@article {9244, title = {Spousal breadwinning across 30 years of marriage and husbands{\textquoteright} health: A gendered life course stress approach.}, journal = {Journal of Aging and Health}, volume = {31}, year = {2019}, pages = {37-66}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: Wives increasingly outearn their husbands, and gender relations theory suggests this arrangement may undermine men{\textquoteright}s well-being. We explore how long-term histories of spousal breadwinning may be associated with older men{\textquoteright}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{\textquoteright} later-life health.

RESULTS: Classes that transitioned from husband breadwinning to wife breadwinning in early or later adulthood were associated with husbands{\textquoteright} 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{\textquoteright}s poorer health.

}, keywords = {Gender Differences, Income, Marriage, Women and Minorities}, issn = {1552-6887}, doi = {10.1177/0898264317721824}, author = {Kristen W Springer and Lee, Chioun and Deborah Carr} }