WHO SAYS boys don't cry? More than half of men think it is acceptable to weep in public, while the great majority say they have no difficulty expressing their feelings.
That is according to an Irish Times/Behaviour Attitudes national poll.
Far from fulfilling the macho stereotype of men, almost half (48 per cent) say that men who place an emphasis on being "manly" get on their nerves, while a majority of men also agree they are sentimental.
However, almost half admit to shouting, slamming doors or banging tables to let off steam. Six per cent say they have hit a woman.
The poll also shows evidence that drugs and alcohol are playing a bigger role in the lives of young men.
Almost half of young men say they have tried soft drugs such as marijuana. Some 20 per cent of young men have also tried hard drugs like cocaine or heroin. Despite these relatively high rates, most agree that drugs in general are harmful.
While the vast majority of men drink alcohol, younger men are more likely to feel they should cut down on their consumption. Almost one-third of men in their 20s and 30s say they have felt they should drink less.
Violence, too, appears to play a bigger role in the lives of young men. While most men say they have not been involved in a fight (54 per cent), most young men aged 18-34 say they have been involved in violence.
Similarly, younger men are much more likely to have been in a fight where weapons were used. Other signs of violence lie in the number of young men who have been mugged (14 per cent of men in their 20s and 30s compared to 5 per cent of those in their 50s and 60s).
Despite large number of men who say they have no difficulty expressing their feelings, 8 per cent say they have seriously considered suicide. Younger men are also more likely to have had someone close to them die by suicide. The numbers are worryingly high among young men (12 per cent in their 20s and 30s, compared to 4 per cent in their 50s and 60s.)
