雙語財經新聞 第41期:養家女性增多
Men face a depressing future as their stiff upper lips start to crumble and more women become breadwinners, psychiatrists predict.
They claim the changing economies of countries such as the UK and US have led to a “mancession”，with many men losing their jobs and fewer traditional employment opportunities.
他們聲稱,像英國和美國等國家不斷變化的經濟形勢導致了這種“男性衰退” 的形勢，很多男人因此失業，並且獲得傳統工作的機會也越來越少。Depressive disorders among men are expected to increase in the next few year sand it could mean men’s rates of depression catch up with those of women, who are traditionally more likely to seek help.
在接下來的幾年裏，男性中患抑鬱症的人數將會增加——這就意味着患抑鬱 症的男性比例可能會趕上女性。而在傳統上，女性更願意爲擺脫抑鬱來尋求幫助。
Dr. Boadie Dunlop, of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, said: “Women are almost twice as likely to develop major depressive disorder in their lifetime as men. But we believe this may well change in the coming decades.”
佐治亞州亞特蘭大市的埃默裏大學醫學院的伯迪?鄧洛普博士說女性在一 生中患抑鬱症的可能性差不多是男性的兩倍。但是我們相信在未來幾十年內，這種 情況很可能會改變。”Writing in the British Journal of Psychiatry, Dr. Dunlop and his colleague Tanja Mletzko suggest two major shifts are already underway in Western societies which could increase rates of depression among men.
鄧洛普博士和他的同 事坦亞?姆萊茨科在《英國 精神病學》雜誌上撰文，指 出西方社會現在正在發生 的兩個重大改變可能會提 高男性患抑鬱症的風險。The first change, they argue, is that society is encouraging men to discuss their feelings more and so they are no longer displaying the “stiff upper lip” which stopped them from sharing their problems.
他們認爲，這第一個改 變就是社會在鼓勵男性更 多地談論他們自身的感受， 這樣他們就不會爲了保持“內斂”的形象，而拒絕向別人傾吐他們所遇到的問題。At the same time, there is “profound restructuring” of traditional male jobs such as manufacturing, which are being done by cheaper labour abroad or made obsolete through technological advances.
同時,傳統的男性行業，如製造業，正在經歷着“深刻的調整重組”：這些行業要 麼會僱用更爲廉價的海外勞動力,要麼已經在日新月異的科技大潮中被淘汰了。Dr. Dunlop said: Dubbed3 by some the “mancession”，the economic downturn has hit men particularly hard because of its disproportionate effect on traditional male industries such as construction and manufacturing. Furthermore, Western women are increasingly becoming the primary household earners.
鄧洛普博士說:“在這次被某些人稱爲‘男性衰退’的經濟危機中，男性遭受的 打擊特別大，因爲傳統的男性行業，如建築業和製造業都遭受到了不同於其他行業 的巨大打擊。此外，越來越多的西方女性開始成爲家庭中的主要掙錢人。“Compared to women, men attach greater importance to their roles as providers and protectors of their families, and men’s failure to fulfill the role of breadwinner is associated with greater depression and marital conflict. Western men will face a difficult road in the 21st century.”
“同女性相比，男性會更加重視他們所扮演的家庭供養者和保護者的角色，而 如果男性沒有能力養家餬口，就會導致男性抑鬱加重,夫妻衝突頻繁。對於西方男 性來說’21世紀的路會很難走。”But Professor Cary Cooper, from the Lancaster University Management School, suggested that losing the stiff upper lip could improve men’s physical and mental health.
但是蘭開斯特大學管理學院的凱里?庫珀教授認爲，擺脫內斂自持的習性可以 促進男性的身心健康。He said: “As a generalisation, men are less emotionally intelligent than women and have not traditionally been encouraged to share their feelings. Women talk about their problems more and even though they’re more likely to be treated for depression, it doesnlead to poor health outcomes like heart disease. You could argue if men do become more open they may have better outcomes as a result.”
他說一般來說,男性的情商要低於女性，傳統上人們也並不鼓勵男性們分享 彼此的情感。女性會更多地傾訴她們遇到的問題，雖然她們因患抑鬱症而接受治療 的可能性更大，但至少這樣不會引起心臟病等嚴重的身體疾病。你也可以這樣推 斷，如果男性也這麼做，變得願意敞開心懷，那他們的健康狀況也可能會更好。”
