Unit 7 Written Assignment

Potential explanations for differences in health regarding gender

Instructor: Ingrid Speed

Introduction

Many kinds of research and articles describe that there is an inequality

between men and women regarding the quality of life and longevity. In addition,

these findings also found that women have lived longer than men in general

deposition somehow. As a result, a number of theories and assumptions have been

introduced to prove why women can outlive men with some convincing and

creditable facts. So, I would like to disclose some potential explanations I came

across while doing some readings for this week. 

Potential explanations for differences in health between men and women

The alleged reasons and statements come from different backgrounds such

as biological, health behaviors of risk-taking and help-seeking, health beliefs,

social norms, and coping mechanisms (Ogden, 2019). Firstly, health behaviors are

detected to take a role in causing a disparity in the mentioned principle. Men tend

to pick on unhealthy habits such as drinking, smoking, and using drugs more than

women. Besides, multiple sexual partners are considered normal for men since

kingdom eras. Men usually involve themselves in risky or intense physical

activities, which can result in accidents and disabilities (Ogden, 2019). 

Secondly, there are diverse health beliefs from women to men. Women

have a low tendency to risk their life with something peculiar that they believe to

be dangerous for them. They have their own ground rules to follow even in

distressing events. On some occasions, women believe that they are weaker in

physique than men so they try to have control over their health by checking
 regularly. Moreover, men are more assertive than women (Hentschel et al., 2019),

so they are likely to delay their medical checkups or doctor visits because they are

confident that their bodies and health are in perfect condition. 

Thirdly, men and women use various methods to cope with stress and

problems. Typically, men suppress their emotions and seldomly share their

burden even with their family and loved ones as they were taught to be strong for

themselves and others. So, Ogden (2019) disclosed that men choose avoidance

coping mechanisms to deal with their turmoils which turn in can bite in their

butts, as avoiding their feelings can also act as a stressor, thus indulging in a

negative feedback cycle. Hence, men, who died from depression or suicide, have

sparse medical treatments compared with women who are diagnosed with

depression and have necessary treatments.  

Conclusion

Overall, health behaviors seem to have my attention most among the

reasons and I think it is quite creditable because I have my experiences to judge

this theory as men in my surroundings and life do exactly as I described above. I

think men and women should strike for gender equality in healthcare, and

disregard masculinity and feminism. Plus, I also wonder how these assumptions

work for transgenders and other LGBTQ+ communities. 

Word count: 457

 References

Hentschel, T., Heilman, M. E., & Peus, C. V. (2019). The Multiple Dimensions of

Gender Stereotypes: A Current Look at Men's and Women's Characterizations of

Others and Themselves. Frontiers in psychology,

10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00011

Ogden, J. (2019).  The psychology of health and illness: An open-access

course.  The psychology of health and illness.pdf