ABSTRACT
Evidence regarding gender differences in psychosocial risk factors and their associations with health is reviewed in light of substantial change in gender relations and a weakening of traditional gender norms in many societies. Current evidence continues to support gender difference in the manifestation of mental illness, and studies continue to show that women provide and receive more support from a wider and more diverse social network than men while men rely more on their partnerships for social support. Evidence that men’s health benefits more than women’s from partnership is more mixed. Women may be more psychologically reactive to negative relationships than men, but they do not appear to be more reactive physiologically. It is important that we continue to capture information about psychosocial risk factors and health in younger generations as they age in order to observe any effects of changing gender relations.
