Men getting more depressed warn experts

(BBC): Psychiatrists have warned that the number of men with depression could rise because of changes in Western society. An article in the British Journal of Psychiatry suggests economic and social changes will erode traditional sources of male self-esteem. The authors say men will struggle with the shift away from traditional male and female roles. The Men’s Health Forum said male identity was bound up in employment. One of the authors, Dr Boadie Dunlop from Emory University School of Medicine, said: "Women are almost twice as likely to develop major depressive disorder in their lifetime as men, but we believe this difference may well change in the coming decades."

He argues that traditional male jobs such as manufacturing or physical labour are being lost, either through improved technology or jobs moving to other countries.

On the other hand the article states that as women are now more likely to go to university than men so the number of households where the main breadwinner is female will increase. "Men’s failure to fulfil the role of breadwinner is associated with greater depression and martial conflict," the article states.

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