Discuss the variation in economic roles that now exist within families-from single-income to two-income couples.

The traditional division of economic roles would be the two-person single career in which one spouse,typically the wife,participates in the partner's career behind the scenes,without pay or direct recognition.A variation on this theme is the relatively small trend of stay-at-home dads.Often this is a temporary situation for men who are unemployed or not working due to poor health or disability.However,some dads do so because it is the wife who has the higher income or better health benefits.For dads who want to stay home,being a full-time dad can be very rewarding in that he can be fully involved in his children's lives.However,fathers face the same problems as mothers: they may be concerned about losing their business skills,may feel unappreciated by their working wives,or feel stigmatized and emasculated because much of their identity comes from being a good provider.As more women enter the paid labor force,more couples are dual-earner couples where both partners work outside the home.Most dual income couples are not affluent in that few have much discretionary income left over once bills have been paid.Many are paying for their children's education or saving for their own retirement.A very small percentage of dual-earner couples are dual-career couples.In these couples,both spouses have professional or managerial positions that require extensive training,a long term commitment,and ongoing professional growth.Benefits of two-income families is that having two wage earners raises the families standard of living.And if a husband's income is low or he is laid off,his wife's income relieves some of the pressure on him to be a provider.Two-income parents believe that they provide responsible adult role models for their children and feel that their children are less "needy" and more independent.The cost of this arrangement is role overload,in which parents feel stressed juggling their commitments to their careers and to their families.Role overload can lead to increased health risks and decreased productivity.Dual-earner/career couples may also turn into trailing spouses or commuter marriages.A trailing spouse is one who gives up their work and searches for another position in the location where a spouse has taken a job.The benefit to this arrangement is that relocating may help the main provider increase their income and job opportunities.A cost is that the trailing spouse may not be able to find an equivalent job to the one they left.Commuter marriages occur when both spouses have established careers in separate locations.A benefit of this type of arrangement is that couples may feel that they can devote more attention to their work during the week and then make the most of their time together on the weekend.They may also feel freer to pursue activities that the spouse does not enjoy during the time they are apart.This arrangement can be costly financially in terms of travel and setting up two separate households.The commuting partner can feel isolated from the family,community,and social relationships,a situation that can lead to extramarital relationships on the part of either partner.The stay-at-home parent,who is shouldering most of the parenting responsibility,may resent the weekend parent for not doing as much.