
New 'Mankeeping' Scale Links Women’s Emotional Labor to Burnout and Traditional Gender Views
A new 46-item survey, the Mankeeping Scale, quantifies the unpaid emotional labor women perform to manage their male partners' declining social networks. The study, published in Sex Roles, found that higher engagement in these behaviors correlates with lower relationship satisfaction, increased burnout, and higher levels of depression and anxiety. Women holding traditional gender role views reported more mankeeping behaviors. The scale was validated across US and UK samples, with an 18-item brief version also developed for practical use.











