爲什麼女性比男性更焦慮

About one in three Americans will have at least one anxiety disorder during the course of their lives. If we look only at women, the number is even higher - about 40 percent. What is it about being female that makes women more vulnerable to anxiety? Are women born anxious?

約三分之一的美國人在他們的人生中至少要經歷一次焦慮發作。如果只看女性，那概率會更高--約40%。爲什麼女性更容易感到焦慮呢？女性生來就會焦慮嗎？

There's some evidence that women's fluctuating estrogen levels can fuel anxiety. But differences in upbringing may be even more influential. People - particularly parents - respond to children's fears in markedly different ways depending on gender. When girls are anxious, adults are more likely to be protective and allow them to avoid scary situations. Boys are told to suck it up.

有證據表明雌激素水平波動的女性會感到焦慮。但養育的區別可能更有影響力。人--尤其是父母--會根據不同的性別對孩子的恐懼做出不同的反應。當女孩感到焦慮時，成年人更有可能保護她們，避免她們接觸可怕場景。但卻讓男孩子默默承受這些。

"There's an assumption that boys should be courageous and face their fears. With girls, we permit this sort of avoidance of situations," says Carmen McLean, an assistant pro?fessor of psychology in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylva?nia School of Medicine. But this protection, she says, has lasting consequences. "You are teach?ing the girl, 'If I feel a little bit nervous, that means I should not do something.' A boy learns, 'If I feel this way, I should act anyway.' He learns, 'I can do it, and my anxiety goes down.' He feels more confident and has more efficacy. A little girl doesn't learn that les?son."

"有人假設男孩子應該勇敢些，直面他們的恐懼。而對於女孩子，我們則允許她們避免這些情況，"賓夕法尼亞大學醫學院精神病心理學副教授卡門·麥克萊恩說道。但是這種保護，她說道，會造成永久性影響。"你在教這個女孩，'如果我感到一丁點的緊張，這就意味着我不該再做某事了。'而男孩則學會了，'如果我有這種感受，我應該做出行動。'他學會了，'我能行的，焦慮會慢慢減退的。'他會更加自信，變得更有效率。而小女孩卻沒有學會這一課。"

A large body of dispiriting research shows just how much boys are encouraged to be independent and brave while girls are dis?suaded from the same behavior. Parents have been found to be more controlling with daughters than with sons - and controlling parenting is linked to a greater risk of anxiety disorders in kids. In a University of California, Berkeley study, researchers videotaped ten-minute interactions of mothers and fathers with their preschool-age children.

大量令人沮喪的研究表明：同樣的行爲鼓勵了男孩子卻勸阻了女孩子變得獨立、勇敢。研究員發現父母對女兒的控制慾比對男孩的強烈--而控制教養與孩子更有可能患上焦慮症相關。在加利福尼亞大學伯克利分校的研究中，研究員們錄下了父母與學齡前兒童的互動，互動時長爲10分鐘。

The fami?lies were told to "create a world" out of a sand tray and small toys. When boys asserted themselves by, for example, telling their par?ents where to put a toy, parents were more likely to praise them. When girls were assertive, parents were more likely to interrupt, talk over, or disregard them. This gives girls the message that they don't have control over their environment. And feeling out of control is a core belief among the anxious.

研究員讓這些家庭在沙盤上用一些小玩具"創造出一個世界"。實驗中男孩肯定地告訴父母玩具該放哪裏，父母更有可能會表揚他們。而當女孩子很肯定的時候，父母很有可能打斷她們，勸說她們放棄玩具。這就給了女孩子一條訊息：她們對周遭環境沒有控制權。而沒有控制感則是焦慮的核心理念。