Abstract
This study examines whether subjective or objective inequity in marriage is associated with later marital disruption. The sample of 1500 couples is from Waves 1 (1987—1988) and 2 (1992—1994) of the National Survey of Families and Households. The only subjective index of inequity associated with disruption is women's sense of being underbenefited, with greater underbenefit raising the risk of divorce. However, husbands' individual-level, as opposed to communal, orientation to the marriage also elevates the hazard of a break-up. Husbands' relative objective contributions to the relationship in the areas of freedom from disability, kinkeeping, domestic and paid labor, and organizational activities involving the children had either main or interactive effects on the risk of disruption.
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