DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2019.v07i12.003

Pages: 814-821

Earlier, women were deemed fit only to look after the house and children. But as we are emerging out of this cocoon of dogmatic gender role beliefs that have been shaped over the centuries, women seeking employment is no longer seen as a taboo or a makeshift alternative to a man’s incapacity to earn the daily bread but as a respectable choice to economic freedom. Concomitantly, there has been a paradigm shift in the intimate relationship in a heterosexual couple, namely the power dynamics, equal share in decision-making and the onus of household work among the partners. How does this reflect in the attitudes toward women empowerment, of children brought up in such households, and is they supportive of their partners when they enter into a mature romantic relationship? The current survey examines the difference in gender role beliefs, attachment styles, attitude towards intimate partner violence in dating relationships and relationship satisfaction among adults from dual career families contrasted with adults who had one working parent. Standardized questionnaires were filled out by young adults (N = 124, age range 18 to 25) involved in a heterosexual romantic relationship from single and dual career families. Statistical analysis revealed significant gender difference in abuse in the sample that is men are more abusive than women. Being raised in dual or single career household does not determine traditional or feminist gender role beliefs, relationship satisfaction, and attitude towards intimate partner violence.