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Egalitarian Attitudes Towards the Division of Household Labor Among Adolescents in Iceland

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Abstract

Iceland ranks among the most egalitarian nations in the world according to various quantitative indicators. Gender inequalities nevertheless persist, and egalitarian attitudes among youth have declined in recent years. A national survey among 2,031 students aged 15–16 in 2006 showed that girls and adolescents reporting same-sex attraction hold more egalitarian attitudes towards the division of household labor. A family background of distant immigration, traditional families, and economic affluence were associated with less egalitarian attitudes, as were hours of internet use. Both essentialist and neo-liberal gender ideologies tended to legitimize traditional attitudes. An essentialist gender ideology was associated with more traditional attitudes among girls while a neo-liberal gender ideology was more strongly associated with traditional attitudes among boys.

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  1. Department of Social Science, University of Akureyri, 600, Akureyri, Iceland

    Thoroddur Bjarnason

  2. Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Andrea Hjalmsdottir

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  1. Thoroddur Bjarnason
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  2. Andrea Hjalmsdottir
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Correspondence to Thoroddur Bjarnason.

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Bjarnason, T., Hjalmsdottir, A. Egalitarian Attitudes Towards the Division of Household Labor Among Adolescents in Iceland. Sex Roles 59, 49–60 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-008-9428-0

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