Differences 1

Reasoning for differences of life expectancy between men and women

Latesha Mays

Dr. Davis

SOCI 402
May 9, 2006

Differences 2
Reasoning for differences of life expectancy between women and men

In most countries the life expectancy at birth of women is longer than that if men. Historically it has been assumed that this was generally due to biological reasons. But on the basis of my graveyard data which consisted of 50 cases of people from High Point North Carolina, tables and graphs, the relationship between race, gender, and average age of death are summarized with four empirical generalizations that I got from the data. I will only present three to adequately summarize the data because only three have similar commonalities to express why women live longer than men. The first empirical generalization was on the basis of the gender table. The data showed that males have a 36 percent average age of death and females have a 64 percent average age of death and therefore males have 28 percentage points lower average age of death than females. The second empirical generalization was on the basis of the race and gender graph. In this graph females had a higher median age of death than any other category. The last empirical generalization expresses a graph that shows the data of race and sex. The data showed that white females have a significantly higher median age of death than men and black females, as well as black females had a higher average than men. The paradigms I choose to support my empirical generalizations are conflict theory on the macro level which suggests in this case that inequalities of stress and social security are factors for why women live longer than men. Exchange behaviorism on the micro level is the second paradigm which suggests that choices and activities such as drinking, smoking, sex and not going to the doctor routinely are factors that can cause women to have a higher life expectancy than men. The paradigms supported by articles will help me to develop a theory to explain why women live longer than men.
Conflict Theory
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Conflict theory is a paradigm that focuses on inequalities, power differences, values, and interest between people rather it be race or gender differences. In the case of women living longer than men stress is an inequality and children are values. Both are factors supported by reason and statistics that women live longer than men. Social Security could also be a factor because men work so hard and encounter a lot of job related stress, but then they generally do not live long enough to receive social security and women do. Men tend to stress over work related stress, and responsibilities while women stress over values such as family, children and bills. One of the leading causes of death in men is stress that leads to heart disease or stroke which leads to death. This is not the case for women because studies show that women’s hearts are stronger than men’s. That may be a factor that causes women to deal with stress better because stress can take a toll on one’s heart and cause heart attacks resulting in death. Men tend to not be able to cope as well as women with stress. In this view inequalities as a result of “natural” causes found in all societies are expected such as stress. Since women tend to deal with stress better they react to it by protecting and caring for their children and they seek out and receive social support. Also studies show that women’s bodies make chemicals that are believed to have a calming effect during stress. Where as men tend to conceal stress, are less likely to show feeling and think they can deal with everything all on their own. They do not seek social support for fear of feeling like they are not living up to the high male ego standard. The effects of stress are what can cause men to have a lower life expectancy than women. Some effects of stress are suicide from low self esteem, anger, and grief. Mental damage and physical damage are also effects of stress. Stress becomes a problem when one does not know how to handle it as statistics show is true of men.
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Stress can cause physical mental and emotional responses that can all result in early death especially for men who do no cope well with stress. Stress can also make a person make poor life choices like resulting in smoking, drinking, sex and these behaviors also lead to premature death. Exchange Behaviorism
The individual activities and choices that people choose to engage in can almost always be a factor of life expectancy. Exchange behaviorism focuses on individual activity, choices and decisions that one makes. Decisions such as receiving health care, smoking, drinking, sex and even the type of occupation they choose can affect life expectancy. There are opposing differences in individual activities and choices when it comes to women and men. Women are more prone than men to go to the doctor. This is around the puberty stages of life when a women’s health care routine is required because women have to see a gynecologist and with that they establish a life time pattern of medical care. Men do not go to the doctor for fear of being embarrassed, afraid the doctor will find something such as sexually transmitted diseases and afraid their masculinity will be challenged. With a man’s ego being as boasted as it is men feel that showing pain from doctor visits will show a sign of weakness. Statistics show that men smoke and drink more than women but yet they are the group of people who are least likely to go to the doctor. This choice results in liver cancer, lung cancer, and heart disease from smoking and drinking, causing them to have a lower life expectancy than women. Men are also more likely to be risk takers and choose jobs such as construction workers, firefighters, and chemical plant workers that induce the risk for lower life expectancy because of the hazardous material involved. Women choose jobs like secretaries, nurses and homemakers which don’t involve such hazards. Choices and activities that men and women choose to engage themselves in have a huge
