Does your RACE impact mental health? Study finds white men suffer more depression despite reporting less stress

Study says white men have less chance to develop coping mechanisms
When they experience stress they are less equipped to deal with it
Overall, the study found women had more exposure to stress than men
Black people had more stressful events in their life than white people

By Ellie Zolfagharifard For Dailymail.com

Published: 15:41 EST, 23 September 2015 | Updated: 18:15 EST, 23 September 2015

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White men in America are far more depressed than black men, despite reporting less stress in their lives.

The results come from a recent study which attempted to find how race and gender influences depression.

The same study found that black women in US have the highest amount of stress but have the same susceptibility to depression as white women.

White men in America are far more depressed than black men, despite reporting less stress in their lives. The results come from a recent study which attempted to find how race and gender influences depression

The results are surprising given that there remains a clear health gap between the black and white communities, in which black people far worse on almost every health concern.

The study, published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, attributes the difference to the fact white men have less opportunity to develop coping mechanisms.

'White men were experiencing the least stress in their lives,' lead study author Dr Shervin Assari, a research investigator at the University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry, told The Huffington Post.

'They don't get a lot of it and they are not used to it, so they are more prone to its harmful effects.'

Overall, the study found women had more exposure to stress than men, and black people had more stressful events in their life than white people. Black women reported the highest number of stressful life events while white men reported the least exposure to stress

According to an in-depth report in the Huffington Post, stressful events included money worries, health, relationship problems, police harassment and addiction.

Dr Assari highlighted a social network and religion as important coping mechanisms for stress, but said white men are unable to mobilise these resources effectively.

However, the researcher stresses that depression isn't always linked to stressful life events.

The study by Michigan University included around 6,000 adults from around US.

Overall, it found women had more exposure to stress than men, and black people had more stressful events in their life than white people.

MEN DIE SOONER BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE PRONE TO HEART DISEASE

Across the world, women can expect to live longer than men.

A study earlier this year revealed that heart disease is the main culprit between the differences in life expectancies.

According to the research, a gap in life expectancies between the sexes first emerged as recently as the turn of the 20th century.

As infectious disease prevention, improved diets and other positive health behaviours were adopted by people born during the 1800s and early 1900s, death rates plummeted.

But women began reaping the longevity benefits at a much faster rate.

In the wake of this massive but uneven decrease in mortality, a review of global data by the University of Southern California has found heart disease to be behind most of the excess deaths documented in adult men.

Black women reported the highest number of stressful life events while white men reported the least exposure to stress.

Both black and white women had a similar susceptibility to depression. Assari thinks this may be because they've developed resistance to it.

'Some extremely stressful conditions may cause post-traumatic growth, resulting in better psychological well-being,' she writes in her study.

'Some of the stressors may be associated with unexpectedly low rates of depression.'

'Future research is needed to understand how race and gender change mental health consequences of exposure to each type of stress,' Assari said.