Traditional gender roles continue to influence marital satisfaction and mental health, especially concerning income dynamics.
A study by the University of Durham found that men are more likely to experience mental health issues when their wives earn more than they do, revealing an 11% rise in mental health diagnoses among these men. Similarly, women also showed an increase, though less significant, in mental health diagnoses when they outearned their husbands. The research suggests that the preference for men to be the main earners remains strong, even in egalitarian societies like Sweden.
These findings correlate with other research linking increased female earning power within relationships to higher divorce rates and lower marital satisfaction. Couples with equal earnings tend to have better mental well-being, highlighting the importance of addressing and adapting to changing income dynamics within relationships.
