Women cry more often than men, for longer - and in a more dramatic fashion, a German study has found.

    According to the German Society of Ophthalmology, which has collated different scientific studies on the phenomenon, women shed tears on average between 30 and 64 times a year whereas men cry just six to 17 times during the same period.

    Men tend to cry for between two and four minutes, but for women, sessions last around six minutes. And weeping turns into full-blown sobbing for women in 65 per cent of cases, compared to just six per cent for males.

    Until adolescence, however, there is no difference. Up until 13, boys and girls turn on the waterworks the same amount, "showing that blubbing because of joy, sadness or anger is something that is learned," researchers concluded.

    The reasons for bawling differ too, the paper found.

    Women cry when they feel inadequate, when they are confronted by situations that are difficult to resolve or when they remember past events.

    Men, meanwhile, tend to cry from empathy or when a relationship fails.

    The function of weeping remains something of a mystery, however, and researchers continue to have doubts over its cathartic or relaxing effects.

    德國一項研究發現，女性比男性更愛哭，哭的時間更長，而且哭的方式也更為生動。

    德國眼科醫學協會對有關哭這一現象的不同研究結果進行比較后發現，女性一年平均哭泣30至64次，而男性僅為6至17次。

    男性每次哭泣的時間為2到4分鐘，而女性每次要哭大約6分鐘。在女性哭泣的案例中，有65%由流淚發展痛哭流涕，而男性中出現這種情況的比例僅為6%.

    但在青春期之前，男女之間的哭泣沒有什么差別。研究人員總結稱，在13歲以前，男孩和女孩哭泣的頻率差不多，"這說明因歡樂、悲傷或憤怒而哭泣是一種后天習得的行為。"

    研究還發現，男性和女性嚎啕大哭的原因也有所不同。

    女性在感覺自己做得不夠好、遇到麻煩或回憶往事時會哭泣。

    而男性則會在感同身受或與愛人分手時哭泣。

    但哭泣的作用至今尚不清楚，研究人員對哭泣的情感宣泄或放松的效果仍存有疑慮。