Risk of divorce higher for husbands who stay at home
HOUSEHUSBANDS who do not fulfil the stereotype of the male breadwinner are at greater risk of divorce than those who occupy a more traditional role, a study has concluded.
The researchers examined what effect couples’ share of labour, overall financial resources and wives’ economic prospects after divorce had on marital stability.
The division of work, whether paid or unpaid, is more closely linked to the risk of divorce than money itself, the study, published in the American Sociological Review, suggested.
The researchers compared couples who married in 1974 or earlier, with couples who married in 1975 or later.
For those married before 1975, the higher the percentage of housework a woman did, the less likely her marriage was to end in divorce. However, for the more recent cohort, men were expected to do at least some housework.
Prof Alexandra Killewald, of Harvard University, the study’s author, said financial factors did not determine whether couples stayed together.
“Instead, couples’ paid and unpaid work matters for the risk of divorce, even after adjusting for how work is related to financial resources,” she said.
“While contemporary wives need not embrace the traditional female homemaker role to stay married, contemporary husbands face higher risk of divorce when they do not fulfil the stereotypical breadwinner role, by being employed full-time.”
Prof Killewald added: “In general, men seem to be contributing a little more than they used to [in terms of household chores], and these contributions may now be expected and appreciated by wives.”