You're in the job you always wanted and you're doing well, even making more money than your husband.
But beware（当心）. Women who become the chief breadwinners（养家糊口的人） in their domestic partnerships are more likely to pay the price with divorce.
Researchers admit that the reason is unclear, but it may be that male pride is wounded by not being the biggest earner in the household.
Successful women, for their part, may grow to resent a husband who doesn't appear to be pulling his weight.
The finding is the result of a 25-year study of more than 2,500 marriages, comes hot on the heels of other research showing that house-husbands are prone to affairs.
With nearly a third of British women earning more than their men, the results could sow doubt in millions of minds.
The American researchers studied the marriages and income of more than 2,500 women who married for the first time between 1979 and 2002.
They found that those women who consistently made more money than their husbands were up to 38 per cent more likely to divorce than others.
Jay Teachman, of Western Washington University, said there could be several reasons behind the statistic.
For instance, financial independence makes it easier for women to find a way out of an unhappy marriage.
Dented egos - of both sexes - may also play a role.
Professor Teachman said: 'There may be "wounded pride" on the part of the male that may lead to tension in the relationship. It may also be the case that some women react negatively（消极的） to a mate that does not earn as much as themselves.'
A sudden increase in hours worked was also linked to marriage break downs, the Journal Of Family Issues reports.
Examples of the phenomenon include the collapse of Kate Winslet's marriage to Jim Threapleton, an assistant film director, in 2001, which was blamed on the actress's burgeoning movie career.
And this year when singer Charlotte Church separated from her rugby player fiance Gavin Henson friends pointed out that he earned much less than her.
For a happy marriage, Professor Teachman recommends a 60:40 split in income, with the husband being the highest earner.
His findingschime with a recent American study which reported that men who are financially dependent on their other halves are more likely to be unfaithful - and the greater the earning gap the more likely the man is to cheat.
For instance, house husbands whose wives worked all day were five times more likely to have an affair than those who contributed an equal amount of money to the partnership.
The Cornell University researchers said that low-earning men may use an affair as a way of reasserting their masculinity.（本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑） |