Breaking up is hard to do — for men, anyway.
That’s because males care more about being in a relationship than females, a new study set to be published in Behavioural and Brain Sciences found, according to PsyPost.
Researchers at the Humboldt University of Berlin are pouring cold water on the popular belief that gals are more desperate for a partner — saying that guys are more likely to experience loneliness after calling it quits, and are less likely to see the silver lining to the situation.
The team analyzed more than 50 scientific studies on gender differences in heterosexual relationships to come up with their findings.
The results could explain why men are less likely than women to initiate a break-up when in a steady relationship — 70% of divorces are initiated by women, the experts stated.
Men are also more likely to search for a partner and to be focused on entering into a serious relationship — perhaps because they have more to gain.
“We know from numerous studies that women typically receive more emotional support from their social environment than men. Therefore, heterosexual men are more dependent on their partners to fulfill their emotional needs than heterosexual women,” Iris Wahring, lead author of the study, said in a statement.
“In short, steady relationships are psychologically more important for men than for women.”
Previous studies have shown that being in a relationship improves men’s mental and physical health — married men have been found to age slower than singles.
And, according to the Pew Research Center, women compared to men were more likely to turn to their mothers (54% vs. 42%), a friend (54% vs. 38%), another family member who is not their parent or partner (44% vs. 26%) or a mental health professional (22% vs. 16%) for emotional support.
Researchers working on the Humboldt University study attribute this to gender norms deeply ingrained in our culture.
“Social norms are influential for women sharing emotions with others more often and supporting each other more strongly than men do,” co-author Paul van Lange noted.
“Even young children experience these norms, according to which it is much more common and appropriate for girls than for boys to share emotions and vulnerabilities.”
This revelation adds to a growing body of research suggesting that men are more reliant on romantic relationships than women.
A study recently published in Social Psychological and Personality Science found that women enjoy flying solo a whole lot more than men. They are less likely to want a significant other, and are more sexually satisfied and content overall.
So, it’s good news for men that people are cuddling and coupling up — reversing a decades-long trend.
The number of unpartnered adults — not married, living with a partner or in a committed romantic relationship — has declined for the first time in nearly 20 years, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data.
Meanwhile, the share of adults who were married inched up from 50% to 51% from 2019 to 2023 along with the share of adults cohabiting with an unmarried partner — up from 6% to 7%.