Spousal breadwinning across 30 years of marriage and husbands' health: A gendered life course stress approach.

TitleSpousal breadwinning across 30 years of marriage and husbands' health: A gendered life course stress approach.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2019
AuthorsSpringer, KW, Lee, C, Carr, D
JournalJournal of Aging and Health
Volume31
Issue1
Pagination37-66
ISSN Number1552-6887
KeywordsGender Differences, Income, Marriage, Women and Minorities
Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Wives increasingly outearn their husbands, and gender relations theory suggests this arrangement may undermine men's well-being. We explore how long-term histories of spousal breadwinning may be associated with older men's self-rated mental and physical health, and risk of nine health diagnoses.

METHOD: Using 30 years of couple-level income data from the Health and Retirement Study ( n = 1,095 couples), we use latent class analyses to identify six classes that differ with respect to the timing and level of wife breadwinning. We link these classes to older husbands' later-life health.

RESULTS: Classes that transitioned from husband breadwinning to wife breadwinning in early or later adulthood were associated with husbands' poorer overall physical health and risk of cardiometabolic and stress-related diseases. Patterns persist net of sociodemographics, depressive symptoms, health behaviors, and adolescent health.

DISCUSSION: Violating cultural expectations, such as the masculinity ideal of male breadwinning, is associated with older men's poorer health.

DOI10.1177/0898264317721824
User Guide Notes

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28782397?dopt=Abstract

Alternate JournalJ Aging Health
Citation Key9244
PubMed ID28782397
Grant ListR03 AG042935 / AG / NIA NIH HHS / United States