The Impact of a Sense of a Financial Burden and Views on Gender Roles on the Mental Health of Married Men

Abstract

　　The current study ascertained whether the annual income of one's wife or differences in one's type of employment increased a husband’s sense of a financial burden and whether a sense of a financial burden increased stress. Participants were 1,167 married men in their 30s to 50s, and these men were financially responsible for providing for their families. This study also examined whether views on gender roles alleviated the participants’ sense of a financial burden.

　　Results indicated the following: (1) Instances where the wife was not “employed full-time” affected the husband’s sense of a financial burden. (2) The husband's sense of a financial burden increased stress in all 4 subscales of the Public Health Research Foundation Stress Checklist: “feelings of anxiety and uncertainty,” “fatigue and physical symptoms,” “feelings of depression and inadequacy,” and “autonomic symptoms.” (3) An egalitarian view of gender roles decreased the husband's sense of a financial burden. Both a husband's own views on gender roles and his acknowledgement of his wife's views on gender roles are important.