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About one in three Americans will have at least one anxiety disorder during the course of their lives. If we look only at women, the number is even higher - about 40 percent. What is it about being female that makes women more vulnerable to anxiety? Are women born anxious?
约三分之一的美国人在他们的人生中至少要经历一次焦虑发作。如果只看女性，那概率会更高--约40%。为什么女性更容易感到焦虑呢？女性生来就会焦虑吗？
There's some evidence that women's fluctuating estrogen levels can fuel anxiety. But differences in upbringing may be even more influential. People - particularly parents - respond to children's fears in markedly different ways depending on gender. When girls are anxious, adults are more likely to be protective and allow them to avoid scary situations. Boys are told to suck it up.
有证据表明雌激素水平波动的女性会感到焦虑。但养育的区别可能更有影响力。人--尤其是父母--会根据不同的性别对孩子的恐惧做出不同的反应。当女孩感到焦虑时，成年人更有可能保护她们，避免她们接触可怕场景。但却让男孩子默默承受这些。
"There's an assumption that boys should be courageous and face their fears. With girls, we permit this sort of avoidance of situations," says Carmen McLean, an assistant pro?fessor of psychology in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylva?nia School of Medicine. But this protection, she says, has lasting consequences. "You are teach?ing the girl, 'If I feel a little bit nervous, that means I should not do something.' A boy learns, 'If I feel this way, I should act anyway.' He learns, 'I can do it, and my anxiety goes down.' He feels more confident and has more efficacy. A little girl doesn't learn that les?son."
"有人假设男孩子应该勇敢些，直面他们的恐惧。而对于女孩子，我们则允许她们避免这些情况，"宾夕法尼亚大学医学院精神病心理学副教授卡门·麦克莱恩说道。但是这种保护，她说道，会造成永久性影响。"你在教这个女孩，'如果我感到一丁点的紧张，这就意味着我不该再做某事了。'而男孩则学会了，'如果我有这种感受，我应该做出行动。'他学会了，'我能行的，焦虑会慢慢减退的。'他会更加自信，变得更有效率。而小女孩却没有学会这一课。"
A large body of dispiriting research shows just how much boys are encouraged to be independent and brave while girls are dis?suaded from the same behavior. Parents have been found to be more controlling with daughters than with sons - and controlling parenting is linked to a greater risk of anxiety disorders in kids. In a University of California, Berkeley study, researchers videotaped ten-minute interactions of mothers and fathers with their preschool-age children.
大量令人沮丧的研究表明：同样的行为鼓励了男孩子却劝阻了女孩子变得独立、勇敢。研究员发现父母对女儿的控制欲比对男孩的强烈--而控制教养与孩子更有可能患上焦虑症相关。在加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校的研究中，研究员们录下了父母与学龄前儿童的互动，互动时长为10分钟。
The fami?lies were told to "create a world" out of a sand tray and small toys. When boys asserted themselves by, for example, telling their par?ents where to put a toy, parents were more likely to praise them. When girls were assertive, parents were more likely to interrupt, talk over, or disregard them. This gives girls the message that they don't have control over their environment. And feeling out of control is a core belief among the anxious.
研究员让这些家庭在沙盘上用一些小玩具"创造出一个世界"。实验中男孩肯定地告诉父母玩具该放哪里，父母更有可能会表扬他们。而当女孩子很肯定的时候，父母很有可能打断她们，劝说她们放弃玩具。这就给了女孩子一条讯息：她们对周遭环境没有控制权。而没有控制感则是焦虑的核心理念。
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