The Effect of Social Networks on Marital Roles: A Test of the Bott Hypothesis in an Intergenerational Context.

On the basis of an exploratory study of 20 young London couples, Bott (1957) proposed that the connectedness of social networks to which spouses belong influences the segregation of marital-role activities. However, empirical tests of this hypothesis have been inconclusive because of conceptual and methodological limitations. In the present study Bott's hypothesis was tested with a group of 100 Puerto Rican migrant spouse pairs and 100 pairs of their adult married children. The results failed to confirm Bott's hypothesis. Network characteristics appear to be influenced by the individual's sex; marital-role characteristics, by generational differences and by wife's education. Limitations of Bott's hypothesis are discussed and theoretical alternatives are proposed.