Relationship Collapse Harder on Men Than on Women

When relationships go wrong, how do different sexes react? Who is in for suffering, who clears the plate and moves on? Are you ready to sympathize with women more as the more sensitive sex? The research team of sociologists from Wake Forest University and Florida State University claim that the male of the species stands in more need of sympathy.


Their research that appeared in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior and presented by the Telegraph analyzes a poll involving 1,000 single people of both sexes within the age range of 18-23. The results show that a breakup of relationship affects men in a far more serious fashion.

Women, following the failure of a love affair, run to their close friends seeking comfort and support, whereas men tend to drift to loneliness and estrangement that aggravate their suffering.
The Telegraph quotes a sociologist at University College London, Melanie Bartley, who was asked to comment on the results of the research.

“Young women do tend to have wider relationships with friends and family by this time to rely on,” she says. “Young men don’t tend to confide in each other and that can make them feel isolated. Their friendship groups are more competitive than nurturing. They are just as sensitive as women but it’s a matter of whether they feel valued.”

The study lays stress on the difference of the coping strategies employed by males and females. Women act more sociably, opening their hearts to friends and relatives that help them heal the wounds. Men are wont to keep their grief to themselves, finding solace in drugs and alcohol to get over the downfall of their inner feelings of self-worth.