Big Boys Do Cry: Study Reveals Men At Higher Emotional Risk In Relationships

Heartless men use women are their sexual playthings, and carelessly toss them aside after their needs have been met, we are often warned.

But a new study reveals that relationships exact a more emotional toil on men that women.

“Surprisingly, we found young men are more reactive to the quality of ongoing relationships,” said Wake Forest Professor of Sociology Robin Simon.

She studied 1000 single adults between 18 and 23, and her findings will be published in the June issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

It is not only the bad, but also the good that affects them. A positive relationship provides greater emotional benefits for the man that the woman.

For young men, their romantic partners are often their primary source of intimacy — in contrast to young women who are more likely to have close relationships with family and friends. Strain in a current romantic relationship may also be associated with poor emotional well-being because it threatens young men’s identity and feelings of self-worth.

We should bear this study in mind when we read about the fears that hook-up culture will lead to women with broken hearts, or that cohabitation before marriage leaves women open to emotional damage.

Men have hearts too.

And they may be even more finely tuned than ours.