how is the life-course different for men and women

by Dr. Narciso Hahn 3 min read

In the United States, the average life expectancy is 78.6 years for all genders combined. For women, it's 81.1 years and for men, it's 76.1 years. Sexual function and aging are very different for men and women. A woman's body responds to aging dramatically with menopause while a man's body responds more gradually.

Full Answer

How does the sequence of a woman's life differ from that of men?

The sequences of a woman's life differed from that of a man's, and transitions also varied by economic status among both sexes. The age of majority, the legal transition to adulthood, varied not only by region but status group.

What is life course and transition to adulthood?

Life Course and Transitions to Adulthood. The idea of the life course is relatively new, a concept, like that of human evolution, that reflects the modern tendency to think of everything (species, nations, individuals) as developing through time in a certain irreversible sequence.

What is the life course?

The idea of the life course is relatively new, a concept, like that of human evolution, that reflects the modern tendency to think of everything (species, nations, individuals) as developing through time in a certain irreversible sequence.

Is the life course divided into discrete age groups?

Class, gender, and ethnic life-course differences remained, but what is striking is the degree to which the life course had been divided into a series of discrete age groups, set apart not just temporally but spatially from one another.

Introduction

The existing literature observes significant differences in age-standardized suicide rates between genders across the life span ( 1 – 3 ), with lower suicide rates among females and higher suicide rates in men increasing in later life ( 4 – 6 ).

Methods

Through an ongoing partnership with the Quebec coroner's office, our research group is constantly recruiting family members of individuals who recently died by suicide in the province of Quebec (Canada). We report on 303 suicide cases: 213 men and 90 women.

Results

Among the 303 suicide cases, 70% were men, with a mean age at the time of death for women was 45.5 (SD = 17.3), and that of men was 38.4 (SD = 15.4). Survival analysis ( Figure 1) clearly indicates an earlier occurrence of death in men and a lower median survival time (30–39 vs. 40–49).

Discussion

Survival analysis shows that men have a lower life expectancy than women. Compared to men, more women report living alone, having lower income and being financially supported by State income, even if more women attain a higher level of education.

Conclusion

Results indicate the importance of recognizing differential adverse events in the lives of women and men which develops onto longstanding and severe problems creating difficulties in relating to close relationships and society in large.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

Ethics Statement

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Douglas Mental Health University Institute and the University of Québec in Outaouais (Nos. 2362; 2533; 2608; and 2856). All informants signed a consent form. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

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