I wouldn t have stopped working if I had known our couple turned that way. A biographical account of labour force participation and conjugal love

This study examines how men and women’s subjective evaluation of their work trajectories after childbirth influence their perceptions of conjugal love. Data are drawn from the study “Social Stratification, Cohesion and Conflict in Contemporary Families” (Widmer et al., 2003a). The results show that having a discontinuous and reduced work trajectory decreases women’s declared level of conjugal love, especially if the interruption is perceived as a sacrifice. Women’s feelings of love also depend on the way in which their male partners consider their own work trajectories. Men’s feelings of love are much less sensitive to their own and their partners’ work trajectories. The results are discussed within the life course perspective.