Homemakers' use of shared time in household activities

Abstract

The USDA-SEA NE-113 Time Use Data Bank was used to examine 2100 homemakers' use of shared time to complete household activities. Shared time was defined as a time management technique involving the performance of two activities simultaneously. Inspection of primary and secondary time use indicated that primary activities tend to require the homemaker's immediate attention and physical activity, while secondary activities are often nonphysical activities requiring the use of the senses and can be left unattended. Two independent variables, age of the youngest child and employment status of the homemaker, were analyzed to determine their impact on the homemakers' use of secondary time. Analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple range tests were performed for each of nineteen activities to determine the acceptance of four hypothesis. It was found that as the age of the youngest child increased the total amount of secondary time reported by homemakers decreased, and the amount of secondary time spent in food preparation, physical and nonphysical care also decreased as the age of the youngest child increased. Although the full-time employed homemakers did use a higher percentage of secondary time (adjusted for paid work time) than full-time homemakers, no significant differences were found. However, there was a significant difference found for the activities of dishwashing and management by employment status, suggesting employed homemakers spend a higher percentage of secondary time in these activities than full-time homemakers.