Unlike most women, many men still sometimes act like children long after they are “officially” adults. They do this, for example, by bragging about their expensive clothes. But where does this behavior actually come from? Are men really mentally younger than women or is that a myth?
Is it the ‘fault’ of the women themselves?
A study by the University of Pennsylvania shows that women often find ‘sense of humor’, ‘cheerfulness’ and ‘playfulness’ important in a partner. Although people regularly complain about the childish behavior of men, it is what many women find attractive in a partner. According to the researchers, the playful behavior is a signal to the women that the man is not aggressive. Conversely, playful behavior in women is seen as youthfulness and therefore the fact that they are not (yet) or less fertile. Based on this information, it seems that it is the women themselves who ‘keep’ men childish.
When do men really grow up?
Another study in which 1,000 men participated showed that men only feel truly mature at the age of 54. According to this study, this is mainly due to the fact that men nowadays become fathers much later than in the past, which in the Netherlands is on average 32 or 33 years. Men claim to still doubt themselves a lot until they are 54, the age at which they really become adults. Money problems regularly play a role and love is often still uncertain. When you find out that according to this study, women really mature around the age of 26, you will understand why women usually fall in love with an older man.
How do we explain this mental ‘retardation’?
But how is it possible that girls mature faster than men? A possible explanation comes from a study with 121 subjects. This research has shown that girls’ brains start reorganizing earlier than boys’ brains. According to research Sol Lim, this reduces the number of connections in the brain, improving brain function and making the network work more efficiently.
So to answer the question of whether men are really mentally younger than women: yes, men are mentally younger than women.
