“Men get a reputation for being baby-averse, but they may be more eager to have kids than you realize. In fact, childless men feel more depressed, sad, angry, and jealous of friends with kids than their female counterparts, according to a new survey conducted by Keele University in the UK.
The surveyors asked 108 childless adults (27 men and 81 women) how they feel about being kid-free. Fewer men than women said they want children (59 percent versus 63 percent). But of the guys who do want kids, half said they felt isolated and 36 percent reported feeling depressed. That’s not all: 56 percent said they were sad, and the same amount said they were jealous of dads. Fewer women who wanted children reported feeling the same way: 27 percent felt isolated, 27 percent were depressed, 43 percent were sad, and 47 percent felt jealous of others with kids.
Men tend to struggle with expressing emotion and often feel judged when they do, says study author Robin Hadley, a PhD candidate at the Centre for Social Gerontology at Keele University. The result: They may bottle up their feelings about fatherhood, which can make their emotions even more intense, she says.”