across many traits. In 2004, 4,115,590 infants were born in the United States (Hamilton,

Ventura, Martin, & Sutton, 2005). In 2003, women's average age was 25.2 at the time of

their first child's birth (Martin et al., 2005). Approximately 56% of infants born in the

United States in 2004 were White, 23% were Latino, 14% were African-American, 6%

were Asian or Pacific Islander, and 1% were Native American (Hamilton et al., 2005).

The majority (approximately 65%) of infants born in 2003 had parents who were married

(Bumpass & Lu, 2000; Martin et al., 2005). Nationally, 35% of births were to unmarried

mothers; one study suggested approximately one third of these mothers cohabitate with a

partner (Bumpass & Lu, 2000) while another study found about half cohabitate

(McLanahan et al., 2003). In the United States in 2004, nearly 61% of married couples

with children were dual-earner families, whereas father-only employment occurred in

approximately 31% of families consisting of married couples with children (United States

Department of Labor, 2005a). Approximately 48% of married mothers of infants under

one year old were employed outside the home in 2004, with 32% of the mothers working

full-time and 17% working part-time (United States Department of Labor, 2005b).

Sample Selection Procedures

 This study's participants consisted of 132 married couples who were sharing a

household and who had only one child; couples in which either partner had another child

were not eligible to participate. The couples were informed that to be eligible for

participation, their child should between 2 months and 13 months of age. Only surveys

completed by both partners were scored and included in the study.

 Couples' participation in this study was requested through several venues. Requests

were posted in several Internet bulletin boards designed for new parents. Birth

announcements in newspapers nationwide were reviewed; surveys were sent to new