Differences 5 impact on life expectancy between the two genders.
Combining the two paradigms
When combining the two paradigms I found that stress from the macro level paradigm can influence life choices from the micro level paradigm. Studies have found that people result in unhealthy choices when stress arises and stress becomes even more harmful when people use alcohol, tobacco, drugs and unhealthy foods to try and relieve stress. In this case the difference comes in with males and females because women tend to cope with stress better and go to the doctor more which increases their chances of survival. Men tend not to seek medical care, drink, smoke, and engage in unhealthy sex with multiple partners more than women which result in a lower life expectancy for them with reasons indicated above.
Support from articles for paradigms
From the two paradigms I choose to help explain why women live linger than men I have come up with a theory that suggest that women have a longer life expectancy because they cope with stress better and they also out live men because they choose to engage themselves in different activities and choices such as drinking, smoking, sex and going to the doctor routinely. The difference between men and women is that men seek healthcare a lot less than women. Men making choices like smoking and drinking to cope with stress causes them to have health problems ending in lower life expectancy. There are several articles that I found to support my theory. The articles shed light on men and job stress as well as decision making between genders. Also they talk about how the overall affects of both result in a decrease in life expectancy for men. The articles reiterate that men do not seek social support for stress they tend to conceal it where as women show emotion and seek support. They also state that men partake in activities
Differences 6 like drinking and smoking to suppress stress. They do not go the doctor as much as women so they have a tendency to not get help with health problems that drinking, smoking and sexual activity can cause. The articles clearly reiterate that women are more likely to live longer than men because men make do not cope as well with stress as women do and the make jeopardizing life decisions to try and deal with stress.
Conclusion
Collecting data, stating 3 empirical generalizations, choosing 2 theories and articles is a process of steps backed by reason and statistical information that help reiterate why I believe women live longer than men. The key component that I have expressed is stress to explain my theory. Many men face occupational stress and women face value stress such as their children. Stress may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, not to mention psychological effects, workplace injury and other health problems like smoking, drinking and bodily issues due to sexual behaviors. Men fail to seek social support when stressed and medical care routinely. Women have no problem seeking support and going to doctor visits. When explaining why women have a longer life expectancy than men I have come up with a theory that women cope better with stress and make better health behavior choices to keep them living longer than men. Men suppress stress with things like drinking, smoking, sex and poor eating habits resulting in health problems such as heart disease, lung cancer, liver cancer and HIV/Aids. These health issues become a life or death situation to men because they do not seek health care as much as women therefore having a significantly lower life expectancy than women. Overall my theory shows that life expectancy can be rationalized by the inequalities between genders and the decisions they make.
Differences 7
Appendix

Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, Published December, 2002 by the Gale Group

http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/mens_health.jsp

Glendale Memorial Hospital & Health Center. The Well Street Journal “Men’s Health

Issue” (April 2001). http://www.glendalememorial.com/wsj/w3-01_1.html

Health Articles. “Men and Job Stress”. 2001-2006 Fitness and Freebies.

http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/fitness/archive/stress.html

Jerome F. Kiffer, (2002) MA, Department of Health Psychology and Applied

Psychophysiology. Stress & your health: The Effects of Stress on Your Body

http://www.webmd.com/content/pages/7/1674_52147.html

Medica.de Cardiology: Why Women live longer than Men. 11/1/2005

www.medica.de/cgibin/md_medica/custom/pub/content.cgi?lang=2&ticket=g_u_ e_s_s Sara E. Rix, PhD., AARP Public Institute, Laurel Beedon, AARP Public Policy Institute

October 2003. Social Security Benefits. Social Security and Women: Some Facts http://www.ssa.gov/history/lifeexpect.html