The physical, cognitive and emotional loads of running a household should be recognized when examining the health of a couple's relationship, new research has found. A University of Queensland study examined the "tri-load" of household labor—physical (traditional chores such as washing, cleaning and cooking); cognitive (planning shopping lists, scheduling appointments); and emotional (anticipating, caring, comforting, consoling).
For the study published in Scientific Reports, Dr. Sarah Coundouris from UQ's School of Psychology examined how the division of labor for 235 heterosexual romantic couples was related to relationship quality.
"Despite progress toward gender equality, women still take on most of the work involved in running a household," Coundouris said. "Although this pattern was consistent across all three types of household labor, it was most noticeable for cognitive load.
"Women reported taking on almost 25% more of the thinking, planning and scheduling involved in running the home and organizing family commitments than their partners reported."
When partners see chores differently
