Frauen, die mehr verdienen als Ehemänner, stehen im Zusammenhang mit steigenden psychischen Gesundheitsdiagnosen bei Paaren. Wenn Ehefrauen beginnen, mehr zu verdienen als ihre Ehemänner, erhöht sich die Wahrscheinlichkeit, eine psychische Erkrankung zu erhalten, bei allen in der Studie Befragten um bis zu 8 %, bei den Männern jedoch um bis zu 11 %.

Women becoming the breadwinner of the family can result in a higher likelihood of mental health issues for both husbands and wives, research from Durham University Business School reveals.

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.

The findings provide an important insight for society, as the traditional male breadwinner set-up of families is challenged.

[https://academic.oup.com/ej/article/134/664/3291/7718793?login=false](https://academic.oup.com/ej/article/134/664/3291/7718793?login=false)

Not surprising. Men traditionally tended to mate similar or down in social status, while women tended to mate similar or up. This is also a major reason men are usually older than women in relationships (more time to build oneself = high status).

Whatever the reasons, whether it’s ego on the male part or dissatisfaction with the mediocrity of their partner on the female part, or different reasons altogether – this tracks. It adds stress to the relationship when roles aren’t followed. 

Interesting to see exact numbers to mental health diagnosis. I think it was known, that the income dynamic creates certain problems within relationships, when the woman earns more.

With the link to mental health we can only hope, that women as breadwinners will be more socially accepted by both genders, since they outperform men in higher education, which means, that they are probably keep earning more than men in the future.

Wives earning more than husbands in relationships and the link to mental health diagnosis can be attributed, I feel, to men being able to seek counseling in situations where they aren’t the bread winner.