LONDON – File this under “Duh.” A new study seems to confirm what everyone already suspected: In times of stress, anxiety or depression, women raid the fridge and men seek out sex or pornography.
Researchers at University College London say the gender-divergent behaviors define two very different coping strategies: Women seek comfort while men want distraction.
“’For men, having sex is probably about dissociating from whatever troubles they are having at that particular time. It is escapism,” lead researcher Dr. John Barry told The Daily Mail. “’There are endorphins released during sex, so it provides a pleasurable feeling, which can act as a type of medication.
“It could be that men are just wired differently than women,” he added. “They naturally have a higher libido, so they fall back on this behavior to cope.”
Setting aside the sexist stereotype in Barry’s assumption, medical professionals believe the results could inform gender-based clinical treatments. Traditionally, therapists encourage clients to “talk through” their feelings. The approach may work well with women, who the research indicates could be comfort-oriented.
Men, on the other hand, appear to be more goal-oriented (an orgasm is a goal, after all). Though four times more men than women commit suicide—most of them for reasons related to their careers—few men seek psychological help. Because men resist talk therapy (largely due to lingering social stigma equating transient psychological challenges with constitutional weakness), researchers theorize men might be better served by therapy focused on actionable solutions — or “quick fixes” as one researcher noted.
The research report, presented Jan. 19 during the annual conference of the British Psychological Society’s Division of Clinical Psychology, surveyed 115 men and 250 women. Twenty-seven percent of the male subjects chose sex or porn for relaxation, compared to only 11 percent of the female subjects.
