Sexual dysfunction and disorder patterns of husbands of working and nonworking women

The sexual dysfunction and disorder patterns of 218 husbands of working and nonworking women were compared in a retrospective analysis of couples presenting for sexual and marital therapy at Masters & Johnson Institute. Results indicated that men who were married to women who were pursuing careers or to women who were employed in jobs presented only between one half and two-thirds as often with primary complaints of inhibited sexual excitement and inhibited sexual desire as husbands of unemployed women. The results are compared to findings for women in dual-earner and single-earner relationships. The findings are interpreted in terms of psychological and interpersonal stressors characterizing single-earner, conventional marital arrangements as compared with those typifying dual-earner partnerships.