Oh, those poor macho men.
A new study suggests that 'macho' men struggle with their romantic relationships, partly because women in their lives make more money than they do, according to a new study by Patrick Coughlin and Jay Wade from Fordham University in New York. However, men who don't follow traditional masculine gender roles don't see much importance in looking at income, according to the report.
For the most part, this shouldn't be a surprise. More women than ever are enrolled in universities and colleges in North America and are now taking less time out of their careers to raise children.
Earlier this week, another survey found the majority of women in the U.S. are now breadwinners in their households, according to Prudential Financial. Out of the 1,400 women surveyed, 40 per cent of whom were single or divorced, 53 percent of them were the breadwinners in their households.
"Our results demonstrate the importance of masculinity ideology in understanding how and why men with higher-earning partners will have low or high quality romantic relationships," Coughlin and Wade said in the press release.
But what makes these men cringe? Psychologist like Marie Hartwell-Walker believe that both men and women still have core beliefs as to who they are and what they should be doing as grown-ups -- but in reality these roles don't work any more. "A woman who puts in a 13-hour day at the office simply can’t come home and do the laundry too," she wrote in an article for PsychCentral.com.
And as much as we don't want to blame money as the root cause of all evil in our relationships, some experts say you should. Money is often the first reason most marriages end in divorce and struggling with financial budgets often cause arguments between couples.
Does it matter who makes more dough? Let us know in the comments below.
ALSO: Here are seven steps experts recommend to steer clear of potential marital money troubles:
