Married Women’s Attitudes Toward Divorce: A Cross-National Multilevel Analysis

Married Women’s Attitudes Toward Divorce: A Cross-National Multilevel Analysis | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Married Women’s Attitudes Toward Divorce: A Cross-National Multilevel Analysis Giyeon Seo, Alin Ceobanu, Tanya Koropeckyj-Cox This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6881353/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Objective This study examines how the division of household labor, work-family conflict, and macro-level indicators impact married women's attitudes toward divorce across various national settings. Background Grounded in the Gender Revolution Framework (GRF) and Second Demographic Transition (SDT) theory, this research explores how married women’s experiences of gender inequality in household responsibilities and work-family conflict, in different national contexts of women’s economic opportunities and government social spending, shape perceptions of divorce. Methods This study used 2012 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) data from 36 countries, combined with country-level economic and social indicators, to conduct multi-level regression analyses of married women’s attitudes toward divorce. Results Work-family conflict significantly predicted attitudes toward divorce among married women, but only in countries with high gender inequality. Neither housework share nor work-family conflict were found to directly predict endorsement of divorce, overall. However, a significant interaction indicated that the effect of work-family conflict emerged only in contexts with high gender inequality, where higher work-family conflict was associated with greater support for divorce. Conclusion The findings indicate that more favorable attitudes about divorce reflect structural circumstances among married women who face greater inequalities at home, more constrained economic opportunities in the workplace, and limited policy supports. Divorce Housework division of labor Work–family balance Cross-national Multilevel model Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6881353","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":482613862,"identity":"45b6a3a5-a9b5-40d2-8e34-5b77898330f5","order_by":0,"name":"Giyeon 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perceptions of divorce.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study used 2012 International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) data from 36 countries, combined with country-level economic and social indicators, to conduct multi-level regression analyses of married women’s attitudes toward divorce.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWork-family conflict significantly predicted attitudes toward divorce among married women, but only in countries with high gender inequality. 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