As soon as you open the newspaper, your eyes are caught by the latest news. In some places, husbands are making extreme decisions due to their lower income than their high-ranking wives. In others, marital disputes are reaching the doorstep of the court. Although modern society talks about equal rights between men and women, real life tells a different story of mental tension. Is the tightness in a wife’s pocket silently eroding a man’s confidence? A study by sociologists based on 17 years of statistics published in ‘The Economist’ suggests at least such a sensational indication.
The study says that even though women have come forward in earning money, the psychological equation of the family has not changed at all. Where the wife handles the lion’s share of the family’s income, that is, about 70 percent or more, the risk of husbands suffering from ‘serious psychological distress’ or severe mental anxiety increases by almost two and a half times. The picture is even the same in live-in relationships. Men’s depression rates are about one and a half times higher. Is the masculine social ego and the traditional mentality that has been around for so long the main reason for this suppressed pain?
‘Double burden’ and bitterness in relationships
But the pressure is not only on men. Studies show that despite being the main earners, women are not less dissatisfied with their relationships. Even if they are successful at work, the majority of all the responsibilities of the family still fall on the shoulders of women. This double pressure is destroying the balance in relationships. According to Chicago and French studies, in families where the wife’s contribution is close to 75 percent, the risk of divorce is also about 30 percent higher than in ordinary couples. Subconsciously, society is still used to seeing the wife’s income as less than the husband’s.
Changing minds, but still a long way to go
Although the survey shows that mindsets are changing at the international level. Currently, the majority of people are learning to accept the wife’s higher income as normal. Yet, according to psychologists, the roots of social reform are so deep that its application to the realities of personal life is still quite difficult!