A Socio-Structural Perspective on Family Model Preferences, Gender Roles and Work–Family Attitudes in Spain

Almudena Moreno-Mínguez, Marta Ortega-Gaspar and Carlos Gamero-Burón
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Almudena Moreno-Mínguez: Department of Sociology and Social Work, University of Valladolid, 40005 Valladolid, Spain
Marta Ortega-Gaspar: Department of Constitutional Law and Sociology, University of Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain

Social Sciences, 2018, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-23

Abstract: Since the early 1990s, the diversity of work–family arrangement models has increased in Spain. It is difficult to understand this phenomenon without attending to the Spanish population’s preferences for such models. This article analyses the attitudes towards gender roles, and family model preferences within a normative and socio-structural framework. Using data from the International Social Survey Programme 2012, we developed descriptive and explanatory analyses. The findings reveal contradictions between attitudes towards the mother’s and father’s work intensity and gender roles that seem to be resolved through preferences for a “hybrid” or “adaptive” family model. We also identified the determinants of family model preferences for both men and women. The results show that gender plays a significant role in explaining preferences (women are less likely than men to prefer the male-breadwinner family model) and that socio-structural factors such as age, education level, immigrant condition, religious status and social class influence the preferences of men and women differently. Ultimately, these results contrast with Hakim’s Preference Theory, which emphasises individuals’ choices over socio-structural factors as determinants of family models, and align with Crompton’s and Pfau-Effinger’s theories.

Keywords: work–family model preferences; gender role attitudes; work–family attitudes; gender; socio-structural factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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