{"success":true,"data":{"id":"70e04a15-c79a-4634-967f-87bcd0839257","title":"Husbands whose wives are the breadwinners more likely to report ‘mental distress,’ study finds","summary":"trending now in US News Husbands whose wives are the breadwinners more likely to report ‘mental distress,’ study finds Rich wife, rich life? Husbands whose wives earn more than two-thirds of the household income are far likelier to report mental distress than those who are breadwinners, a new study ...","content":"#### trending now in US News\n\n# Husbands whose wives are the breadwinners more likely to report ‘mental distress,’ study finds\n\nRich wife, rich life?\n\nHusbands whose wives earn more than two-thirds of the household income are far likelier to report mental distress than those who are breadwinners, a new study has found.\n\nThe study[from the Economist](https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/07/13/the-stubborn-scarcity-of-female-breadwinners) featured an analaysis of 17 years of data on young, working couples and found that only 30% of heterosexual couples feature wives who out-earn their husbands, despite a shrinking pay gap.\n\nRelationships with such an income dynamic can reportedly present emotional challenges for the husbands.\n\nMarried couples where the wife earns more are more likely to be unhappy, according to a new study. JustLife – stock.adobe.com\n\nAmong husbands whose wives earn at least 70% of household income, the risk of “serious psychological distress” is almost two and a half times as high, the study found.\n\n## Explore More\n\nFor cohabiting couples where the woman earns more than half of the household income, men were roughly one and a half times as likely to report distress, even factoring in age, education, and income, according to the study.\n\nThe study found that women who are the primary breadwinners were also more likely to report lower satisfaction with their relationships.\n\nThe study found that women who are the primary breadwinners were also more likely to report lower satisfaction with their relationships. globalmoments – stock.adobe.com\n\nThis could be down to a perception that women are often responsible for more of the work at home, even if they earn more than their husbands, according to Dr. Misty Heggeness of the University of Kansas.\n\n“Family work is still predominantly falling on women’s shoulders, no matter whether they are the breadwinner or not,” Dr. Heggeness told the Economist.\n\nThe study seems to support earlier work from 2015, which found that wives’ share of household income drops sharply after 50% in terms of frequency.\n\nIn other words, wives are more likely to report earning slightly less than their husbands than slightly more, according to the study from Marianne Bertrand, an economist at the University of Chicago.\n\nA more recent French study found that couples in which women earn around 75% of household income are around 30% more likely to split up than more evenly-matched couples.\n\nThe latest study appears to show a disconnect between people’s stated preferences and their actions.\n\n*   ![Image 17](https://assets.nypost.com/zephr/universal-promo-blocks/merch-250/assets/img/desktop.jpg)![Image 18](https://assets.nypost.com/zephr/universal-promo-blocks/merch-250/assets/img/mobile.jpg) OFFICIAL STORE\n## Happy Birthday, USA!\n\nCelebrate 250 years by owning a piece of America’s historic milestone. 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[](https://shop.nypost.com/collections/america-turns-250/)\n\nOnly 10% of Americans believed that men being out-earned by women was bound to cause problems in 2022, the most recent year of data.\n\nThat was lower than any other country featured in the study, including Germany (16%), and China (27%).\n\nWhat do you think?[Be the first to comment.](https://nypost.com/2026/07/15/us-news/for-husbands-whose-wives-are-breadwinners-mental-distress-more-likely/#nypost-openweb-conversation)\n\nIt also represented a sharp drop in concerns about such pay disparities in recent years.\n\nIn 1998, by contrast, more than a third of those surveyed thought a woman out-earning a man was certain to cause problems.\n\nFiled under\n\nSPONSORED STORIES\n\nAround The Web\n\n#### Trending Now  in US News\n\n*   [![Image 29: Canadian woman who slapped teen over Trump clothing on Jersey Shore boardwalk now in ICE custody](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/kaitlyn-tracey-canadian-slapped-teen-comp.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=260&h=174&crop=1)](https://nypost.com/2026/07/15/us-news/canadian-woman-kaitlyn-tracey-detained-by-ice-after-allegedly-assaulting-teen-girl-wearing-trump-clothing-at-jersey-shore/)This story has been shared 82,912 times.82,912   ### [Canadian woman who slapped teen over Trump clothing on Jersey Shore boardwalk now in ICE custody](https://nypost.com/2026/07/15/us-news/canadian-woman-kaitlyn-tracey-detained-by-ice-after-allegedly-assaulting-teen-girl-wearing-trump-clothing-at-jersey-shore/) \n*   [![Image 30: Chuck Schumer appears to let loose huge fart on Senate floor](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/newspress-collage-99jw207yn-1784117921665.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1784103528&w=260&h=174&crop=1)](https://nypost.com/2026/07/15/us-news/chuck-schumer-appears-to-let-loose-huge-fart-on-senate-floor/)This story has been shared 52,516 times.52,516   ### [Chuck Schumer appears to let loose huge fart on Senate floor](https://nypost.com/2026/07/15/us-news/chuck-schumer-appears-to-let-loose-huge-fart-on-senate-floor/) \n*   [![Image 31: Florida student’s historic 11.99 GPA triggers district policy overhaul](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/florida-student-comp.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=260&h=174&crop=1)](https://nypost.com/2026/07/14/us-news/florida-students-historic-11-99-gpa-triggers-district-policy-overhaul/)This story has been shared 45,229 times.45,229   ### [Florida student’s historic 11.99 GPA triggers district policy overhaul](https://nypost.com/2026/07/14/us-news/florida-students-historic-11-99-gpa-triggers-district-policy-overhaul/) \n*   [![Image 32: Ironic twist for Canadian woman accused of slapping Jersey Shore teen for wearing MAGA attire](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/canada-woman-slaps-teen-maga-jersey-shore-arrest-comp-2-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=260&h=174&crop=1)](https://nypost.com/2026/07/15/us-news/ironic-twist-for-canadian-woman-accused-of-slapping-jersey-shore-teen-for-wearing-maga-attire/)This story has been shared 33,168 times.33,168   ### [Ironic twist for Canadian woman accused of slapping Jersey Shore teen for wearing MAGA attire](https://nypost.com/2026/07/15/us-news/ironic-twist-for-canadian-woman-accused-of-slapping-jersey-shore-teen-for-wearing-maga-attire/) \n\n#### Most Commented Join the conversation\n\n#### Listen Now\n\n## Now on Page Six\n\n#### Video\n\n## Now on  Decider\n\n### Today's Cover\n\n## More Stories\n\n### Decider\n\n### NYPost","source_name":"New York Post","source_url":"https://nypost.com/2026/07/15/us-news/for-husbands-whose-wives-are-breadwinners-mental-distress-more-likely/","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/07/15/us-news/for-husbands-whose-wives-are-breadwinners-mental-distress-more-likely/","author":"Anthony Blair","author_name":"Anthony Blair","published_at":"2026-07-15T18:49:49.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-15T18:49:49.000Z","image_url":"https://nypost.com/2026/07/15/us-news/for-husbands-whose-wives-are-breadwinners-mental-distress-more-likely/","category":"science","topic":"science","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":4,"word_count":757,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot"}}