EvoS Journal: The Journal of the Evolutionary Studies Consortium
Volume 6, Issue 2, 2015
Title
Divorce patterns and the male-to female mortality ratio: is midlife crisis the death of men?
Author(s)
Laura L. Johnsen, Amanda E. Guitar, & Glenn Geher
Abstract
Beginning in infancy, males have a higher mortality rate than females– this sexdifferentiated pattern holds across stages of life, but is exacerbated during years of peak courtship (adolescence and young adulthood), likely as a function of the fact that young males partake in risky behavior during courtship (Kruger & Nesse, 2007). The Male-to-Female Mortality Ratio (M:F MR) peaks at around age 25. The current analysis suggests that a drop in this ratio at this life stage may pertain to the fact that marriage occurs at about the age of 25 in modern Western societies and that married men have less of an evolutionary incentive than single men to participate in risky behavior. Past research (Kruger & Nesse, 2007) has found that the M:F MR increases slightly at around age 50. According to Kruger and Nesse (2006), this increase results partly from the fact that men at middle age are dying due to mainly internal causes, such as heart disease, which may result from prior risky behaviors during young adulthood (Kruger & Nesse, 2006); however, this explanation does not account for the fact that men at midlife also show an increase in mortality (relative to females) for external causes of death. Based on an analysis of divorce trends vis a vis M:F MR patterns, we propose that this increase in the M:F MR likely results, partly, from middle-aged, divorced men engaging in risky courtship behaviors that have physical costs.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.59077/CRDP7704
How to cite this article:
Johnsen, L. L., Guitar, A. E., & Geher, G. (2015). Divorce patterns and the male-to female mortality ratio: is midlife crisis the death of men? The Journal of the Evolutionary Studies Consortium, 6(2), 33-41.
