The aim of our study was to explore the conceptions related to partnership between dance sport couples. We conducted in-depth interviews with 20 registered athletes of the Chinese Dance Sports Federation (CDSF) about partnership between dance couples, using the Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR) method. Results revealed that partnership tended to stem from seven domains: (1) mutual understanding, (2) instant intimacy, (3) long-term affection, (4) obligational ties, (5) instrumental ties, (6) tacit factors, and (7) mutual self-disclosure. Each domain included several categories of core ideas, most of which were general and typical across the respondents. The general and most typical core ideas were related to mutual understanding in all aspects (17T), pleasure (18T), sense of substitution (15T), intimacy (20G), harmony (20G), mutual help (20G), mutual tolerance (20G), mutual attraction (15T), responsibility (20G), training plan (12T), consistent goals (20G), skills improvement (20G), image matching (16T), mutual self-disclosure (18T), which suggested a general belief in the equity perspective regarding partnership between Chinese dance sport couples. Future studies need to examine diverse samples of athlete–athlete dyads to advance interpersonal theory in sports and add to emerging theories of performance behavior and expertise in sport. Starting out as one of the social graces expected of the European upper classes, “dance sport” , deriving from the Latin balare (to dance), is now an umbrella term for a style of lead and follow based snobbish and elite partner dancing . As an eDance sport requires the partners to follow the rhythm of the music and compete with multiple pairs of contestants to show the beauty of sports , so the The current research explores conceptions of partnership between Chinese dance sport couples. Athlete–athlete partnership is a form of athletic dyad in which both members equally share power and responsibility ,9. The eThe partnership between a dance sport couple is hard to define, for the reason that it is a very close relationship, both on the physical level, as mentioned earlier, and on a personal level, having the harmonious characteristics typical of a work environment. The areas of professional interaction and personal life between dance partners are highly integrated—dance partners define each other as best friends, many of them are even life partners. Even so, some scholars try hard to explore the concept of partnership between dancesport couples.Search terms included “competitive dancing” or “sports dance/dancing” or “sport dance/dancing” or “dance sport/dancing” or “latin dance” or “American latin dance/dancing” or “standard dance/dangcing” or “ballroom dance/dancing” or “athletics performance” or “partner relationship” or “dance sport partnership” or “dance sport and couple” or “dance sport and dyad” or “coach-athete relationship” or “intimate relationship” or “cпopтивнo-бaльныx тaнцax ” or “El Baile Deportivo (dance sport)” or “partnership” et al. As the theme word, we searched for literature in Google scholar, EBSCO, Web of science, Proquest, Riss and other databases, finding researchers in just 16 countries  have conducted researches on dance sport partnership. Among them, only Korean scholars extracted the dimension of partnership and developed corresponding evaluation tools ,13.Based on grounded theory and a survey of 389 Korean sport dancers, Myung, Je-Min․ Kwak, Sung-Hee, and Seong Chang-Hoon first noted that partnership between dance sport couples is “a bilateral relationship based on mutual trust, shared benefits and risks between athletes, and equal responsibility for performance”, and distilled its five dimensions, namely partner care, partner harmony, reciprocal endeavor, perfect rhythm, and economic environment. Partner care means being patient and considerate with your partner and trying not to feel uncomfortable when you are together. Partner harmony means understanding your partner’s personality, communicating well, and connecting to your partner’s heart. A reciprocal endeavor requires a cooperative attitude from the partner, cooperating with frequent participation in training. Perfect rhythm means having a strong sense of music and technical tension. The economic environment refers to having the financial means to pay for training, classes, and competitions. In general, the achievement of sports dance is based on inviting teachers for long hours of classes and expensive clothes . Based oHowever, the dimensions mentioned above still have three limitations. (1) Some of the existing dimensions do not belong to the category of interpersonal relationships, since they can hardly reflect the psychological relationship between partners, they are difficult to be regarded as a component of partnership. For example, the economic environment and perfect rhythm (which are influencing factors for the formation and maintenance of the partnership) and referee–audience feedback (which is a factor that is affected by the competitive performance of the pair dancers). (2) Neglecting the characteristics of dance sport and studying the dimensions of partner relationship, such as instant intimacy. As Patrick Gaudreau et al.  mentione(3) Few studies have paid attention to the cultural characteristics of dance sport partnership from the perspective of cultural psychology, which indicates that interpersonal relationships have cultural characteristics, as does partnership between dance sport couples. For example, based on the Rasch model in item response theory, Yang, Eun-Sim found that the statements like “my partner and I will be full of vitality when dancing in front of the crowd” and “my partner and I have left a deep impression on the audience”  were conAlthough the study of athlete–athlete partnership frameworks is a very important research field ,17, athlThis study adopted the Consensus Quality Research (CQR) method ,20, whicConsidering the fact that the first author of this paper has been involved in dance sports training and academic research for 7 and 5 years, respectively, our study was prone to interference from her personal experience, which made the study violate the norms of qualitative research and caused the reliability and validity of the results to be greatly reduced. Therefore, we chose the consensus analysis method to conduct the study, and the specific CQR implementation process is described below.The sample for our study consisted of 20 registered athletes of the Chinese Dance Sports Federation (CDSF) , who was the champion of Latin dance in the Chinese professional group for three consecutive years from 2013 to 2016. She even broke the record of Chinese athletes in international competitions and danced for 20 years; one male graduate student and two postgraduate students  in psychology from the Beijing Normal University, and one male doctor of education. Among them, the female postgraduate student from the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed the investigation protocol, oversaw data collection, and reviewed results at all stages of coding and final audit. The male graduate student led the data analysis, which involved the coding of the domains and core ideas and the cross-analysis. The two postgraduate students coded the domains and core ideas independently. The male doctor conducted both the initial audit of the codes and the final audit of the cross-analysis.However, given that the champion of Latin dance had familiarity with the relevant research literature and may have potentially overly-subjective ideas about partnership in dance sport, she was not directly involved in the very early phases of the CQR, where the initial codes were derived from the cases. In this regard, the consensual qualitative research team discussed their anticipated outcomes prior to the first round of data analysis, but they suspended their preconceptions during all the phases of the analysis. The postgraduate students who had no knowledge of the research literature or dance sport training experience derived the themes and categories based on what they read from the data, but were also encouraged to modify and improve the categories during the coding and consensus process. Proposed changes were discussed, and the team members agreed on all codes, categories, and changes to these before they were finalized.Firstly, we obtained the consent of the interviewees and explained the purpose. To be more specific, as the first author of this research was engaged in the teaching and training of dance sport for many years, it was easy to get in touch with the sport dancers. They were telephoned and explained the purpose and content of the study and the confidentiality of their information. After obtaining their consent, we arranged the interview time and place with the interviewees.Secondly, we distributed the interview outline to the interviewees 3–5 days in advance. The participants were asked to answer 6 open-ended questions: (1) What do you think of the ideal partner? (2) Why did you become partners? (3) Were there any special events that affected your relationship? (4) How did you communicate or interact during training and competition? (5) What information will you share with each other? (6) Was there other important information about the partner/partner relationship?Thirdly, we prepared interview tools, including a tape recorder, a paper version of interview outline, and a pen.We collected data as the steps below: (1) we confirmed that the recorder was running normally, and the interview outline and pen were brought; (2) we ensured that the interview content was presented anonymously and only for academic use; (3) we showed respect for the opinions of the participates during the interview. If they felt uncomfortable about the questions, they could pause or refuse to answer questions at any time. (4) After permission, the talks were recorded; (5) we aimed to be sincere, open, and strived to create a more comfortable chat atmosphere; (6) we asked questions according to the interview outline and aimed to be be good at questioning to make sure that the participants could give effective information and answer questions pertinently. If there were difficulties in the answer process, for example, the participants could not understand the meaning of the question, they could be guided and assisted by reasonable questioning; (7) we interviewed with an objective and neutral attitude when guiding and assisting the participants to answer questions, they should be allowed to express their personal opinions and not comment on the spot, so as to respect the real psychological state of them; (8) we tried to use paper and pen to write down the key words and sentences of the conversation without permission to record. Finally, the interview materials were transcribed and sorted out. All the interview text materials of 20 interviewees totaled about 115,869 words, as shown in According to the consensus quality research (CQR) method, the data analysis proceeded as follows: coding of domains, coding of core ideas, initial audit, cross-analysis, final audit, and stability check. In all these phases of data analysis, it was vital that the coding team arrive at a consensus regarding the classification and meaning of the data. Domains were topics used to group, cluster, or segment the data . They reSubsequently, we built core ideas for each domain. Core ideas are summaries of the data that capture the essence of the responses . The purOnce these initial codes were set up and derived from the initial 17 cases, the two coders used these codes in the remaining cases. Each coder independently coded a specified number of cases, and then the two met to discuss and form a consensus on their codes. The interim audit was performed by a study team member who was not involved in the initial coding. This process ensured that the domains were adequate and that the core ideas represented the responses. When the auditor disagreed with the domain labeling and coding, discussions were held with other study team members