Study Finds Husbands More Likely to Experience Mental Distress When Wives Are Primary Breadwinners

A recent study analyzing 17 years of data on young, working couples has found that husbands whose wives earn more than two-thirds of the household income are significantly more likely to report mental distress than those who are the primary breadwinners.

The analysis, featured by The Economist, indicates that among heterosexual couples where the wife earns at least 70% of the household income, the risk of experiencing serious psychological distress is nearly two and a half times higher for husbands.

Even in cohabiting couples where the woman earns more than half of the household income, men were approximately one and a half times as likely to report distress, after accounting for factors such as age, education, and income. The study also noted that women who are the primary breadwinners were more likely to report lower satisfaction with their relationships.

According to Dr. Misty Heggeness of the University of Kansas, this dynamic could stem from the perception that women often shoulder a greater share of household labor, regardless of their income contribution. "Family work is still predominantly falling on women’s shoulders, no matter whether they are the breadwinner or not," Dr. Heggeness told The Economist.

The findings appear to align with earlier research. A 2015 study found that wives’ share of household income tends to drop sharply when it exceeds 50%. In other words, wives are more likely to report earning slightly less than their husbands than slightly more, according to work by Marianne Bertrand, an economist at the University of Chicago.

A separate French study observed that couples where women earn around 75% of household income were about 30% more likely to separate compared to couples with more balanced income distributions.

Public perception of these income dynamics has also shifted. In 2022, only 10% of Americans believed that men being out-earned by women was likely to cause problems. This figure is lower than in countries like Germany (16%) and China (27%), and represents a notable decrease from 1998, when over a third of those surveyed thought a woman out-earning a man was certain to cause issues.