g additional burdens on women (Gleick). However it seems that it is not the increased workload itself but rather the increased inequality that makes mothers lesssatisfied with their marriages than nonmothers (Unger & Crawford, pg. 375). Men are making some progress though, in taking on household tasks, including child care, but women still shoulder most of the burden in families. One of the most likely reasons for the decline in marital success is an increase in what persons expect of marriage. The levels of intimacy, emotional support, companionship, and sexual gratification that people believe they should get from marriage differ because of the breakdown of what it means to be husband or wife. Whereas, until recently, the rights and obligations of spouses were prescribed culturally and fairly well understood by just about everyone, they have become a matter for regulation in the individual marriages for some this has led to discord and disappointment (Gleick, p. 26). Altogether then, cultural changes related to sex roles would seem to produce different expectations of marriage. A woman who has supported herself to the age of 25 or above and has lived on her own until that age has had time to get more education, be exposed more to a variety of view points and experiences, and therefore, is more likely to expect a peer relationship with her husband. All in all, she is more likely than a younger woman to enter marriage with a well developed sense of self worth and broad horizons for her life (Unger & Crawford, pg. 364). Compared with a woman who marries younger - she is more likely to expect a more traditional relationship in whichthe husband is dominant (Everett, 1991). According to Everett, younger women expect greater communication, companionship, and compatibility with their spouses than older women. Possibly younger women, still maturing, have not yet developed their own sense of self worth and, therefore, d...
