Breaking up is harder for men than women, study says

A new study has found relationship break ups are harder for men than women. The study has been released ahead of Valentine's Day on February 14.

The results have been published in a paper called Romantic Relationships Matter More to Men than to Women authored by Iris V Wahring, Jeffry A Simpson, and Paul AM Van Lange.

The authors sought to analyse traditional beliefs about romantic relationships, including that women are emotionally dependent on their partners and men are emotionally reserved.

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They found men rely more on their romantic partners for emotional support and intimacy than women do, explaining that men focus more on their relationships than maintaining a broader network of support via family and friends.

This leaves men more dependent on their relationships for emotionally and psychological support, meaning that if and when they end, the loss is of more significance.

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The study found that men are motivated to find a partner and more likely to believe in the concept of "love at first sight".

They also reported men falling in love more often than women.

The study also outlines the health benefits of relationships on men including lower rates of depression, stress and loneliness.

Also discovered in the study, men are less likely to initiate breakups in relationships than women due to their dependence on the emotional support.

The study found that approximately 70 percent of divorces are initiated by women and women are also more likely to end non-marital relationships as well.

Men are also less likely to view breakups as opportunities for growth and self-discovery.

The distress men experience after the end of a serious relationship is also more than women, according to the study authors.

After a breakup, men are more likely to report feelings of loneliness, sadness, and reduced life satisfaction compared to women.

The study concludes that cultural narratives around gender and relationships should be challenged, particularly when it comes to men's emotional reliance on romantic relationships and the impact when they end.

Another common relationship belief was recently debunked. A study tested the theory that women are naturally drawn to older men when dating.

Instead, the study found that both women and men are more likely to be attracted to younger partners, at least in the initial stages of relationships.

The study, conducted by the University of California, looked at 6,000 single men and women aged between 22 and 85 who were seeking long-term relationships.

They were sent on more than 4,000 blind dates arranged by a matchmaking company.

The study didn't follow the couples to see the outcome of these relationships, but did conclude that, at least in the initial stages, women also preferred younger partners.

It has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study concluded that there may be "a meaningful mismatch between what women say they prefer and what they actually prefer, at least in a first-date setting" as the women generally expressed a "preference for a partner who is a few years older".

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