Men’s psychological distress at first declines as their wife’s relative income increases, but their distress tends to starting increasing once their wife makes more than 40% of the family’s total income, according to research published in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

“The field of economics has a growing interest in identity as a way of explaining phenomena that escape standard economic modelling. As the percentage of wives outearning their husbands grows, the traditional social norm of the male breadwinner is challenged and income comparisons in marriage are substantially changed,” said study author Joanna Syrda, an assistant professor at the University of Bath.

“Traditional gender identity norms may play an important role in household division of labor choices. I wanted to investigate the strength and persistence of these norms more directly, and therefore my question whether there are is a significant relationship between male psychological distress and spousal relative income.”

For their study, the researchers analyzed 15 years worth of data from 6,035 heterosexual couples who participated in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The study collected a wide range of individual and household factors, including income and psychological distress.

The researchers observed a U-shaped relationship between spousal relative income and male psychological distress. Men’s distress levels declined as their wives’ earnings approached 40% of household income. But as women’s earnings go past that point, the study found that husbands’ distress levels gradually increased.

“My research shows that, in heterosexual couples, male psychological distress is high when they are sole breadwinners and it decreases as wives contribute more to household income to reach a minimum when their partners earn around 40% of the household income. But importantly their distress levels increase sharply as their spouse’s wages rise beyond that point, once wives outearn husbands. And they find it most stressful when they are entirely economically dependent on their partners,” Syrda told PsyPost.

“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. They also show how strong and persistent are gender identity norms.”

Syrda added in a news release that her study also provides some insights into the “bargaining power” between husband and wife.

“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. These effects are larger among cohabiting couples, possibly due to the higher probability of dissolution,” she explained.

But the study — like all research — includes some limitations

“Given the data composition, this research focused on heterosexuals couples (married and cohabiting) – it would be interesting and important to know whether there are any significant patterns among homosexual couples and if so, what patterns do they follow,” Syrda said.

“My and other research shows that the consequences of ‘gender role reversals’ in marriages associated with wives’ higher earnings span multiple dimensions, including physical and mental health, life satisfaction, divorce and marital fidelity, marital bargaining power, and other behaviors and actions, ranging from housework division to labor market activity,” she added.

“I think it’s great that research acts as a conversation starter, that we become more aware of these very durable social constructs.”

The study was titled: “Spousal Relative Income and Male Psychological Distress“.