until a consensus was reached.The next step was cross-analysis. In this stage, the core ideas coded under the particular domains described above were analyzed into higher-level categories, which were extracted from the core ideas of all cases by determining which core ideas were similar or represented similar meanings. The cross-analysis was conducted independently by two research team members, who then met and discussed until they reached a consensus on all category labels.We counted the frequency of respondents who mentioned specific categories when the category labels were agreed upon. Through this step, the team was able to determine which categories were more frequently mentioned by respondents. Hill et al.  suggest Next to the final audit, the auditor provided feedback on the initial round of cross-analysis. Codes, category labels, frequency counts, and consensus judgments were examined. In cases of disagreement, the research team returned back to the initial responses and discussed whether the categories represented core ideas. The approach to data coding and category creation was iterative. The final step was to make stability checks. Seven responses were retained during the initial coding and cross-analysis of the domains. Responses from these cases were coded to determine if these categories covered all the data in our sample. No significant changes in categories were noted, therefore, we agreed that the results were stable.Data analysis formed six domains: (1) mutural understanding; (2) instant intimacy; (3) long-term affection; (4) obligational ties; (5) instrumental ties; (6) tacit factors; and (7) mutual self-disclosure. See Mutual understanding refers to a kind of behavior and state that dyadic dancers consciously understand each other. It will help to build a good connection between partners. Without mutual understanding, it will be hard to promote a favorable partnership. This domain was divided into five categories: mutual understanding in all aspects (17T), in dance philosophy (15T), in habits and disposition (7V), in dance flaws (5V), and in disposition (2R) see . n = 17). One participant stressed that no matter whether in life or in dance, more communication was needed to avoid conflicts caused by misunderstanding; it was easier to communicate by knowing your partner in all aspects. This may be due to the high combination of the professional sphere of interaction and personal life between dance sport partners. Partners defined each other as best friends, and often they were also life partners. Therefore, knowing each other in an all-round way, the partners can better predict the other party’s psychological behavior tendency and adjust their own behavior accordingly. Mutual understanding in dance philosophy was stressed by three-quarters of the participants. Only when the partners achieve the same style and state in the dance can a sense of discord be avoided. One participant emphasized that no matter what life was like, he must understand how his partner feels about the dance. Mutual understanding of habits and disposition was mentioned by nearly half of the participants. For example, they said, “they had known each other for many years, and they were familiar with each other’s habits in their life, so their partnership was maintained well”, or “it is very important to know what kind of person the partners are”. This may also be due to the demand for partnership generated by multiple role concentration. In addition, mutual understanding of dance flaws was stressed by 1/4 of the participants; some participants mentioned that they envied those dance partners who communicated with each other about their dance problems after the competition because, in this way, partners could know in time what was wrong with their cooperation and then they can adjust themselves over time, so as to contribute to the improvement of competitive performance; otherwise, sport dancers would make slower progress. Actually, “practice by competition” was encouraged. According to the competition requirements, the sport dancers must participate in several sub-races to obtain the total score and the qualification for the final competition. It was a necessary training method to improve technical movements and competitive performance through the competition. If the dance problems can not be found out in the competition and solved, then the value of the competition will be greatly reduced.Mutual understanding in all aspects was the most commonly mentioned item in this domain , sense of substitution (15T), and feeling of freshness (7V) see . Pleasure was mentioned by 18 participants in this domain. The pleasure refers to a psychological state of physical and mental relaxation when partners get along. Participants stressed, “We are the best friends, the best friend of the opposite sex. Because he is not irritable, we get along very easily, and dance with him will be very comfortable”, or “we cooperated well in technical when I was in a good mood and happy”. However, the decreasing sense of pleasure would always lead to a negative effect on the partnership and the results of the competition. For example, the participants mentioned, “if the partners did not adjust their moods, it would have a great negative impact on their performance”. Or “when she danced in a bad mood, I would be very tired and could not enter the training state”. A sense of substitution was stressed by 15 participants in this domain. The sense of substitution required the dancers to substitute the emotional needs given by the role into the cooperation between dance partners, which helped to improve the artistic expression. This was consistent with Yang, Eun-Sim’s view that passion and immersion were needed between dance sport partners . For exaLong-term affection refers to emotional ties generated in long-time interactions in life and professional contexts between dance partners, which is different from instant intimacy for its weaker emotional concentration and slower emotional outburst. This domain was divided into seven categories: intimacy (20G), harmony (20G), mutual help (20G), mutual tolerance (20G), mutual attraction (15T), mimetic relatives (10V), and close family ties (2R) see .Intimacy was mentioned by 20 participants in this domain. It refers to a sense of close relationship formed by the accumulated training and life interaction between dance partners. Participants mentioned that “Many people may dance together because they have affections”, or “we were childhood sweethearts and danced together since childhood”, or “the experience of going out for training and competition would deepen the partnership, especially in foreign countries. Because humans were emotional animals, when one witnessed something and experienced something with their partner together, their partnership became closer and better”. Harmony refers to the coordination and accommodation between dance partners in terms of character and living habits, which was stressed in this domain. Participants stressed that harmony directly affected the quality of dance performance, and unharmonious living habits made it hard for them to go far, let alone achieve their common goals, and their character was important as well. Mutual help represents highly viscous ties characterized by dedication between partners. One participant stressed that they spent the first five or six years of dancing together in Shanghai. During these days, they helped each other a lot. Some other participants mentioned that they came and went together all the time—whenever they left home for school or came back home from school—they were the closest partners besides their family members, and they will take care of each other for life. Mutual tolerance aims to eliminate personality differences and ensure smooth communication. Participants stressed that mutual tolerance and concession were linking them tightly like a tie. Both dancers must understand their partners and be tolerant of each other, only in this way can they dance well. Otherwise, the cooperation will not last long. Mutual attraction refers to a strong psychological connection with appreciation between partners. Participants stressed that they hoped they got a more mature person. Some female participants stressed that they wanted to have a male partner who was more courageous and good at making decisions than themselves, daring to challenge them so that they would cultivate a sense of worship towards their male partners. In fact, this kind of worship plays an essential role in their training and performance. It would be hard to persist without mutual appreciation. In addition, mimetic relative and close family ties both reflected the closeness between dance partners from different aspects. Some participants mentioned, “I have a close family relationship with my dancing partner. Our parents usually communicate and watch our competitions, and care about us very much. So we’ve always had a good relationship”, or “he takes good care of me. Anyway, he is like a father in my heart”, or “partners are not only friends but also partners like family members, they can care about each other”. Even some female/male participants called their male/female partners as “good brothers”.Obligational ties mean that dancers consciously abide by the etiquette with their partners. This domain was divided into four categories: responsibility (20G), training plan (12T), appreciation (10V), and respect (7V) see .Responsibility was mentioned by all participants in this domain. The sense of responsibility was the inherent requirement of social norms and role norms which is under the Chinese interpersonal relationship interpretation framework of “everyone is for me, I am for everyone”, such as matching with partners in terms of investment, ability, etc., and living up to the help of the dance partner. To coordinate with the social norms, some participants responded, “I’m a boy. I should take more care of her”, Or “the agreement between partners on dance must not be broken. Otherwise, it will greatly affect the partnership”, or “no matter who the partner is, if he appeared in the classroom to practice dancing and I don’t, I was guilty”, or “If I agreed to practice dancing, I would definitely go”, or “Dancing was something we must do in our life. Now when we retired from the position of national champion, we would also train ourselves and manage ourselves. Whether we were happy or tired, the base number of daily training is necessary”. The training plan requires the dancers to cooperate to formulate and follow the training plan, which was stressed by 12 participants in this domain. Cheng Dan, the champion of the Chinese professional group, stated, “Since 2014, we have really realized the importance of planning for a pair of dancers. We will make detailed plans, such as every overseas plan, domestic plan, training plan, and then follow them”. Appreciation was stated by 10 participants in this domain. Appreciation shows gratitude beyond the love expressed by partners’ companions, which is similar to the friendship between comrades in arms. For example, Cheng Dan pointed out, “I appreciated her very much from the bottom of my heart. She was such a girl in my life who can accompany me from my youth to the present, standing at the top of this area, I feel very lucky. Because of this, I always also tell myself to work harder”. Because the competition is full of uncertainty, dancers had to bear the risk of failure, the frustration of not reaching the top, and the regret of not making progress. In the whole process, dance partners were interdependent on each other, most of the dancers are filled with gratitude for their partner. Respect was stated by seven participants in this domain and it requires dancers to respect each other’s ideas in both life and training, and do not interfere with each other without permission. For example, the participants mentioned that they do not interfere in their partner’s personal affairs too much except for training, leaving some privacy. In addition, in sports dance training, the