Promoting Health With Role-Reversal Couples

Abstract

Role reversal is an option for couples trying to cope with full-time employment while balancing home and child caretaking demands. Role reversal, when the woman deliberately assumes the role of primary breadwinner and the man deliberately assumes the role of primary child and/or home caretaker, can provide an opportunity for promoting health through personal growth. Community health nurses knowledgeable about the process and dynamics of role reversal can facilitate such growth. Through participant observation of a role-reversal support group, dynamics of role reversal with implications for health care and knowledge development were identified. The dynamics and implications of role reversal revolved around the following themes: learning the roles, letting go of previous roles, friendship pattern changes, meeting ego needs, and coping with cultural expectations.