ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates wives' present situation, personal goals, and their definitions of their role as wives and mothers, as well as the source. It investigates how attached or detached wives were to their paid work and family roles. The chapter describes husbands' paid work and family priorities and their willingness to adjust to their wives' absence in the family. It also examines how wives experienced dilemmas, and what sources affected the ways in which they tried to manage their personal goals and role definitions. Wives under trade-off families continually assessed their priorities in relation to their coping abilities and resources. If they were career-oriented they minimised their other roles so that they could manage paid work and family responsibilities effectively. Although the wives in rigid families had similar personal goals as other wives in trade-off families they extended their roles from being an employee, a mother and a wife to a good home-maker with higher standards in the traditional sense.
