Prior to 1986, economic conditions had resulted in substantial unemployment, layoffs, and reduced work time, and had produced underemployment and income reductions for families. Debilitating outcomes in such a situation are likely to depend upon a volatile blend of marital and personal qualities between spouses. Given the arguments regarding the role of marital issues and individual characteristics in hardship, and the emphasis in the literature of the traditional provider role, there is a need to explore the experience of underemployment among married men. Consequently, only husbands were selected for this project. Their perception of important marital interactions and individual qualities were utilized to clarify the phenomenon of vulnerability. A random sample of a non-metropolitan northwest community produced 137 couples with a variety of incomes. Twenty-one of them lived on incomes reduced by at least 30 percent. Using data from selected marital and individual qualities among husbands, discriminant function analysis elicted three locus of control subscales that maximized the difference between the hardship and nonhardship groups. Husbands in hardship were more oriented to chance, while nonhardship providers were more internal. Results suggest that locus of control is a distinguishing characteristic among married men. Further research is necessary regarding underemployment, marriage traits, and personal qualities. Part of the developmental process for married men, and recovery from vulnerability, may lie in their willingness to take individual responsibility, and the style and degree this allows spouses and others who care to participate. (LLL)