first author of this study found that dancers would fight in the training hall due to quarrels, leading to the termination of the dance partner relationship. Therefore, mutual respect is something that dancers should pay attention to.Instrumental ties mean that the dancers used the partnership as a means or tool to obtain achievements. This domain was divided into three categories: consistent goals (20G), skills improvement (20G), and image matching (16T) see .Consistent goals were mentioned by all participants in this domain. The most important goal for sports dancers was that the dancers could cooperate with partners to improve their competitive ability and obtain excellent competitive performance. In addition, in order to achieve their goals, dancers are also required to match themselves in terms of external image. Some participants stressed, “Dancing partners were like partners in business”, or “we are mutually beneficial and win-win, when our goals are inconsistent, we will split up”. What is more, Tian Tian, the Latin dance champion of the Chinese professional group, pointed out that mature and excellent sports dancers do not have too high requirements for the high closeness of partnerships, but they paid more attention to whether there is a breakthrough in technology and achievements. Another participant said without hesitation, “I think the partner should go with me to get the results, otherwise don’t delay me for a second”. Therefore, inconsistent goals will also result in the breakdown of mutually beneficial and win-win relations. Only by developing each other’s talents can dancers gather them together and create synergy. Skills improvement was most commonly mentioned in this domain. One participant stressed, “The national standard dance is a kind of dyadic sport dancers would use their partners to improve their skills. To be frank, the partnership was just a kind of utilization relationship. You need her to continue dancing”. Image matching was most commonly mentioned in this domain. The dancers required that the external image of the partner should match with their own, and even most of the dancers could only accept better than their own. Participants stressed that since dancesport is artistic, a good-looking appearance is also conducive to their future development. When males chose females, they first required the partner to have good external conditions, and be almost acceptable technically.Tacit understanding refers to a high degree of harmony in the coordination of dance movements, emotions, and even overall performance. This domain was divided into three categories: dance movements (8V), emotional congruence (6V), and dance performance (5V) see .Dance movements were most commonly stressed in this domain. Tacit understanding of dance movement can be generated in the accumulated cooperation training. Some participants stated that they had been working together for many years, and they know their partners’ next move from one look and one action. There are also young participants who were not satisfied with the degree of tacit understanding of their dance movements. They mentioned that sometimes when they cooperated with each other, they found that they were the same as their new partners, which made them very dissatisfied. According to the dynamic shaping theory of Pavlov, only when the movement cooperation between the partners reaches a certain degree of tacit understanding, then they will pay more attention to the overall artistic presentation in order to obtain better competition results. This requires the dancers to constantly cooperate with the practice in dance movements, until the motor-conditioned reflex system is consolidated and reaches the stage of establishing, consolidating the dynamic stereotype, and finally can achieve the unconscious production of accurate and beautiful movements. Emotional congruence was also mentioned in this domain; tacit understanding in emotional congruence was an accurate and effective perception of each other’s emotions formed in daily life and training, emotional congruence is the foreshadowing for the instant intimacy or long-term affection derived from the dance partnership. Participants stressed, “when she was in the back court of the game, I could tell if she was nervous at a glance. When she is nervous, I will be happy to amuse her”, or “she knew what I was doing without telling her”. Dance performance was mentioned by a quarter of the participants in this domain; tacit understanding in dance performance means that the contestants have realized the highest value attribute of dance-artistic value, which drove the dancers unconsciously looking for an impulse to release their most primitive feelings. One participant stressed, “When my partner dances with my emotions, we are like two train tracks suddenly connected. At this time, our emotions and actions will be released freely”. In summary, we believed that under the tacit understanding, the partners would output and receive information efficiently in the same training and competition, which is not only conducive to the maintenance and development of high-quality partnerships, but also to promote training efficiency and reach the optimal competitive performance.Mutual self-disclosure requires dancers to be sincere and show personal thoughts and feelings to their partners. This domain was also a category which means that partners can freely share their own thoughts, confusion, and occasional bad emotions and troubles with each other see . For exaThe purpose of our study was to explore relationship components that contribute to the elite dance sport athlete–athlete partnerships. This exploratory study was one of few existing studies addressing the interpersonal components of athlete–athlete partnerships and one of two available studies examining partnerships between dance sport couples. Based on the analysis of the interview data of 20 excellent Chinese dance sport athletes by consensual qualitative research (CQR) method, it was found that partnership between dance sport couples in China includes seven constructs: mutual understanding, instant intimacy, long-term affection, obligational ties, instrumental ties, tacit factors, and mutual self-disclosure.At present, the existing research has refined the components of partnership between dance sport couples, namely: partner care, partner harmony, reciprocal endeavor, perfect rhythm, economic environment, trust, referee–audience feedback, and physical harmony ,13. AmonAs for obligational ties  in partnership, its connotation included a reciprocal endeavor . HoweverThe long-term affection  was in line with the partner care dimension of partnership between dance sport couples  and the The instrumental ties  proposed in our study were determined by the characteristics of competitive sports, where competitive achievements were the key to power and status. On the contrary, athletes were forced to withdraw from the competition. In order not to be eliminated, they needed to be supported by their athletic achievements. Cheng Dan, the champion of China’s ballroom dance professional group, recalled: “At that time, our external image was not the most brilliant. We were not the most brilliant players, and no one knew our names. But we did not want to be eliminated, and instead of the best players, we were more active in this field of competition”. So it could be seen that dance sport partners were a community sharing common goals and tasks . In thisMutual understanding was proposed by our study, which was seldom presented by other research on partnership, we took it as an innovation point. We considered that individual communication was full of deviations and misreadings. In order to avoid frictions caused by cognitive deviation, dancers needed to accurately predict the internal psychology and behaviors on the basis of a full understanding of their partners, and make correct decisions for possible differences and conflicts. So Majoross believed that identifying and managing conflicts was critical and proposed the method, which included increasing communication and understanding between dance partners, giving tolerance, encouragement, and confidence to dance partners . As for The results of this study were suitable for Chinese excellent sport dancers who have more than 7 years of training experience, and have or have had 3 years of partner experience with their partners, and have obtained the top six results in professional, professional-sequence, A-sequence, and other excellent groups. However, we recommended further investigation on other sport dancers . Since the dancers in the sample reflected their experiences as young professional dancers or early international dancers, it was necessary to understand the internal components of dance partnerships in order to explore the interpersonal factors that have changed over time to promote advanced performance. There were, of course, limitations to the approach taken to meet the research aims in this paper. First, the consensual qualitative research (CQR) method adopted within this study had often been criticized as a “subjective assumption” , which mFurthermore, a clear limitation of our study was that these concepts’ results cannot perfectly interpret the Chinese dance sport partnership. Although, we tried to tap the connotation of the partnership between Chinese sports dance couples and got some valuable findings. In an idealized form, the complex conceptual structure grasped by us with precise concepts existed in the changing minds of different individuals. Its components and meanings had extremely complex hierarchical differences among these individuals and contained countless differences and chaos full of sharp various conceptual relationships. Therefore, the highly abstract generalization of partnership between Chinese dance sport couples was just an idealized attempt, and the exploration of its’ contexts needed further exploration. Just like the 3C theory of the coach–athlete relationship , the 5C In addition, according to the opinion of sports psychologists, there were differences in the partnership between athletes and athletes in pairs events, which meant that when conducting research on partnerships in different events, we should carefully consider the risk of theoretical and practical incompatibility caused by transplanting the analytical framework of the partnership between couples in other events. It can be seen that we should strengthen the exploration of the internal dimension or analytical framework of the athlete–athlete partnership in different events. So, future studies need to continually examine diverse examples of athlete–athlete partnerships, so as to expand interpersonal relationship and performance theory in sport.Taylor, J., Ashford, M., Collins, D once stated that the importance of effective talent development in sport was well established as a key aspect of achieving high-level performance . The con(1)Create a romantic training atmosphere or a psychological connection between dance couples before the competition, if possible, thus enhancing the instant intimacy  between the partners. Even encourage the dancers to fall in love with their partners. The literature found that partners must exhibit passion and emotion during dancing; very often, high-class dancing couples are also pairs in life ,38. In a(2)Encourage mutual self-disclosure between the dance partners to promote mutual understanding and, thus, enhance their ability to perceive their partners’ psychological and behavioral tendencies so as to improve the quality of the training, even competitive performance. The reason was as follows: based on the analytical framework of the self-concept of “independent self” and “interdependent self” proposed by Marcus and Kitayama according to the characteristics of cultural differences, it is emphasized that easterners preferred to discover themselves by relying on others , which i(3)For dancers who regard their partners as only a kind of training capital, remind them not to release this mentality too much to their partners, but to pay attention to the “renqing” and “mianzi” between them, showing the obligational ties  with their partners, instead. The reason is that the obligational ties between couple cushions dancers from the lose and hollowness of being used as a tool. This is why Chinese utilitarian relationships are often attached by obligatory ties.(4)Cultivate the mutual tacit understanding in dance movements, emotional congruence, and dance performance. We suggested developing and offering relevant courses to improve the empathy and emotional intelligence of sports dancers in the future. As Scholars, based on Howard Gardner, a developmental psychologist at Harvard University, proposed that dancers’ interpersonal skills are the engine of artistic communication between dance partners .In general, competitive dancers and dance sport coaches should realize the importance of the partnership between dance couples on competitive performance. Competitive dancers should take the initiative to promote competitive performance through the management of dance partner relationship. Coaches should pay attention to the change of dance partnership at any time while conducting technical teaching, and maximize the competitive performance of dancers by maintaining and improving the quality of dance partnership. To be more specific:In addition, it is also recommended to cultivate long-term affection between dance partners, such as intimacy, harmony, mutual help, mutual tolerance, mutual attraction.Partnership between dance sport couples in China is a complex concept whose components are as the follows: mutual understanding , instant intimacy , long-term affection , obligational ties , instrumental ties , tacit factors , and mutual self-disclosure. Our findings extended research on athletic dyads, such as dance sport, in three ways: first, according to the project characteristics of sports dance expressing intimate physical and emotional interaction between male and female, we proposed the concept of instant intimacy, which was rarely mentioned in the previous athlete–athlete partnership. In addition, our research also emphasized the cultural characteristics of dance partnership, we explained that the obligation tie which was ruled by “renqing” was different from the obligation ties corresponding to the contract in the West. Second, the consensual qualitative research (CQR) method was first used in the research of athlete–athlete partnership, which provided a new research idea for later related research. Third, we should encourage athletes to explore ways to achieve outstanding performance by revealing the interpersonal elements in their interdependent development.


Child malnutrition persists globally with men and women playing distinct roles to support children’s nutrition. Women frequently carry the bulk of the workload related to food, care, and health, all of which are critical factors in child nutrition. For this reason, development efforts have emphasised women ignoring the potential role of men in supporting children’s nutrition. This study sought to understand the different roles that Malawian men and women play in children’s nutrition.This qualitative was conducted in rural Central Malawi as part of a baseline study in 2017 for the CARE Southern Africa Nutrition Initiative. Seventy-six participants were interviewed, including 19 men and 57 women, using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews. We sought to understand the gender distribution of men’s and women’s roles and how these roles influence child nutrition.We found that both men and women were involved in productive, reproductive, and community work. However, consistent with the literature, women carried a disproportionate workload in supporting child nutrition compared to men. Women’s heavier workloads often prevented them from being able to meet children’s food needs. Nevertheless, shifts in gender roles were observed in some of the sampled communities, with men taking up responsibilities that have been typically associated with women. These changes in gender roles, however, did not necessarily increase women’s power within the household.Traditional gender roles remain prevalent in the sampled communities. Women continue to be primarily responsible for the food, care, and health of the household. Women’s heavy workloads prevent them from providing optimal care and nutrition for children. While efforts to advance gender equality by encouraging men to participate in child care and other household responsibilities appear to have had marginal success, the extent to which these efforts have successfully encouraged men to share power remains unclear. Improving gender equality and child nutrition will require efforts to redistribute gendered work and encourage men to move towards shared power with women over household decision-making and control over income. Child malnutrition persists globally, even though child stunting has decreased by 10% over the past 6 years . While tIn many African countries, child care – including child nutrition – falls under the purview of women. Women frequently carry the bulk of the workload related to food, care, and health, all of which are critical factors in child nutrition. Studies –9 suggesThe UNICEF conceptual framework, particularly the underlying causes of malnutrition, framed our analysis. We focussed in particular on access to food, adequate care for women and children and a healthy environment. The UNICEF framework defines food security as “...when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safeTraditional gender norms inform the diverse roles that men and women are expected to play to ensure household food security. These roles are typically informed by gender norms. Gender norms are behaviours, roles, and responsibilities that are socially allocated to men and women based on their sex. Gender norms also inform how men and women interact with one another .Globally, women contribute to children’s nutrition in two ways. The first is through productive work, which includes farming and generating income to purchase food. These activities directly contribute to household food security. The second is through reproductive work, which is often unpaid and consequently considered less valuable . ReproduHistorically, women’s productive and reproductive work has been heavier than men’s –18. ChilAccess to clean water has implications for children’s nutrition, health and sanitation, and ultimately, the health of the household environment. The collection of water is highly feminised across Sub-Saharan Africa . Water iMen’s involvement has been considered a primary tool for transforming gender norms and working towards equality in terms of unpaid care work. Efforts to promote men’s shared responsibility for the family are driven by the need to redistribute reproductiveMany scholars , 19, 31 This paper investigates the distribution of gendered roles, focussing in particular on exploring the extent to which women’s role in accessing food, providing adequate care for children and providing a health household environment can contribute to improved child nutrition outcomes. It also considers the implications of programmes aimed at redistributing women’s carework on gender equality.This study was a cross sectional descriptive study which was conducted as part of a baseline study conducted in 2017 for the CARE Southern Africa Nutrition Initiative (SANI). The SANI project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada. It aims to improve the persistent negative nutrition outcomes for women and children under 5 years of age in the Southern African countries of Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia.Between 2010 and 2015, Malawi made significant progress in reducing child malnutrition from 47 to 37% respectively , 36. NonThe study took place in the Dowa and Ntchisi districts of rural Central Malawi. Four traditional authorities were sampled, including Dzoole, Kalumo, Kasakula, and Kayembe. Children’s nutrition in these districts was equal to or worse than the national average. Table Data were collected from four different sub-samples of participants from one family unit. The sub-samples included 1) childbearing women with at least one child under 5 years of age; 2) men currently living with a female partner who also had at least one child under 5 years of age; 3) mothers-in-law of the women participants interviewed; and 4) community/religious leaders. The first three sub-samples were interviewed through focus group interviews, while the community/religious leaders were interviewed through in-depth individual interviews.Seventy-six participants were sampled, including 19 men and 57 women. As the study was focused on maternal child nutrition, the emphasis was on women and under-five children. Data were collected from men and mothers-in-law to provide context. Mothers-in-law and also female community leaders constituted women in the study and participated in the interviews. The men were the husbands of the women who were sampled. All participants were above 18 years of age. A total of twelve focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted. Three FGDs were conducted for each participant group . We determined saturation when we noted that the themes were repetitive across the data. Four individual interviews were conducted with traditional leaders in each traditional authority.All participants were recruited by CARE staff who visited each research site several days before data collection. Study participants were conveniently sampled directly from the community, with assistance from community leaders. Participants were conveniently sampled because this was a study conducted specifically for the purposes of informing the SANI project. As such, it was important to sample communities in which the SANI intervention would be implemented. Community leaders were included as study participants because it was culturally relevant and appropriate. It was respectful to seek their input in a study that had implications for their community. There was no indication that the data we garnered from community leaders were different from data gathered from other members of the community - the themes were confirmed across all the populations sampled for the study. Because the study areas were a distance from the main trading centre in all of the sampled communities, it was imperative that we identify people in the community who were available at the time that the study team was in the community. We confirmed themes across all populations and obtained data that were sensitive in nature, suggesting that participants were open about their experiences.Two interviews were conducted closer to the trading centre, and two were further away from the trading centre. The selection of these two sites was based on the assumption that behaviours and perhaps even knowledge and potentially community cohesiveness would be different based on proximity to the trading centre. All interviews with the participants took place in a private space identified by the community, including churches, schools, or quiet spaces in the community.Before each interview, written informed consent was obtained from all participants after verbally explaining the purpose of the study. The majority of the participants provided a thumbprint as evidence of consent to participate in the study because of limited formal education. Participants were assured of confidentiality and anonymity. They were also informed of the right to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty. During the focus group interviews, pseudonyms were used in the form of numbers to maintain participant anonymity. Participants thus addressed each other by number as opposed to by name throughout the focus group interviews.The research team consisted of a qualitative research expert who trained three research assistants/facilitators to collect the qualitative data. Two male research assistants conducted FGDs with men. The two alternated facilitating and taking notes during the focus group interviews. The FGDs with women and the mothers-in-law were conducted by one of the female co-authors.Data were collected over several weeks in July and August 2017. FGDs included four to eight participants in each focus group interview. Interviews lasted approximately one to 2 h and were recorded using a digital recorder. The interviews were transcribed first into Chichewa and then translated into English by the bilingual research assistants.The data were uploaded into Atlas.ti software. Data were iteratively coded and analysed using inductive qualitative analysis techniques. The first author reviewed all of the data and identified themes related to gender, food security, and nutrition using a thematic network approach (36). The codes were then reviewed to determine themes and sub-themes. The findings highlight the gender roles that men and women play in activities related to children’s nutrition.The data were subjected to multiple readings by three authors. In these readings, particular attention was paid to the different roles men and women played in meeting the household’s food, care, and health needs in ensuring child nutrition. Again, this was an iterative process, which sometimes led to revising categorisation of themes and sub-themes. Throughout the process, these analyses were discussed and confirmed with the other authors, particularly the authors who conducted the fieldwork. The manuscript was also shared with CARE Malawi staff members who verified the accuracy of information related to the organisation and the related experiences of gender roles, food security, and nutrition in Malawi based on CARE’s ongoing work in the communities.Table Generally, men and women play different roles in child nutrition. Table Eleven activities (sub-themes) were identified under the first three main themes. These activities are listed in the second column of Table Men and women were involved in three main activities to obtain food, including business, sourcing food and farming.“From this pail, you are able to find money for purchasing food.” – P2, female.More men than women mentioned involvement in business activities. Some men said that they had their own businesses such as tin pail making. These tin pails were used for drawing water. Others sold goods and were involved in carpentry. These activities generated income which could be used for food purchases. One woman in a FGD explained that the pail making business, which mainly involved men, was a source of income for food purchases. She said “When the woman sees that things are really hard in the home, she tries to find some money so that she can start a business.” – P1, female.Men who owned businesses invested much of their time and effort in business-related activities; while women’s role in business was only mentioned in one FGD, even though women felt that business was an opportunity to generate income for food, especially when food was scarce. One woman in a FGD in Kasakula said, ganyu labour , farming, or hunting for mice. While both men and women expressed this sentiment, more men felt that sourcing food was their responsibility. Men were expected to use their income to buy food. In one FGD with men, participants were asked whose responsibility it was to buy relish and other food items. There was a general consensus that this was a man’s responsibility. One man, for example, said, “But largely it is the man who has that responsibility.” – P1, male.Sourcing food was mainly considered to be men’s responsibility. While many of the income-generating activities were to source food for the household, sourcing food is highlighted as a separate theme because participants emphasised the primary role of men in this specific activity. Much of men’s time was spent sourcing food by participating in “The man sources relish and brings it like small fish, maybe meat.” – P8, female.Some of the items that participants mentioned that men bought included fish, meat, vegetables, maize, and sugar. For example, one woman in a focus group discussion in Kayembe said, “The role of the man in the home is that he should source food in the home so that it is available, there should be good nutrition.” – P3, male.Another man in a FGD in Dzoole said,“In terms of sourcing food for the home, we source together. Whether it’s ganyu, then it means we do the ganyu together with the man.” – P1, female.It was only in two cases where women mentioned that they were solely responsible for sourcing food. In these cases, both women were widowed. Some women felt that it was the responsibility of both men and women to source food. One woman from Kayembe said, “Eee, in the home, if there is no food, then it means it’s both of them (man and woman) who take responsibility for doing ganyu, both men and women indeed. Where there is lack of food, then the man wakes up early to look (for food). The woman too wakes up early to look (for food). It is the job of everyone to source food, not just the man.”– Individual interview, Male.A religious leader in Kalumo in an individual interview shared, “For me, if I have gone out to ask for ganyu because we don’t have flour but then he also went elsewhere to look, but he didn’t find it. I tell him that I have found it and I show him the basin of flour. Then I ask him to go and help me. Then where I have found, we take our hoes and go and work together. We do work together.” – P3, female.Men and women identified that they could source food by farming, finding ganyu labour or participating in business. One woman in a FGD in Kalumo said, “It’s the responsibility of both of us in the home. The one who starts off first in the morning is the man. I stay behind so that I can bathe the children, they should go to school. When I am finished is when I go to the garden.” – P5, female.Both men and women shared that they had a role to play in farming. Although more women than men expressed this joint role, both described situations where they participated in some form of farm work. One woman from Kalumo said, “In addition, we can say it’s both the man and the woman. Since you mentioned about farming, both are involved with farming work, the man does not do it alone.” – P2, male.A man from Kayembe shared that, “It really happens indeed. When you are finished ploughing, that’s it. You harvest, that’s the end of the marriage. This is what she means when she says the wife of the rainy season. The marriage is no longer there, no.” – P3, female.In one FGD in Kasakula, the women joked that the rainy and ploughing seasons were a blissful time for marriage because they worked together with the men. However, when ploughing was completed, men were not as helpful. In some cases, men would leave their wives and marry another woman. One woman said, “For us women to farm on our own, it’s because of the laziness of the men. They refuse to go to the garden. That is why you find that we farm on our own. Yes, they are lazy.” P2, female.While farming was generally considered a shared responsibility, some women felt they were mainly responsible for farming. One woman from Kalumo said, , “When they are drunk? Then you will go to the garden while he  is just there sleeping.” – P7, female.Alcohol presented a significant barrier to men’s participation in farming activities. One woman from Kasakula shared, “But also, when he is extremely drunk, in the morning, he wakes up with no strength at all. So, you just pick up your hoe, and you go to the garden, there you plough.” – P5, female.Another woman in the same FGD saidHousework entailed five activities, including childcare, cooking, household labour, drawing water, and cleaning.Although it was reported that both men and women participated in childcare, this was mainly considered women’s responsibility. No men reported solely being responsible for this activity. Childcare, as women’s responsibility, was expressed mainly by men. Activities related to childcare included feeding (including breastfeeding) and bathing children, washing diapers, preparing food for children, washing baby clothes, and putting children to bed. One man from a FGD in Kalumo said,“It is different because when it comes to the child, the main person is the woman because if the child is breastfeeding, if you take him, then it means they will cry and will not stop soon. But when the child is with the mother, she will just start breastfeeding him. So, it means the main work is done by the mother.” – P3, male.“It is often the mother who stays with the child. As a man, you are out, but the child stays with the mother.” – P4, male.Both men and women felt that childcare was a woman’s responsibility because women spent more time with children. When asked why only the mother could feed the child, a man from an FGD in Kalumo said, “ … a man does not walk with a child but a woman. Children are for a woman because a man does not go about with children. Breastfeeding, I am the one who breastfed. So, the one who goes about with children will pick up the hoe and go and do ganyu because she is the one who knows about the needs of a child.” – P1, female.A mother-in-law in Kasakula shared that, “Men who are understanding do play a role.” – P4, female.Both men and women mentioned that men also play a role in childcare. Both men and women felt that men do and are capable of being involved in childcare. An equal number of men and women shared this sentiment. In one FGD with men in Kayembe, men were asked whose responsibility it was to care for infants. A few respondents felt that it was both men and women’s responsibility. Childcare activities that both men and women participated in included looking after the baby, cooking food for children, and bathing children. One woman in Kayembe said, “We help with the baby if the mother is too busy.” – P5, male.In some cases, men shared that they only became involved in childcare when the mother was busy. One man in Kayemba stated, “That is for both because if I go out and bring soap and my wife uses the soap to wash the children’s clothes, it means both of us have played a role.” – P1, male.One man from Kayembe shared that because he had provided financial resources, he had contributed towards childcare. He said, “The women are the ones who cook. They cook on their own even if they are tired. Here, it is the women who cook. Maybe in our friends’ areas, men are able to cook. But here in our area, women are the ones who cook.” – P2, female.Similar to childcare, more men than women expressed that cooking was women’s responsibility. One mother-in-law in Kasakula said, “For me, I don’t experience abuse in my marriage. He helps me … cooking, feeding the children, chopping firewood.” – P2, female.More women than men expressed that cooking was sometimes a shared responsibility. One woman from Kayembe said, “But for me, I am able to help in cooking. At times I can tell my wife that today you can rest, I will do this one.” – P4, male.One man from Kayembe shared that, “There are some chores that have stayed with women. Like here, for them to find you cooking, then it means the woman is sick, or she is away from the home.” – P3, male.The other men laughed when he shared this comment. Most men felt that cooking was still predominantly women’s responsibility. However, there were certain circumstances under which men also cooked. These circumstances included when a woman was busy, ill, pregnant, or away from home. One man from Dzoole said, “It is us, women. We do not have the man cook, no. But when we are away, he cooks and also when we are sick is when he cooks.” – P1, female.A woman in Kasakula shared, “Maybe the water she drew in the morning is finished, she will go again to draw more water from the well.” – P1, female.Both men and women felt that drawing water was women’s responsibility. No men reported participation in collecting water. Women shared that water could be collected up to three times a day. This water was used for cooking, washing clothes, bathing, and washing dishes. One woman said, , “Women who are expecting fetch water a lot. If there are children, they help her. But for those who do not have children, the mother-in-law can also help when they see that the woman is very tired (with pregnancy).” – P1, female.Sometimes children helped women to collect water, which eased the workload of women. Even pregnant women were expected to collect water. In some cases, mothers-in-law helped when a woman was further along in her pregnancy. One woman in Kasakula shared“She must clean the house when she wakes up, clean the plates, prepare porridge for the baby and for everyone then thereafter go farming.” – P2, male.More men than women felt that housework was women’s responsibility. Housework included: sweeping, washing dishes, collecting firewood, going to the maize mill, and washing clothes. One man in Kayembe said, “In the afternoon, the man goes to chat. Then I continue with the work. I should wash the dishes, put them in their place where they go. If there is something else that needs to be done, I do that, whether it’s washing, I should wash if that day things were not washed. I should also sweep the house after we have eaten nsima.4” – P1, female.A woman in Kayembe said, “That is how I see it. When I am expecting, he helps me cook, chop firewood, even going to the mill.” – P2, female.Some men and women shared that housework is the responsibility of both sexes. Again, there were certain circumstances under which men participated in housework. One woman from Kayembe said, “Constructing houses. We women cannot manage.” – P2, female.There are certain activities related to the physical maintenance of the home that were considered men’s responsibility. These activities were mentioned in four FGDs. Both men and women felt that women could not perform these specific activities because they required physical strength. One woman said that men were responsible for, “The tasks must be different since we men do some things that women cannot do, and the women have tasks too that we can’t do. If we went to farm and come back, the wife will occupy herself with cooking while will we be busy constructing a tobacco shed. You can’t ask the wife to construct a tobacco shed which involves digging and climbing on a roof. So, our tasks are indeed different.” – P1, male.Another man in a FGD in Kayembe said, “Because we are not usually home, we are always up and about, like we said before that we go drinking, interacting with friends, playing soccer, meanwhile, the children are with their mothers.” – P1, male.Men spent more time than women on leisure activities, especially when there was not much farm work to be completed. Men’s leisure time activities were identified mostly by men themselves however, both women and men noted that men’s leisure activities included chatting, playing bawo,“Men like going to chat more than women because you cannot go out the whole day and then the next day, the whole day, no. But for them, there is the opportunity to go to bawo. You continue your work in the home, you cannot leave. But the man goes to bawo.” – P1, female.Women were generally unable to enjoy the same amount of leisure time because of domestic responsibilities and socially-prescribed gender role expectations. One woman in Kayembe said, “When we eat in the afternoon, we have to chat. If you go to church groups, you need to go. If there is choir, you go and return and then come and take care of your home.” – P3, female.Women had far less leisure time than men. Women’s leisure was only mentioned by a few men. Women’s leisure time included chatting with friends, going to church groups or choir, and reading the Bible. One woman from Kayembe said, Table The gendered roles men and women play in food, care, and health often constrained their ability to meet children’s nutrition needs. These included women facing time constraints and barriers to men performing work that is typically associated with women.“The difference is that we are busy, so the ganyu that we do is limited. We have to first do household chores, compared to men (who don’t).” – P8, female.Women’s multiple roles often meant that they made trade-offs between performing their household responsibilities or sourcing food. As previously noted, collecting water was one of the tasks that women felt was particularly time-consuming. Women also shared that they could not freely pursue ganyu labour because of household responsibilities. One woman from Dzoole said, , “But if she is there, then people will disrespect you that your wife has fed you medicine. In refusing the saying that they have fed you medicine, this is why women are suffering with these chores.” – P3, male.Societal expectations of men often prevented them from supporting women in reducing their work burdens. Some men experienced shaming if they performed work that was associated with women. This fear of backlash prevented men from performing this work when women were home. A man from Dzoole explained that you only help with household chores when the woman is away“The difference between this work … like us, we also observed from our parents because like in the area of cooking like this then it means our parents, they have never really been involved with this issue of gender so that some things we take it from our parents, differentiating work.” – P5, male.These gender roles appeared to be learned through a process of socialisation from childhood and a lack of exposure to role models who did not follow traditional gender norms. One man in a FGD in Kalumo said, “This is how it has been from the past, that a woman must cook.” – P1, male.Keeping things the same, as they were in the past, challenges changing gender norms. As another man from Kayembe said, “A chick imitates what the mother hen does. She is doing it, and the child is there. You cannot say it will not see. It will see.” – P1, female.Mothers-in-law from Kasakula shared that their children behaved a certain way because they learned these behaviours from their parents. One woman said, “It started some years back when the issue of gender just came. They [men] actually changed.” – P7, female.The results of the first three themes suggest that some activities, although considered women’s responsibility, were performed to some extent by both sexes. There was an indication that men and women were subverting some of the socially-prescribed traditional gender roles. When asked how this change came about, one woman from Dzoole said, “Yes, it was different in the past. In the past, the one who was seen to be at the forefront was the man. But today, no. Everyone has their own role. The man needs to participate in whatever way will be helpful. The woman needs to participate in whatever way will be helpful.” – P3, female.Women suggested that both men and women had an equal role to play in the home. One woman from Kayembe said, “In the past, it was different from nowadays. In the past, they said the man is the head of the family. But today, “gender“ has come. Everyone has the right to play a role.” – P1, female.Another woman from Kayembe said, “Things indeed, have changed. They are different from what it was like. Even in the home, you find that when the man is not there, and the roof is leaking, you just say, there is just need for some paper, bring a stick. And you climb up indeed, you take a paper, and you place it there. Then it means everything is well there.” – P4, female.One woman from Kayembe mentioned that she is part of an organisation that offers education on gender. They teach the communities that there is no difference between a man and a woman and that women can also perform men’s tasks. She said, “It’s important that when it comes to the role of cooking, we all need to play a role because there are some of us men, we just pressure women that you should go cook when perhaps the woman is also doing other work. Yet you have the opportunity, you have time that you can also take over from the woman, it doesn’t mean that you will not have intelligence, no. But household chores are about helping one another, both of you want to work towards good nutrition in the home.” – P5, male.A man in a FGD in Kalumo said, Literature highlights that women play a greater role in children’s nutrition , 37–39. Concerning food, both men and women participated in several activities to obtain food for the household. Although more men reported owning businesses than women, there was an indication that some women were involved in business activities to generate income. Sourcing food was primarily seen as men’s responsibility. However, women frequently participated in this activity too. Men also typically had more time to generate income, given women’s large household burden. As such, there was an expectation that men would, or rather should, be responsible for purchasing food. This finding is consistent with literature that suggests that Malawian men are typically responsible for sourcing food , 33. TheFarming was generally perceived as both men’s and women’s responsibility. Marriage patterns in rural Malawi tend to be tenuous and are informed by the harvest. Some women shared that they carried the primary responsibility for farming. Alcohol and laziness were considered two of the main reasons for men’s lack of participation in farming. Given the multiple responsibilities women carry, they rarely had time for leisure. On the other hand, men spent a significant amount of time on leisure, mainly when it was not farming season. Women expressed frustration with men who did not offer adequate contributions to farming. They also raised concern that some men did not provide sufficient support financially or with household responsibilities. This finding is consistent with Kerr et al. , who fouConcerning care, men and women suggested that children needed to be with the mother because women breastfeed. Consequently, childcare was considered women’s responsibility because women spent more time with children. Men would only help with childcare under certain conditions. The same applied to cooking. Men would only help with cooking if women were busy, sick, or away from home. The analysis indicates that the mothers-in-law seem to hold and perpetuate expected gender roles. Women regarded a man who helped with childcare as understanding. Similarly, women felt that men who helped with cooking were not abusive, reinforcing the idea that these were still women’s responsibilities. This finding is consistent with Pierrioti et al. , who sugThe likelihood that women might carry out multiple activities simultaneously, especially childcare, is important to note. Women explained that they frequently went to ganyu labour with their children. When women described farming or business activities they participated in, it was unclear where the children were during this time. As Lentz et al.2019) [ [19] sugDrawing water, washing dishes and clothes, and cleaning the house are all activities that contribute to the household’s health environment. Women mainly take up these activities. When women and men were asked if men participated in certain activities that society typically considered women’s work, some women said that men had played a role by buying soap. This finding reinforces the notion that paid work is more valued. Even though the man is not actively involved in household work, he has contributed to household health because he has provided the financial resources needed to make this possible.While some men participated in reproductive work, this was still not considered the norm. Men did not explicitly articulate that women’s workloads were more cumbersome than theirs, they explained that they could not participate in these activities because it was not the norm. Societal gender norms continue to perceive women’s heavy workloads as normal , failingMen and women indicated that some men were involved in cooking, cleaning, housework, and childcare. These activities are contrary to the traditional gender roles described in the literature 12, 31). Gender advocacy has made advancements, particularly when these activities are embraced from within the community. However, this finding was specific to one community where programming enabled people to engage differently and to speak to issues of gender in a more informed way. This finding is not necessarily representative of the rest of the country. Other studies from Ntcheu and Northern Malawi, with similar programming, indicate some advances in undoing traditional gender roles , 42, 43.2, 31. GeWhile women’s might become less constrained, and they may be able to pursue other income-generating activities, this may not necessarily improve their power in the household. A study by Handa et al.  indicateThis study was only conducted in two communities in rural Central Malawi. While the findings can be applied to similar contexts, the purpose of the study was to gain an in-depth understanding of gender dynamics in these communities to support CARE in defining programme interventions. Quantitative data could have complemented the study, particularly in linking the roles that women played with child nutrition outcomes. The endline survey will include the collection of quantitative data to complement the qualitative aspects. The study could also have sampled more men to generate insights on how men’s involvement in unpaid care can improve children’s nutrition outcomes. Despite the limited number of men sampled, the themes included were representative of all three communities. The authors made explicit efforts to ensure that when a theme was coded, it was relevant to all three communities. The authors also drew on existing literature to corroborate and validate the findings from this study and to increase credibility.Further studies could integrate quantitative data to understand the extent to which men participate in child nutrition. Such data could be aligned with nutrition outcomes to assess if men’s participation in child nutrition improves child nutrition outcomes. Further research is needed to explore how community-led efforts to redistribute gender roles can also encourage men to share decision-making power and control over resources.Traditional gender roles remain prevalent in rural Central Malawi, which impacts child nutrition. Women are primariy and simultaneously responsible for the food, care, and health of the household. Women’s heavy workloads prevent them from providing optimal care and nutrition for children. However, men do offer support when women are overburdened or away from home. The extent to which men offer this support needs to be quantitatively understood.While efforts to redistribute gender roles appear to have had marginal success, the extent to which these efforts have successfully encouraged men to share power remains unclear. Men are taking on tasks that have typically been associated with women. The success of these interventions depends on women having more time to pursue income-generating activities, which may or may not increase their power within the household. Efforts to increase men’s participation in “women’s activities” need to be complemented with community-led processes that define how gender roles can change to improve gender power relations within the household and society at large.


This qualitative study explored the perception of intensive care unit nurses in relation to their motherhood experiences and coping strategies. Ten intensive care unit nurses (aged 28–37 years) with children under 3 years old were recruited. In-depth 90-min interviews were conducted, and the contents of the audio recordings were translated into verbatim transcripts. From the results of the research analysis, three themes were identified: challenges and conflicts of motherhood, dilemma in life and work balance, and maternal engagement. The “challenges and conflicts of motherhood” and “dilemma in life and work” represent the maternal experiences, while “maternal engagement” is the coping strategy used. To establish a friendly working environment and policies, nursing managers should consider improving the friendliness of work units and encourage co-workers to support each other in the hospital. The difficulty in balancing family and employment faced by women has been identified as one of the factors affecting the fertility rate in Taiwan . In TaiwWork pressure is more likely to affect the physical and mental states of women than that of men . When thBreastfeeding is central to new mothers providing parental care. When women resume work after giving birth, besides continuous breastfeeding, they face various situational problems and physical and mental stress related to the parenting process. Previous studies on professional women mostly focused on how to build a breastfeeding-friendly workplace, the impact of a friendly breastfeeding workplace on women, work pressures, physical and mental burdens, and family conflict and role strain ,7,8. TheClinical nursing work in hospitals requires swing shifts and nursing personnel have to bear high risks and work pressure . LiteratThis study employed a qualitative and in-depth approach to investigate ICUs nurses’ work and coping experiences in relation to their parental role, which can be considered to create and promote a friendly nursing workplace environment.This study conducted qualitative research and used face-to-face in-depth interviews to obtain participants’ perceptions and experiences of motherhood.Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants from a medical center in central Taiwan. The inclusion criteria were nurses who (1) worked in the ICU, (2) had children under 3 years old, and (3) consented to participate in the study. Ten ICU nurses (aged 28–37 years) from the medical center were recruited in this study, and each interview was conducted in a private room.The investigator invited the nurses in-person from the departments that met the inclusion criteria to participate in the study. The time and venue for the formal interview were agreed upon after confirming with the participant that they were willing to participate. Before starting the interviews, the research procedure was explained to the participants, and consent was obtained. The participants could terminate participation at any time, and they were assured that their data would be kept confidential and used for research purposes only. All participant information was de-identified to protect their privacy. Semi-structured interviews of 60–90 min were conducted for each participant. The interview process was recorded, and then, transcribed verbatim for analysis.This study adopted the content analysis method to systematically analyze and code the interview text. After repeated inspections, according to the research purpose and semi-structured interview guidelines, similar codes were classified into a category, and different categories with related potential meanings were classified into the same theme .Regarding the trustworthiness of the research content, this study employed the principles proposed by Lincoln and Guba , includiThe study protocol was reviewed and approved by Taichung Veterans General Hospital Human Ethics Review Board (TCVGH No. C09133).In this study, in-depth interviews of 10 participants were conducted. The demographic data of the participants are presented in The analysis revealed that ICU nurses’ motherhood experiences include the challenges of motherhood and the dilemma of family–work balance. Accordingly, there is a need for coping strategies to assist the nurses with role adaptation and to achieve a family-work balance. These three themes often interrelate with each other in a loop, that is, as motherhood challenges arise, coping strategies continue to be applied and play a role in the mothering process .Due to the participants’ nursing background, their family members assumed that they were capable of caring for infants and young children, and would find mothering easy and natural. However, they did not realize that the participants could not use their professional skills of infant care until they became mothers. Their family members’ methods of assisting in infant care lacked scientific basis; however, the participants were unable to dissuade them, and thus, felt challenged and conflicted.Nursing does not equate to having knowledge of a mother’s role, meaning that even with a professional medical background, nursing personnel still may be unfamiliar with childcare.By following the nursing routine, there will be no problem. I can’t take care of my own child with the nursing routine, so it is very problematic.”“(No. 1)When we first caught a cold, we were quite flustered, because although we were medical staff, we were new mothers and didn’t know much about caring for a child.” “(No. 3)When the child starts to cry from discomfort, he (the husband) will lose his temper. He thought that I didn’t dress him or change his clothes, how could the child accidentally catch a cold?” “(No. 6)Nurses’ knowledge of the nurse–client relationship does not extend to the parent-child relationship or family relations. While nursing is a symbol of caring, it does not imply parenting.The phenomenon where the elders intend to take control of everything is still common in many extended families.I experience pressure from my mother-in-law mainly because she insists on using some folk therapies. She always tells me about how she raised my husband or brother-in-law. From my perspective, her way of child-raising was less scientific…” “(No. 6)The participants intended to rear children in their own way without being affected by the old habits and attitudes of the previous generation.My mother-in-law thought it was because of breastmilk that the baby had diarrhea. She wants to feed formula milk. I let the baby drink formula milk, otherwise she (mother-in-law) will think it’s all my fault…” “(No. 5)Chinese society has an inherent culture of “obedience to elders.” When the older generation assists the new generation with parenting, new mothers loathe agreeing to their traditional or baseless parenting styles, giving rise to dilemmas of parenting differences across generations.As the patients in an ICU are in critical condition, it is difficult for nurses to take an urgent leave. In addition, they are required to work shifts. These factors made it difficult for the participants to strike a work–family balance.Breastfeeding is often regarded by postpartum mothers as a manifestation of motherhood. Therefore, even if they are tired and busy, they insist on breastfeeding during work. The participants were concerned that pathogenic bacteria in the ICU environment would affect the quality of their stored breastmilk and their child’s health.Because I have no way to breastfeed, I can’t maintain breastfeeding, and I have to squeeze the breastmilk out during work. Therefore, I feel I’m being rushed at work. I will be busy completing my work, and then, squeeze my breastmilk in a hurry. However, I am worried about infection because ICU nurse practitioners are frequently exposed to isolated patients.” “(No. 6)The conditions of patients in the ICU are critical and often fluctuate. Although breastfeeding nurse practitioners have the right and time to express breastmilk at work, they inevitably worry about their work while doing so, which causes stress during work and while expressing breastmilk.Our meeting room is near beds No. 17 and 18. I remember that…when I was squeezing breastmilk, the ventilator at these beds was beeping. I was busy squeezing breastmilk, and I worried about the beeping noise and felt extremely stressful. Fifteen minutes later, my colleague came to knock on the door and asked me why the ventilator was beeping. I had to wrap up immediately and go out to do my work.” “(No. 9)While some ICU colleagues supported nurses in expressing breastmilk while at work, others did not.I feel that the policy does not match the actual situation. It is true that the policy has been formulated to support breastfeeding. However, not everyone will support it because it is impossible to sacrifice the rights of the other eight people at work so that you can collect breastmilk… It is unfair for other nurse practitioners to take care of more patients simply because you have to collect breastmilk. Besides, this also causes a bad feeling for other