Do you think men who earn less than their female spouses/partners are more likely to cheat?

Oh man, really? That is so sad. I definitely better check her cell calls now. Lol.

Perhaps, if they were already insecure or had something to “prove” to themselves, or if they felt demeaned in some way by their partner. It is a situation that really requires two very secure people in the relationship.

I’m guessing that’s not the cause and affect. I think there are a lot more factors that come into play.

I would not have thought so.

It is interesting @Simone_De_Beauvoir. I’ve witnessed it in my own life with friends. I wonder why it happens? I guess people are just people and not everyone is the same, huh?

My first reaction is: ridiculous.
And now I will read the article…, be back in a minute.
Back.
“Men who earn less, cheat more.”
Men who aren’t the primary breadwinners in a relationship are more likely to be a unfaithful, according to a new study. But, it’s not about the money, says the lead researcher. It’s about sexual identity.”
So, what is it?
About the money or not about the money?

“Although almost 7 percent of men cheated at least once during the six-year period studied”
As opposed to 100% of men and women who make the same money and never cheat?
I mean, will that number not be the same in men who make more or the same as their spouses (m/f)?

I still think it is ridiculous.
Not scientificaly based though, it’s a gut feeling.

That explains the Oscar’s Best Actress syndrome: win best actress, get a divorce. Makes sense to me. Men are so frickin’ delicate when it comes to their “masculinity”.

It would probably make me steal from my employer. The logic being I earn less than a woman, and women are notouriously paid less than men, so what kind of shit job do I have?! .. yoink.

No reason to doubt the article. But I earn less, and I am true blue.

Why in fuck’s name would a fella want to give up that gravy train?

The data say what the data say.

I don’t know if there is a causal relationship, though.

It could be that women who make more, also work more and are home less, thus leaving the husband kind of lonely and more willing to seek another relationship to make up for what is missing in their relationship.

I don’t think it is likely to have to do with masculinity. I think a man has to be pretty secure in himself in order to be involved with a woman who makes more.

I think if someone is going to cheat, they are going to do it regardless. In the past, they said one of the reasons was because the breadwinner knows they have more power and freedom, and now apparently the person with less “power” (money) will cheat, too? So I don’t think it matters.

Are powerful, successful women picking men who are more physically appealing than adept at making money because they don’t need a man to support them?

Are we witnessing women picking “trophy” husbands, and these husbands have way more temptation and opportunities than average men?

Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with “making money” or supporting someone @Imadethisupwithnoforethought. Maybe they love each other and enjoy a life together that doesn’t depend on the amount of money or physical attributes. I’m just offering a different way of looking at it perhaps for the sake of discussion. I like this question. Peace.

@bkcunningham NP. I am just thinking about the interpretation people seem to be drifting towards, that these men have something to prove.

I suspect the women are moving the statistical needle just as much by their habits in selection, but as people often seem reluctant to associate women with making marriage choices for raw charisma, I worry that causal factor may be overlooked.

These people are cheating, I think we have to be open to considering not all of them are in love.

@Imadethisupwithnoforethought So you think that people marry for money or charisma or for both and that once women have money, they can marry for charisma only? Just clarifying.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I think women who “feel” more independent may do the female equivalent of marrying a trophy wife. For all the same reasons a man would.

I can’t say I find the effect to be much of a surprise.

I would be interested to see the actual paper, though—does the size of the income gap matter? Does the size of the effect change depending on income bracket? E.g., maybe very poor men are just grateful for the extra income and don’t cheat, but very wealthy men see income levels as a status symbol? Did the investigators measure perceived levels of masculinity in the participants? Would be interesting to hear more.

I can understand why men earning less than their wives might cheat to assert their masculinity, but then men earning more might cheat because they feel powerful and entitled. I wouldn’t have expected there to be much of a difference, cheaters are cheaters and money is only money.

I remember learning in an anthropology class that one of the best predictors of divorce was a wife making significantly more than her husband (with the probability increasing as the income-gap increased). The reasons given were complex, and I’m sure they would be controversial.

In short, the income-gap supposedly made the wife think she could do better and the husband think he wasn’t fulfilling his social and marital roles. The man was likely to cheat because it was the easiest way to reestablish his masculine self-identity; the woman was likely to leave her husband outright, or perhaps cheat as a precursor to leaving. This would perhaps explain the discrepancy noted in the OP.

It is important to note, however, that not all populations were subject to this effect. As I recall, this was a sort of “average American syndrome” that had significant deviations and was not mapped by a typical bell curve.

The idea that women who are in the traditional position as men behave better (or not better) in a relationship seems sexist. If a woman is a successful business owner ,odds are she got where she is by being shrewd and calculating and smart with her time. If the wife brings her combat mode back to the house after work it may be off putting to some husbands. Some successful people are just plain arrogant as hell, they know they are the shit, which could possibly lead to letting success go to their heads. Such as letting the man know who wears the pants in the house if she equates the same with money earning potential.You know, in a back hande way of course. It could be the high earner wife is cold and not as much fun, with less and less in common, so the guy seeks out a not as smart playmate who is fun.
Of course this is a generalization and everyone is different.

Yes. I’ve not only read this in several places but I’ve known it to happen among friends (the men cheated) and for the exact reasons you touch on.

Maybe the men and women who cheat under these circumstances just use the money difference as an excuse. It’s such an easy thing to blame.

Ha! If I had a wife earning big bucks I darned sure wouldn’t risk blowing a great thing just for some strange skirt sampling. I haven’t the tiniest bit of male pride when it comes to increasing our mutual wealth. If she can outdo me, more’s the better.

It’s not as simple as people blaming the money, the money difference really truly ate away at them in ways they were ashamed to admit to.

What sort of man is that? If the wife gets more money she bring it for the family, she ain’t gonna spend them on crap. Whoever has issues with those has a lot of other problems.

Hey, look, it’s yet another reason traditional gender roles are harmful.

@nikipedia The actual paper isn’t out yet, but there’s more info here.

@Hibernate I don’t think the woman who wrote the paper was condoning the behavior, just pointing out its existence.

In true Fluther style of never taking anything off face value without overwhelming science, I will leave it as a nice opinion. Seeing they have only a sample less than 2,000 does that equate to the thinking of greater America? Maybe, but likely not as accurate. I could interview 1,300 UK Traveler women about how a woman should be in a marriage and I would have a vastly different opinion than if I were in downtown LA. The numbers of homemaker agreeing women would bolster my cause, if that what was what I was propagating, but that doesn’t necessarily make it correct. I would have to say I need to have more corroborating studies with larger numbers, I would say it then would have some iron to it.

@Hypocrisy_Central Bwaha, if only you applied the same keen statistical analysis to many of your questions, :)

@Simone_De_Beauvoir If it is not a question of faith, who say I don’t? I invite anyone to come up woth hard facts or at least unflapple logic to debunk it…..if they can. ;-P

I wouldn’t deny that income disparity can result in marital conflict, as the man may become jealous or insecure over his wife’s success, but like @Blackberry I don’t accept that men who earn less will cheat more.

A sample size of 1000 is generally considered quite adequate for making predictions about the population of the United States.