Abstract
This article investigates inconsistent attitudes on working time reforms in a Norwegian survey In the survey the respondents were asked both a general and a specific question about preferences among alternative working time reforms Those who stick to the direction of their original preference are called consistent respondents, while those who 'shift' direction from the general to the specific question are called ambivalent respondents The main arguments is that ambivalent reform preferences may be seen as the result of conflicting interests associated with positions in between or outside typical life course stages. This hypothesis is tested using discriminant analysis The first and most distinct discriminant function can best be labelled a life course dimension, with age as clearly the strongest predictor of attitudes. The ambivalent and consistent attitude groups together form a certain pattern along this function, in line with what was expected Although this is not a very strong test, the results seem to provide at least some evidence for the validity of our argument
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