Employment of Women, Suburbanization and House Styles

Abstract

This paper suggests that modifications in house design occurring with suburbanization are among the structural conditions which accompany the employment of women. Shifts in design arising out of the expression of values through housing choices have produced differences in the “user-efficiency” of houses. To consider the hypothesis that house styles differing in exterior appearance and interior organization distinguish among life styles varying in location and employment status of the wife, 8 visible features were rated. Discriminant analysis performed on a probability sample (N = 102) distinguished first between features of suburban and traditional locations (R = .54, p ≤ .0001) and second, between houses of employed and nonemployed wives (R = .40, p ≤ .02).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Charlan L. Graff

Charlan Graff is an assistant professor in the Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana.