The stressed sex : uncovering the truth about men, women & mental health PDF
Preview The stressed sex : uncovering the truth about men, women & mental health
THE STRESSED SEX This page intentionally left blank the stressed sex Uncovering the Truth About Men, Women, & Mental Health DANIEL FREEMAN & JASON FREEMAN (cid:20) 1 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, ox2 6dp, United Kingdom Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries © Daniel Freeman and Jason Freeman 2013 Th e moral rights of the authors have been asserted First Edition published in 2013 Impression: 1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitt ed, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitt ed by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Data available ISBN 978–0–19–965135–1 Printed in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third party website referenced in this work. contents Preface vii Acknowledgements ix About the Authors x part 1: Diff erences between Men and Women in Mental Health: What Does the Data Tell Us? 1 Introduction: Th e Stressed Sex? 3 2 Number Crunching: Th e Patt ern and Prevalence of Psychiatric Problems 23 3 Digging Deeper into the Data 56 part 2: Diff erences between Men and Women in Mental Health: What Are the Reasons? 4 Emotional Disorders 87 5 Alcohol and Drug Problems 144 6 Less Common Problems: Eating Disorders, Antisocial Personality Disorder, and Autism 168 7 Conclusion: Putt ing the Pieces Together 204 Notes 217 Sources 227 Index 257 This page intentionally left blank preface Th e real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. Marcel Proust Th is book sets out to answer a simple question: are rates of psychological disorder diff erent for men and women? Although the question is straightforward enough, the implica- tions—for individuals and society alike—are far-reaching. Yet, much to our initial surprise, the topic has been largely ignored by mental health specialists. And the picture that emerges from the relatively few texts that do allude to the issue is frustratingly contradictory. Moreo- ver, though the appetite for books on gender diff erences seems as keen as ever, the issue of mental health is conspicuous by its absence. Th e Stressed Sex , therefore, represents our att empt to clarify the links between gender and mental health. Is one sex more likely to develop problems than the other? And if so, why? To help us try to answer these questions, we draw on the best scholarship from a range of disciplines, including epidemiology, genetics, neuroscience, psy- chiatry, and cognitive, social, and clinical psychology. Th is makes Th e Stressed Sex the fi rst evidence-based book on the topic—that is, grounded in high-quality scientifi c research. Because it’s the fi rst book of its type, Th e Stressed Sex has inevitably been a voyage of discovery. We’ve journeyed through the available evidence, gradually—and sometimes necessarily tentatively—fi tt ing together the pieces of the puzzle. And in seeking to answer the preface question at the beginning of this Preface, we’ve found ourselves tack- ling others too. What is mental illness? How prevalent is it in society? How are such conditions best defi ned and diagnosed? What causes psychological disorders? How do we integrate the various contribu- tions of social, biological, and psychological factors? How should we go about researching such issues? Every day millions of people struggle with psychological and emotional problems. Given the scale of the distress, understanding what causes these conditions is an urgent priority. We think gender can play a critical role in such problems. Over the course of this book, you’ll discover why. viii acknowledgements Th e Stressed Sex ranges over considerable scientifi c ground. It was therefore invaluable to receive expert comment and opinion on the text. We would very much like to thank the following researchers for reading the book and sharing their views with us: Claire Hughes, Angelica Ronald, Sally McManus, Helen Startup, Paul Bebbington, Sarah Reeve, Emma Cernis, Katherine Pugh, and Rachel Lister. We are also grateful to Sarah Reeve for her assistance with the literature searches for Part 2 of the book, and to Gail Freeman for her percep- tive comments on an earlier draft of the text. We thank the excellent team at Oxford University Press: our edi- tor Latha Menon, Emma Marchant, Kate Farquhar-Th omson, Phil Henderson, and Rosanne Dawkins. And we are, as ever, indebted to Zoe King, our agent at the Blair Partnership. Th e central focus of Daniel’s work is developing the understanding and treatment of severe mental health problems, and he would like to thank the funders of this research: the UK Medical Research Council (MRC), the Wellcome Trust, and the NHS National Institute for Health Research. Jason thanks Eleanor for her love, encouragement, and support, and awards well-deserved gold stars to Ethan, Evelyn, and Jude. His work on this book, just like the others, is for them.
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