Married women's situational use of last names: An empirical study

Laurie K. Scheuble, David R. Johnson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

Situational last name use was examined in a sample of 600 married women who responded to a mail survey. The sample was selected from the faculty and staff of a state university in the Midwest with over-sampling of women whose last name differed from their husband's last name. Overall, 12% of married women reported situational last name use. Women from all last name choices (e.g., changed to husband's, kept birth surname) reported situational surname use, but the most common occurrence of this practice was among hyphenators. Situational users were most likely to use their husband's last name in family situations and their birth surname in professional situations. Factors that increase situational last name use included full-time employment, higher levels of educational attainment, and an older age at marriage. Situational last name use by married women can be seen as a manifestation of ambiguity over identity with family and non-family roles.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)143-151
Number of pages9
JournalSex Roles
Volume53
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2005

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Gender Studies
  • Social Psychology
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

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