Bankruptcy: Problem, process, reform. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, O. (2006). Changing gender relations, changing families. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, T. A., Warren, E., & Westbrook, J. L. (1989). As we forgive our debtors: Bankruptcy and consumer credit in America. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, T. A., Warren, E., & Westbrook, J. L. (2000). The fragile middle class: Americans in debt. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorne, D., & Anderson, L. (2006). Managing the stigma of personal bankruptcy. Sociological Focus, 39, 77–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Twiggs, J. E., McQuillan, J., & Ferree, M. M. (1999). Meaning and measurement: Reconceptualizing measures of the division of household labor. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61, 712–724.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Courts. (2009). Bankruptcy statistics. Washington, DC: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Retrieved January 29, 2009, from http://www.uscourts.gov/bnkrpctystats/bankruptcystats.htm

  • Vogler, C. (1998). Money in the household: Some underlying issues of power. Sociological Review, 46(4), 687–713.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vogler, C., & Pahl, J. (1994). Money, power and inequality within marriage. Sociological Review, 42(2), 263–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • West, C., & Zimmerman, D. H. (1987). Doing gender. Gender & Society, 1(2), 125–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winkler, A. E., & Ireland, T. R. (2009). Time spent in household management: Evidence and implications. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 30(3), 293–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zelizer, V. (1994). The social meaning of money: Pin money, paychecks, poor relief, and other currencies. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ohio University, Bentley Annex 155, Athens, OH, 45701, USA

    Deborah Thorne

Authors
  1. Deborah Thorne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Deborah Thorne.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Thorne, D. Extreme Financial Strain: Emergent Chores, Gender Inequality and Emotional Distress. J Fam Econ Iss 31, 185–197 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-010-9189-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-010-9189-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation