Abstract
Compared with the rich knowledge in the West, studies of the impact of wives’ relative income on marital quality during the fast socioeconomic change period in urban China have surprisingly fallen far behind. This study attempted to examine the impact of relative income on marital happiness among urban Chinese women. Using an urban Beijing sample of 763 married women, this study found that a woman married to a husband with lower income tended to be less happy with her marriage, but this effect will be countered if there is more love in the sense of a genuine concern about the well-being of the partner and a willing to make sacrifice for him. The results were interpreted from theoretical verification and possible mechanisms linking personal commitment and marital happiness.
Highlights
Over the past decades, the impact of women’s income on marital outcomes has been studied intensively in the west, and the mainstream line of study supported the economic independence hypothesis (Parsons 1949), that is, wives’ relative income will lead to their marital dissatisfaction (Furdyna et al 2008) and it is positively associated with the risk of divorce (Heckert et al 1998; Rogers and Deboer 2001; Kalmijn et al 2007)
Using an urban Beijing sample of 763 married women, this study found that a woman married to a husband with lower income tended to be less happy with her marriage, but this effect will be countered if there is more love in the sense of a genuine concern about the well-being of the partner and a willing to make sacrifice for him
The purpose of the present study is to examine the impact of urban Chinese wives’ relative income on their marital happiness, and examine the potential moderating role of personal commitment in this association
Summary
The impact of women’s income on marital outcomes has been studied intensively in the west, and the mainstream line of study supported the economic independence hypothesis (Parsons 1949), that is, wives’ relative income will lead to their marital dissatisfaction (Furdyna et al 2008) and it is positively associated with the risk of divorce (Heckert et al 1998; Rogers and Deboer 2001; Kalmijn et al 2007) Another line of study suggested that wives’ income would add capital and assets to the marriage and enhance the quality of life for the family. Studies testing for the presence of an independence effect or an income effect have been generally inconclusive
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
