The study, conducted by Dr Demid Getik, explores how mental health is related to income make-up within couples by examining the link between annual income rises for women and the number of clinical mental health diagnoses over a set period of time.
The study finds that as more women take on the breadwinner role in the household, the number of mental health related incidences also increases.
As wives begin earning more than their husbands, the probability of receiving a mental health diagnosis increases by as much as 8% for all those observed in the study, but by as much as 11% for the men.
Isn’t there the theory that agriculture basically pushed patriarchy because of several factors?
Just a quick glance into this article: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230525-how-did-patriarchy-actually-begin
gives some insights which do not sound too wrong. For example the article mentions the theory that the rise in property included the need for defense against others and you are better at this with more people. The article also theorizes that “social elites emerged as some people built up more property than others, driving men to want to make sure their wealth would pass onto their legitimate children”.
Very interesting article. I might need to check out the author’s book, it sounds right up my alley.
Another interesting fact is that as we’ve seen these agrarian and patrilocal traditions weaken under capitalism, we suddenly see a strong push for gender equality after thousands of years of consistent oppression. This also fits the pattern, although the number of dramatic changes to society in recent centuries make it difficult to pinpoint exact causes.
But I think the key to this is a certain amount of wealth and not capitalism itself. Gender equality was a bit better under communism for example, which would fit the theory of inheritance mentioned in the article.