The reason why couples where the woman earns more than the man are more likely to separate may not be due to the traditional gender norm that 'men should be the breadwinners.'
Previous studies have shown that couples where the woman earns more than the man, or couples living together, are more likely to separate or divorce. One theory suggested that this was due to the influence of traditional gender norms that men should be the breadwinners of the household, but new research has refuted this theory.
Women's Socioeconomic Advantage Over Their Partners and Relationship Dissolution: A 29‐Country Study - Gonalons‐Pons - Journal of Marriage and Family - Wiley Online Library
Why do relationships fail when women earn more? Study challenges traditional explanations
https://www.psypost.org/why-do-relationships-fail-when-women-earn-more-study-challenges-traditional-explanations/
Over the past few decades, in some countries, such as the United States , the college enrollment rate for women has surpassed that of men, and the situation where 'women earn more than men' is becoming increasingly common in couples and married couples. However, previous research has shown that these couples and married couples are more likely to separate or divorce.
One theory suggests that the reason why couples where the woman earns more than the man don't work out is due to the influence of traditional gender norms that 'the man should be the breadwinner of the family.' Other possible contributing factors include 'women becoming more financially independent' and 'the possibility of wanting a partner with similar socioeconomic circumstances.'
In this study, a research team led by Associate Professor Pillar Gonalon-Pong, a sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania, investigated the high divorce rates observed when women are in a socioeconomically advantageous position, and studied which theories might explain this phenomenon.
The study used data from a total of 544,911 heterosexual couples or married couples collected between 2004 and 2020 in 29 high-income countries. Of these 544,911 couples, 437,102 were married couples and 107,809 were cohabiting couples.
Statistical modeling revealed that couples or married couples where the woman earns more than the man are 36% more likely to separate or divorce. However, the study also showed that explanations based on 'traditional gender norms,' which have been the dominant approach in previous research, cannot explain these results.
According to the theory that 'couples where the woman is the breadwinner are more likely to break up because of the gender norm that men should be the breadwinners,' countries with more traditional gender views should be more likely to see separations in such couples. However, this study found no strong correlation between the two, suggesting that cultural beliefs alone cannot explain the situation. Furthermore, factors such as women's economic independence, men's relative economic superiority, and the tendency to seek partners with similar socioeconomic circumstances did not contribute to the higher likelihood of separation in couples where the woman is the breadwinner.
One factor that influenced the likelihood of separation among couples or married couples where the woman is the breadwinner was whether or not they had children. Couples or married couples where the woman is the breadwinner and has children were 49% more likely to separate than couples or married couples where the man is the breadwinner and has children, while couples or married couples where the woman is the breadwinner and have no children were only 23% more likely to separate than couples or married couples where the man is the breadwinner and have no children.
However, this result also indicates that, overall, couples with children are less likely to separate than couples without children. The separation rate for couples where the woman is the breadwinner and has children was reported to be almost the same as that for couples where the woman is the breadwinner and does not have children.
The research team concluded, 'While there is a significant increase in divorce risk associated with female dominance overall, we found little conclusive evidence to support existing explanations for this. Our findings do not support gender norms. There is no evidence that the association between female dominance and divorce systematically differs across country-specific gender norms.'
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in Science, Posted by log1h_ik