Unemployment Can Spell Divorce for Men, But Not Women

Unemployment Can Spell Divorce for Men, But Not Women
Remy Melina, LiveScience Staff Writer
LiveScience.com Remy Melina, Livescience Staff Writer
livescience.com Sat Jun 25, 2:21 pm ET

The possibility of losing your job is bad enough. But for men, unemployment status can also make it more likely their wives will divorce them, a new study finds.

Whether or not a woman had a job, however, had no effect on the likelihood that her husband would decide to leave the marriage, the researchers said.

The findings reveal that despite more women entering the workplace, the pressure on husbands to be breadwinners largely remains, according to researchers at Ohio State University.

In addition to upping the chances their wives would leave them, unemployed men themselves were more likely to initiate divorce — even if they reported being happy in their marriage — than guys with jobs. [6 Scientific Tips for a Successful Marriage]

Unlike unemployed men, unemployed women were less likely to initiate divorce than their employed counterparts. Employed women were more likely to initiate a divorce than women with jobs, but only when they were highly unsatisfied with the marriage.

"These effects probably emanate from the greater change in women's than men's roles," the researchers write in a forthcoming issue of the American Journal of Sociology. "Women's employment has increased and is accepted, men's nonemployment is unacceptable to many, and there is a cultural ambivalence and lack of institutional support for men taking on 'feminized' roles such as household work and emotional support."

A woman's unemployment status or decision to enter the work force is not a violation of any marriage norms. Instead, the researchers found that employment provides women with financial security, which enables them to leave a marriage when they become highly unsatisfied with their husbands.

The study, which was led by Liana Sayer of Ohio State University, was based on data from more than 3,600 couples that had been collected from three waves of the U.S. National Survey of Families and Households. The survey waves were conducted from 1987-88, 1992-94 and 2001-02.

You can follow LiveScience writer Remy Melina on Twitter @remymelina. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter

 

For better or worst huh lol.
truthfully I get this. Our is our masculinity period. We don't feel as manly without. Women don't view us as manly without it. So I can understand if a guy bounces when the money is short. Who needs disappointed judgemental eyes on you all the time.

 

Sometimes couple do it to get welfare and benefits that might not be available if married. Times are really tough out here.

On a yahoo unemployment story last night, some male readers were contemplating suicide. Its that depression that comes to the L/T unemployed that gets them thinking like that. (I posted the sucide Prev HOTLINE #'s for them)

 

the nine months that your mother didn't have her period she was allowing you to develop inside her

 

Good article. I want to hear any females on here try and refute this lol

 

you brought it up...and as long as we are on the subject the months that your wife didn't have her period she was making babies for you...

what, where, why and how did you come to the conclusion that women think they have it so bad due to monthly periods? it is nothing more than a fact of life...new birthcontrol pills can actually make you not have one at all if that is what a woman wants...

back on topic...i think a man sees his worth in dollars and cents...without a job he may not feel worthy to continue a relationship...even men in their youth will talk about getting all their ducks in a row before getting married...if a man was only able to lure a woman with his money then without it he may not be able to keep her...a man that enters into a partnership with a woman would feel confident in knowing that without his job she is still willing to support him through tough times and vice versus...which is why i personally do not subscibe to any of the nonsense from the men here thinking that with the right amount of money he can get any woman he wants...

 

The fact remains, a lot of women think this way too. If a man cant be the provider they want, then his days are over with.

You wont ever see this with men, because we arent looking for providers...just loyality.

 

Are you saying people get divorced to get welfare? Getting divorce would not be necessary. Regardless of your martial status you can get welfare if you qualify. What people do it lie about their husbands not living in the home so the husbands income want affect the woman's welfare.

 

it happens all the time....one of the biggest frauds on the welfare system in this country...it is a catch 22 because people that are out of work or barely working and need to put food on the table are penalized for every dollar they make

 

I remember seeing a woman on the today show ( I think it was) stated she lost interest in her husband when he lost his job due to the recession

 

this is quite sad but i think you have to dig a little deeper than that...did she lose interest because he stopped getting out of bed...stopped showering...sat around and played video games all day...started drinking beer everyday at noon...did he sink into a depression...

or

did he keep his normal routine...perhaps even bounced out of bed early to make breakfast and get the kids to school...did he offer to do the grocery shopping...cancel the lawn service and fire up the lawn mower himself...did he dust off his resume immediately and make some calls...did he sit down his wife and say let's talk about this situation with me losing my job...we need to discuss finanaces to see where we are at...i need to know that i have your support...

 

Like the 6 ones you put there??

 

I agree. The government made it a bit harder for women who don't work b/c if you have no income you have to prove how your bills are paid and if someone is paying them for you they will consider that income too. But there is still alot of working women are def getting over on the system b/c they are able to prove how they pay their rent.