Husbands' stress increases if wives earn more than 40% of household income, study says

Men who knowingly married female breadwinners did not display psychological distress

Men feel stressed if wives earn more than 40 per cent of income (Stock)

Husbands find being the main breadwinners stressful, but their stress increases if their wives earn more than 40 per cent of the household income, a new study has found.

Marriage may be about equality, but according to researchers from the University of Bath, husbands are the most stressed when they are “entirely economically dependent on their partner” or when they are “the sole breadwinner”.

The research, which studied the habits of more than 6,000 American heterosexual couples over 15 years, found that husbands’ stress levels decline as their wives reach the 40 per cent of the household income mark.

However, once a woman’s income raises past the 40 per cent point, the stress levels of their husband increases, according to the researchers.

“These findings suggest that social norms about male breadwinning - and traditional conventions about men earning more than their wives - can be dangerous for men’s health,” said Dr Joanna Syrda, an economist at the University of Bath’s School of Management. “They also show how strong and persistent are gender identity norms.”

According to Dr Syrda, this stress can lead to adverse health problems including “physical illness, and mental, emotional and social problems”.

Interestingly, men who knowingly married a female breadwinner did not display any of those patterns.

In the study, the researchers noted that only 13 per cent of married women earned more than their husbands in 1980, according to figures from the Pew Research Centre. However, in 2017, the number was closer to one-third.

As the number continues to increase, researchers are hypothesising how the transition will affect “social norms, wellbeing, and our understanding of masculinity”.

“The consequences of traditional gender role reversals in marriages associated with wives’ higher earnings span multiple dimensions, including physical and mental health, life satisfaction, marital fidelity, divorce, and marital bargaining power,” Dr Syrda said.

In addition to revealing possible adverse implications for male mental health if they are the secondary earner, the study also looked at “bargaining power” between husbands and wives, especially in the case of divorce.

“The elevated psychological distress that comes with husbands' economic dependence on their wives can also have practical underpinnings due to bargaining in the shadow of dissolution or the fear of reduced economic status in the event of an actual divorce,” Dr Syrda explained. “These effects are larger among cohabiting couples, possibly due to the higher probability of dissolution.”

Researchers also found disparities in the ways that husbands and wives reported symptoms of stress, such as feeling sad, nervous, restless, hopeless or worthless, with men reporting better mental health than their wives reported on their behalf.

According to Dr Syrda, this may also be because of gender norms that inhibit men from displaying vulnerability.

“If masculine social roles preclude the admission of vulnerability, and men are inclined to hide symptoms of stress and depression, it follows that wives' responses [about their spouses] will be less accurate," Dr Syrda said.