Psychological variables associated with the household work of girls and boys in early adolescence

Examined in this study were a number of psychological variables associated with the self-reported performance of household work in a sample of White Australian boys and girls in early adolescence. The research was informed by a gendered view of household work. It was hypothesized that individual differences for girls', more than for boys', performance of household work would be related to a number of intraindividual and interindividual psychological variables. Aspects of the results supported that prediction. For example, individual differences in the amount of household work performed by girls, but not by boys, correlated with feelings of competence in the work, motivation to perform the work, and reports of parenting style. The results were consistent partly with claims about gender differences in the meaning of household work and factors contributing to the performance of household work and showed that those differences might have emerged at least by early adolescence.