Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explore coping behaviors of working couples to their first child birth by using their resources. The sample consisted of 127 couples whose wives being full-time employees, and of 42 couples whose wives being self-employed with a child aged one or two. The survey was conducted in December, 1988 at 18 public day care centers in Tokyo. The major findings are as follows :
(1) In the case of full-time employees, various resources were found to be utilized. They often used such social resources as leave for child birth, paid relief hours for child caring and a public day care center. They also used such semi-social resources as help from their neighbors, friends or colleagues, as well as their kin networks. Flexibility between husband and wife in their role relations, one of family resources, was significantly associated with their child caring role but not with their housework role. Perseverance and mental strength of wives, one of individual resources, were also found to be important.
(2) In the case of the self-employed, they were quite insufficient as to their social, semi-social and kin resources. They resumed to work by taking care of their child by themselves. Sixty-seven % had no one to take t heir role at home when their child was sick. Compared with full-time employed couples, they were less flexible in their role relations. These findings suggest that their lives seem to be maintained solely by their perseverance and more burden to the wives.
(3) Lack of flexibility between husband and wife in their housework role seems to be very crucial, because it causes double burden to wives. As a result of Quantification Method 2, the husband's competence in housework, his time of arriving home and his values placed on housework were found to be three major factors associated with their participation in housework.
