Men aren't always thrilled when women succeed, new research shows.

A man's self-esteem is sometimes negatively affected when thinking about his romantic partner's success, such as a promotion at work or reaching a weight-loss goal, according to the report published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. The same is not true for women.

Another person's success made men feel threatened, created a feeling of distance and sometimes the men in the study downplayed their partner's success. This might be because the men can interpret “my partner is successful” as “my partner is more successful than me,” the report said.

The researchers said these gender differences can help us better understand romantic relationships.

The study included 32 undergraduate heterosexual dating couples from the University of Virginia.

For more information on the study, click here.

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