colleagues. What’s really important is whether the colleagues are willing to provide you with actual support.” “(No. 10)The course of patients in the ICU changes rapidly, with generally insufficient manpower and deployment. Nurses working there need support or extended working hours. They often need to focus on work and sacrifice their family life.Sometimes, maybe a patient’s condition changes suddenly, like needing ECMO ! Your working hours will be extended for a long time, yes! Even your vacation will get canceled… yes! You’re just going to go to work…” “(No. 3)If the work unit asks you to go to work, there is the pressure of who can take care of the children…yes! Because you have no way…you can’t just pass your child to other people, then you will have to take leave, right! The pressure will be more…it will feel more stressful” “(No. 2)If working nurses are unable to take temporary leave to care for their sick children, they feel sad and stressed.I feel that…when your own child is sick and you have to go to work to take care of other people’s children, I really struggle and wonder why I am doing this. Why aren’t I taking care of my own child who is ill?” “(No. 1)In addition, swing shifts at work affect the parenting method. After the participants became mothers, they perceived the impact of swing shifts on parenting.I am growing older, so I feel physically incompetent to work night shifts. My physical strength is probably reducing. The second reason may be that I am now raising a child, so it’s difficult for me to work night shifts…” “(No. 9)Resulting from the problem of manpower deployment in clinical work, the difficulty in taking temporary leave to care for their sick children distresses working mothers.There will be conflicts, probably when the children are sick, they need someone to take care of them, but because of your own occupational problems, you cannot ask for leave at any time, and the burden will be a little bigger.” “(No. 2)It was a contradictory scenario that time. Why should I let other people take care of my child when he is ill? In other words, I felt guilty because I had to take care of other people’s children.” “(No. 1)ICU nurses take on work and childcare responsibilities, even if it results in conflicting and difficult life experiences. ICU nurses with children must use coping strategies such as taking responsibility, becoming alert, seeking resources and support, and learning and practicing to achieve a family–work balance. These coping strategies, which are components of maternal engagement, are described below.Due to a lack of experience in caring for young children, nurse practitioners need to maintain vigilance, which also creates psychological pressure. Participant No. 8, who used to easily fall asleep, stated that the pressure of caring for the child at night made her alert when she would be sleepy. After work, she felt even more tired because of the parenting role.If my child is nearby, he tends to wake up even by a slight noise, and then, I also wake up. Exactly! My husband also wondered why I became so alert. I used to fall asleep easily…” “(No. 8)Furthermore, a participant discussed the parenting pressures experienced by her:…You are afraid that your child may get hurt. I feel that a child at such a young age is very active. As a result, you must always pay attention to your child.” “(No. 3)Although it is impossible to take care of a child the whole day because of work, the participants believed that the role of a mother should be embodied in the practical care work. Therefore, during time outside work, the participants tried to provide care and companionship in person to their children.For example, yesterday was a holiday, so I let my son sit on my lap the whole day. I gently shook him and enjoyed interacting with him. I particularly enjoyed breastfeeding my child.” “(No. 6)After becoming mothers, the participants started to understand the importance of “responsibility” and motherhood. Even if other family members assisted in sharing the care work, they still believed that the parents should be the main educators, rather than relying on others, as described by the participant below:Parents are the primary role models of children. Although grandparents can assist in childcare, they are not responsible for educating and raising children. Parenting and education actually fall on parents.” “(No. 1)Participants found that motherhood is embodied in the daily pragmatic parenting and care for children, and they gradually understood the responsibilities of motherhood and found that motherhood issues were constantly on their minds.For ICU nurses who need to work swing shifts, it is necessary to seek support systems to assist in childcare, including support from family members, ICU colleagues and supervisors, and the use of peripheral resources.If we experience any situations, as long as we tell the head nurse in advance, she will try her best to change shifts for us.” “(No. 1)understands that I have to work shifts and cannot take care of my child every day. Besides, my husband is also willing to take parental leave. He is willing to take care of the child and share the burden of parenting.” “(No. 3)My child had a fever due to adenovirus infection. At that time, I asked for a favor from the schoolteacher to take care of my child. I offered to pay a higher daily rate to help take care of my child for one day because I really needed to go to work that day. The agreed and helped me take care of my child for one day.” “(No. 1)Expressing milk at the workplace is a right of breastfeeding women. However, as the ICU requires teamwork, obtaining the assistance of colleagues from the unit can help breastfeeding women safely collect breastmilk during work. A participant mentioned that she felt sorry when her breastmilk collection increased the workload of her colleagues.When I work evening and night shifts, there are more colleagues. They will pay attention to the timing for me to collect breastmilk, and then, urge me to do so. They are so sweet.” “(No. 6)When faced with childcare-related issues, mothers need to spend time exploring and learning from their experiences. Even though the participants were nurse practitioners, they needed preparation and knowledge of motherhood.When my son was infected with enterovirus, he had a fever and sore throat. He was unwilling to eat anything, so I fed him ice cream…Many people laughed at me: ‘You are a pediatric ICU nurse practitioner, how could you feed a very young infant ice cream?’ But my son could not eat anything, I had no choice. Eating ice cream was better than receiving IV(intravenous) infusion!” “(No. 1)Adjusting their original lifestyle and psychological self-transformation, such as by appropriate time allocation and staying calm when the baby is crying, helped nurse practitioners adapt to childcare life. The process of being a mother involves continuous learning and practicing for effective parenting.My son is now 10 months old, and I think that I have gradually adapted myself to his lifestyle after month 9, such as knowing his physiological lifestyle, when he will wake up or have a poo…Therefore, I feel that I am getting used to his lifestyle now.” “(No. 9)Overall, the participants found that being alert, taking responsibility, seeking resources and support, and continuously learning and practicing helped them face the challenges of motherhood and establish family–work balance.The study results indicated that ICU nurses faced a dilemma due to their work and motherhood roles, resulting in a conflict between their family and work lives. They employ coping strategies, such as accepting responsibility, becoming alert, seeking resources and support, and learning and practicing, all of which are components of maternal engagement that aid in addressing the role of the mother. Although nursing is a predominantly female-dominated profession, women with this professional background should not be expected to navigate motherhood with ease. Contrarily, as a group, nurses are easily overlooked in the process of motherhood because of their nursing background and work.Moreover, the study results highlighted the importance of paying attention to working women’s motherhood experiences. To facilitate discussion, we reviewed the implementation of the nursing-friendly workplace policy in Taiwan from 2011 to 2021 and compared it with the results of this study; additionally, we proposed improvement suggestions from two perspectives—policy and culture.If both genders can share and balance each other’s family and work responsibilities, it will ease the pressure on mothers. Affected by various factors, such as social expectations and shaping parental role, novice mothers are usually direct participants in childcare, while novice fathers are indirect participants, which suggests that the burden of actual childcare is more on women than on men during the parenting process . Two parPrenatal education and parent–child education courses should provide information to fathers in order to facilitate their understanding of the parenting process and their role as a father. In this way, gender consensus and mutual assistance in the parenting process can be achieved . As nursThe participants in this study indicated that, although they could be expressing breastmilk at work, due to the fluctuating conditions of patients in the ICU, while expressing breastmilk, they worried about adversely affecting teamwork and burdening their colleagues, which created difficulty in implementing their work and motherhood roles. This result is similar to that of a previous study that investigated the breastfeeding experiences of nurses working swing shifts . A revieSupport from supervisors and colleagues, sufficient manpower, and attention to nursing personnel’s right to breastfeed are required to create a breastfeeding-friendly workplace environment . FurtherThis study has several strengths and limitations. Viewing the mothering experience from a micro perspective can counter the insufficiency of cross-cultural research from a macro perspective. Therefore, rather than examining the mothering experience from the perspective of national policy and social culture, this study uses a qualitative research method to deeply understand the experience of mothering from the micro perspective of working women. The study participants belonged to a medical center in central Taiwan, however, the nursing manpower utilization and swing-shift system in other healthcare institutions and medical centers may be different. Therefore, the study results might not be inferred to the ICU nursing workplace conditions of other hospitals. Moreover, the study participants were ICU nurses whose workplace conditions are different from those of nurses in general wards. Thus, future studies should also investigate ward nurses’ opinions regarding a friendly workplace environment to better understand hospital nurses’ needs in this regard.The study findings revealed that when ICU nurses resumed work after becoming mothers, breastmilk collection was the most challenging period for them, while balancing their work and motherhood roles. Furthermore, the adjustment required to strike a family–work balance continues to pressurize ICU nurses developing a motherhood identity. Through caring leadership, nursing managers can assist nurse practitioners developing a motherhood identity to better adjust to their work and family lives.In the era of comprehensive and changing information, policy reforms and organizational restructuring continue to rely on teamwork. Nursing managers should create friendly nursing workplace environment and pay attention to the work–life balance of frontline nurses so that they can achieve better job satisfaction. In the future, healthcare organizations should develop plans and policies that focus on nurses’ working life quality and provide information regarding humanistic practices and policies to nursing management. Furthermore, nursing managers can gradually implement these policies, starting by creating a friendly workplace environment.