The study, conducted by Dr Demid Getik, explores how mental health is related to income make-up within couples by examining the link between annual income rises for women and the number of clinical mental health diagnoses over a set period of time.
The study finds that as more women take on the breadwinner role in the household, the number of mental health related incidences also increases.
As wives begin earning more than their husbands, the probability of receiving a mental health diagnosis increases by as much as 8% for all those observed in the study, but by as much as 11% for the men.
This has to depend on the guy. My ex, he always made less $ than me because I went to college after having kids and got a better job, then asked him if he wanted to do the same he said no, and we made enough as long as we both worked, it wasn’t anything we really thought about, only about hours worked by each of us. Now when he was unemployed it all went to hell, but not as long as he worked at all. I valued his work, not the wage.
My husband, he wants to make more than me but sees it as a challenge, he wants me to make more money, because it would motivate him to make more money, he just wants us to have more money. He is very happy for me to succeed, and I’m valued for contributions at home and making money, and (critically important) he does as much as me around the house, and our busy work seasons aren’t at the same time so we are able to support each other during those months. I do think it’s a sexist thing (he does too but still feels it) but don’t actually care, it works fine for us in practice.