Ask the Staff

This is a biweekly column featuring real questions from KU students, answered by CAPS staff members. The questions were anonymously collected from students in various PRE 101 sections (Psychology in Research and Education Orientation Seminar) when they were asked, What is the one question you would most like to ask a counselor?

Who has more problems, men or women?

Good question, wouldn't we all like to know. Not to sound politically correct, but males and females as a group experience roughly the same percentage of emotional problems. However, there is quite a bit of variation regarding the types of problems males or females more typically experience. As a group women are twice as likely as men to experience clinical depression, however, men have problems with alcohol abuse and dependence about twice as often as women do. Eating disorders are far more prevalent in females than males, but serious conduct problems (e.g., fighting, destruction of property, etc.) are much more common among males than females.

However, it is important to keep in mind that although generalities may accurately portray groups of people, such as men and women, they do not accurately portray individuals. Males certainly suffer from depression, females can certainly have problems with alcohol or substance abuse.

Although men and women experience problems at roughly the same rate, women are more likely to enter counseling than are men. This is probably at least partially attributable to gender-role stereotypes in our society. We all have seen the movies in which a tough guy's wife has walked out on him, he has been shot, and his dog has left him all in the same day but he insists that everything is OK. Women don't seem to face the same pressure to resist seeking assistance. However, research strongly indicates that both males and females benefit from therapy.

Response provided by John Wade, Ph.D.

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