Wives earning more than husbands linked to rising mental health diagnoses in couples

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.

Societal implications

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

The study focused on heterosexual Swedish couples of working age who married in 2001 and whose individual incomes measured at just above or just below the equal earnings threshold. The study observed them over a ten-year period or until they divorced – a scenario which only occurred in 20% of the couples surveyed.

Marital data was obtained from the Population Register, while earnings information came from the Income and Tax register. Additional data from the Workplace Register helped understand workplace dynamics, and the National Patient Register provided a binary indicator for whether an individual had been diagnosed with a mental health issue over time.

Gendered patterns in diagnosis

The dataset revealed that while mental health is positively associated with both own and spousal absolute income, this relationship is negative in regard to the wife’s income. Contrary to expectations, this effect was more pronounced for urban and educated women.

The types of mental health diagnoses also revealed a gendered difference:

• For men, mental health issues associated with increased female earnings were more likely to involve substance-related concerns.
• For women, these issues tended to involve neurotic and stress-related disorders.

The study did not find strong evidence for these diagnoses being driven by significant life events such as divorce or workplace issues. However, Dr Getik acknowledges that workspace environments and cultures may shape attitudes towards earnings and professional and personal dynamics.

In light of this shift, the study’s findings provide important societal insights, particularly for family dynamics, gender identities and mental health support.

Find out more

• Find out more about Dr Getik and his research interests.
• The study “Relative Income and Mental Health in Couples” is available to read in The Economic Journal.
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