Young Men More Vulnerable to Relationship Ups and Downs Than Women

Science Daily ^ | (June 8, 2010)

[MetaThought]

ScienceDaily (June 8, 2010) — Contrary to popular belief, the ups and downs of romantic relationships have a greater effect on the mental health of young men than women, according to a new study by a Wake Forest University sociology professor.

In the study of more than 1,000 unmarried young adults between the ages of 18 and 23, Wake Forest Professor of Sociology Robin Simon challenges the long-held assumption that women are more vulnerable to the emotional rollercoaster of relationships. Even though men sometimes try to present a tough face, unhappy romances take a greater emotional toll on men than women, Simon says. They just express their distress differently than women.

Simon's research is published in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Anne Barrett, associate professor of sociology at Florida State University, co-authored the article.

"Our paper sheds light on the association between non-marital romantic relationships and emotional well-being among men and women on the threshold of adulthood," Simon says. "Surprisingly, we found young men are more reactive to the quality of ongoing relationships."

That means the harmful stress of a rocky relationship is more closely associated with men's than women's mental health. The researchers also found that men get greater emotional benefits from the positive aspects of an ongoing romantic relationship. This contradicts the stereotypic image of stoic men who are unaffected by what happens in their romantic relationships.

[BenKenobi]

I’d agree with that statement. Remember that the ‘market’ for young women is always higher than that for young men. Just the way in which the world works.

[ottbmare]

couldn't the same be said for the majority of sweet, good, and sincere young women (who fall for rotten bums)?

Yup. And I have been one of those young women. The question all of us sweet people must ask ourselves is, why did we choose rotten individuals? It's very hard to avoid them, especially when they can see us coming, but we have a duty to ourselves to be more careful.

Your observations don't explain why young men should necessarily be more hurt by the dissolution of a relationship than young women are hurt.

You want the truth? I think (s) some women really are shattered, deeply anguished for a long time, (b) women as a group are stronger than men, which is why so many older men die shortly after their wives do, while widows often carry on for years, and (c) as a group, women are more receptive to turning to girlfriends and family, psychotherapy, self-help books, medication, and church. The numbers of men who read self-help books is miniscule, and many prefer not to go to the doctor or to church.

I'm just generalizing horribly, of course!! There are a billion exceptions about each of the things I've written.

[SunkenCiv]

:’) Couldn’t have anything to do with men mostly having to date women, could it? ;’)