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.

    德国一项研究发现，女性比男性更爱哭，哭的时间更长，而且哭的方式也更为生动。

    德国眼科医学协会对有关哭这一现象的不同研究结果进行比较后发现，女性一年平均哭泣30至64次，而男性仅为6至17次。

    男性每次哭泣的时间为2到4分钟，而女性每次要哭大约6分钟。在女性哭泣的案例中，有65%由流泪发展痛哭流涕，而男性中出现这种情况的比例仅为6%.

    但在青春期之前，男女之间的哭泣没有什么差别。研究人员总结称，在13岁以前，男孩和女孩哭泣的频率差不多，"这说明因欢乐、悲伤或愤怒而哭泣是一种后天习得的行为。"

    研究还发现，男性和女性嚎啕大哭的原因也有所不同。

    女性在感觉自己做得不够好、遇到麻烦或回忆往事时会哭泣。

    而男性则会在感同身受或与爱人分手时哭泣。

    但哭泣的作用至今尚不清楚，研究人员对哭泣的情感宣泄或放松的效果仍存有疑虑。