Ryan FowlerResearch from Durham University Business School suggests that women becoming the breadwinner in a family may increase the likelihood of mental health issues for both spouses.
Conducted by Dr Demid Getik, the study investigates how income dynamics within couples are associated with mental health outcomes by examining the link between increases in women’s income and the rate of clinical mental health diagnoses over time.
The study finds that as more women assume the role of primary earners, the incidence of mental health issues rises. Specifically, when wives begin earning more than their husbands, the probability of receiving a mental health diagnosis increases by up to 8% across all participants, with men seeing a higher rate of 11%.
Dr Getik notes, “The share of married couples where the wife is the primary earner is rising globally. In both the United States and Sweden, it has increased by approximately 25% since the start of the millennium. The results provide tangible evidence of relative income in couples playing an important role in mental health outcomes, even in a largely egalitarian society like Sweden.”
The research, which focuses on heterosexual Swedish couples who married in 2001, tracks them over a decade or until divorce, which only occurred in 20% of the cases. Key data sources included the Population Register for marital data, the Income and Tax Register for earnings, the Workplace Register for job-related information, and the National Patient Register for mental health diagnoses.
Interestingly, while absolute income positively correlates with mental health, relative income dynamics show a negative impact when the wife’s income surpasses the husband’s. The findings indicate that urban and educated women experience these mental health challenges more acutely. The types of diagnoses also vary by gender: men’s issues are more likely related to substance abuse, while women are more prone to stress-related and neurotic disorders.
The study finds no strong evidence linking these diagnoses to significant life events like divorce or specific workplace issues, though Dr Getik acknowledges that workplace culture and environment may influence attitudes towards income dynamics and personal well-being.
In a changing societal landscape, these findings offer critical insights into evolving family roles, gender identity, and the need for enhanced mental health support. The research, titled “Relative Income and Mental Health in Couples,” is available in The Economic Journal.
