Recession, job loss depressing more men

ATLANTA, March 1 (UPI) -- Western men risk becoming increasingly depressed as traditional manufacturing jobs go abroad or become obsolete with new technology, U.S. researchers say.

Western economies are undergoing a "profound restructuring," with traditional male jobs associated with manufacturing and physical labor being outsourced to low- and middle-income nations or becoming obsolete, Britain Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.

That, and the worldwide recession, has especially affected men, psychologists say.

"Dubbed 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," Boadie Dunlop, from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, said.

Research indicates about 75 per cent of jobs lost in the United States since the beginning of the most recent recession were held by men.

"Furthermore, western women are increasingly becoming the primary household earners, with 22 per cent of wives earning more than their husbands in 2007, versus only four per cent in 1970," Dunlop said. "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."

The findings were reported in the British Journal of Psychiatry.