Income and life satisfaction of dual-earner couples: A dyadic study

Many studies have examined the roles of absolute income and relative income in subjective well-being. However, previous studies focused mainly on individual-level indicators and neglected the interdependent effects of each spouse's income in the family context. In this study, we focused on the relationships among absolute income (real income), relative income (subjective evaluation of the family economic status), and life satisfaction. We applied the actor-partner interdependence mediation model, and our results, which we derived from 1,744 Chinese dyadic samples, indicated that absolute and relative income were crucial indicators of subjective well-being. Interdependencies existed between husbands and wives, but the effects were asymmetrical. Specifically, wives cared more about their husbands' absolute income, whereas husbands cared more about their wives' subjective evaluation of the family's economic status. In addition, the relationship between absolute income and life satisfaction was mediated by the wife's evaluation of the family's economic status. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.