Study: Boys More Vulnerable Than Girls

L O N D O N, Dec. 21 -- Males are more vulnerable thanfemales from the moment they are conceived, and parents shouldtreat them more sensitively than they do, researchers say in a new study.

Sebastian Kraemer, consultant psychiatrist at the Tavistockand Portman National Health Service Trust in England, saidpeople were still ignorant of the biological and socialdisadvantages faced by the supposedly stronger sex.

“The attitude still is that if he is a boy then he will bea bit tougher,” he said. Kraemer’s study, “The FragileMale,” was published in the British Medical Journal, being released Friday.

Fetal Damage Risk

Kraemer’s research showed that the male fetus is at greaterrisk of death or damage, and by the time the baby is born a boyis four to six weeks less developed than a girl.

Boys generally have more psychological problems duringtheir early upbringing and require attention, making them morevulnerable to poor parental care.

The fact that they are often treated as more resilient thantheir sisters means that they suppress some faculties.

“There is a social pressure not to let boys be too weak andto toughen them up,” Kraemer said. “A boy who is full ofsensitivity and vulnerability will have shut down a lot of hisfaculties within the first two years.”

Girls Do Better in SchoolThe biological disadvantages and those related to how malesare treated in society and the family do not stop atchildhood.

Girls outperform boys at school — 43 percent of Britishboys get grade “C” or above at standardized exams they take at age16, compared with over 53 percent of girls.

Suicides are three times as common among males than amongfemales.

“If parents were more aware of male sensitivity, they mightchange the way they treat their sons,” Kraemer said. “Thetraditional attitude that ‘boys will be boys’ needs exploringfurther.”