HAIFA — Men washing dishes?  Women fixing the leaky faucet?  The longer a couple is married, the more likely they are to undergo a reversal of traditional roles in their home, according to research done at the University of Haifa . 

  "In the past, men tended to think of domestic responsibilities such as cleaning, cooking, and child-rearing as belonging to women. Today, however, these chores are perceived more and more as responsibilities of the man, and more men are fulfilling these roles," according to Omer Sagi of the University's School of Social Work. Simultaneously, women in couples, over the long-term, will have more masculine characteristics than in the earlier stages of marriage. These "masculine" characteristics are those associated with decision-making, being active and driven. 

His research found that among long-term couples, the men tended to have more "feminine" characteristics, such as nurturing, warmth and emotional expression, than they did when they were younger. The study included 128 married couples who had been married for 45 or more years.  

Schwab is an intern in the external relations department of the University of Haifa