Wives’ Relative Income and Marital Satisfaction among the Urban Chinese Population: Exploring Some Moderating Effects

Abstract

In contemporary urban China, the employment of married women has led to wives making an economic contribution to the family in both absolute and relative terms. However, little is known about the effect of wives’ relative income on marital satisfaction in the Chinese context. This study aims to address two key questions: (a) is wives’ relative income associated with marital satisfaction in the Chinese population? (b) Is this association dependent on any condition? Hierarchical multiple regression, using the data of 272 men and 340 women from five large cities in the 2004 Chinese Urban Household Survey, indicates that, after controlling for other variables, wives’ income relative to household income is negatively associated with marital satisfaction. We also find that this association has more negative impact on married women than married men. The implications of this study for further research and practice are discussed.