Success skills for the 50/50-split-model: Practicable skills parents can apply in their daily routine to successfully implement an equal split of paid work, childcare, and housework between each other. A qualitative content analysis

Abstract Background: Many young couples are planning to share paid work, childcare, and housework equally between each other. But implementing such a 50/50-split-model is difficult and parents often return to traditional gender role distributions after the birth of a child. This return has potential negative effects on mental health, physical health, and relationship satisfaction. Therefore, this study aims to find practicable skills in the daily routine for new parents to successfully implement the 50/50-split-model. Methods: This qualitative study, DREAMTALK, is part of the multi-method, prospective Dresden Study on Parenting, Work, and Mental Health (DREAM). For DREAMTALK, N = 25 parents implementing a 50/50-split-model were selected based on quantitative data regarding time use, which participants had provided in questionnaires. In DREAMTALK, problem-centered interviews were conducted with the selected sample at 17 months postpartum. Those were analyzed via qualitative content analysis, which is systematic, rule-guided, and based on the criteria of validity and reliability. Results: The qualitative content analysis revealed a catalog of 38 practicable skills to manage daily routine, which can help parents to successfully implement a 50/50-split-model. Individual participants used 23 success skills on average. Examples include having a regular coordination appointment with the other parent, planning foresightedly, flexibility, reducing cleaning, optimization of routes, or moderate split-shift parenting. Some of these skills seem opposing, e.g., planning foresightedly, and at the same time, meeting unpredicted changes with flexibility. Those seemingly opposing skills were well balanced by the participants, which was an additional skill. Conclusions: The success skills are focusing on strategies parents can use relatively independently of external circumstances. This behavioral perspective extends prior theories, which have focused on explaining unequal gender role distributions with external circumstances. A behavioral perspective can be a gateway to assist more parents to pioneer in implementing the 50/50-split-model, which might in turn lead to a healthier and more satisfied public population.