"Examining the Pathologic Adaptation Model of Community Violence Exposure in Male Adolescents of Color" is the first study to test the theory of desensitization in a sample consisting entirely of males of color over a long period of time. The study looked at the links between exposure to community violence, depressive symptoms and violent behavior among 285 African-American and Latino males in Chicago for five years, starting in the fifth or seventh grade. Researchers found that as black and brown teens are exposed to more community violence, their symptoms of depression subside and violent behaviors increase.

Chicago Sun Times, October 1, 2016

Smoking bans may help reduce smoking among young American men, a new study finds. Researchers examined data from more than 4,300 people in 487 cities nationwide who were interviewed annually between 2004 and 2011 when they were aged 19 to 31. Among young men who were light smokers and lived in areas with smoking bans, their rate of smoking in the past 30 days was 13 percent. It was 19 percent for young men in areas without such bans. Rates were the same (11 percent) for women in areas with and without smoking bans. "These findings provide some of the most robust evidence to date on the impact of smoking bans on young people's smoking," said study co-author Mike Vuolo, an assistant professor of sociology at Ohio State University.

Healthfinder, September 30, 2016

In this new study, researchers examined if specific language used by doctors affects parents' decisions. The study included more than 1,500 parents. Their children were between the ages of 11 to 17. The study also included 776 primary care doctors. Parents were asked whether specific messages -- including nine longer ones developed by the CDC and six brief messages developed by the study team -- would persuade them to have their children vaccinated.Seventy percent of parents said they'd support messages that emphasized the effectiveness of the vaccine. About two-thirds of parents said they would support messages about the cancers prevented by the vaccine and the safety of the vaccine. Three of the brief messages and eight of the longer messages were supported by at least half of the parents. Doctors were only asked to review the six brief messages. They were asked whether they would use them in an attempt to persuade parents to get the HPV vaccine for their children. Physicians were most likely to support messages that emphasized the fact that the vaccine can prevent cancer (64 percent), the study found. The message most parents and doctors believed was persuasive for the HPV vaccine was: "I strongly believe in the importance of this cancer-preventing vaccine for [child's name]." The study was published Sept. 30 in the journal  Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention .

Healthfinder, September 30, 2016

ACA led to widespread coverage gains across income, age, geography, and race; expanding Medicaid significantly strengthens gains

The new report shows how different provisions of the ACA have worked in concert to reduce uninsured rates. The near-equal percent drops in uninsured rates across groups indicate that the ACA is reducing the uninsured rate most in absolute terms among groups that had the highest uninsured rates before the law. For example, individuals age 26-34 and 35-54 saw similar percentage drops in uninsured rates, but since the younger group had higher pre-ACA uninsured rates, a larger fraction of them have gained coverage since its passage. Today's report looks primarily at data through 2015. In the first quarter of 2016, the national uninsured rate dropped again from 9.1 percent to 8.6 percent.

HHS.gov, September 29, 2016

Sex guide for teen boys picks up where parents leave off

"Dating and Sex: A Guide for the 21st Century Teen Boy" (Magination Press) is written for 13- to 16-year-old boys who are, as Smiler writes, "possibly, maybe, sort of interested in starting to date or kiss people sometime in the not-too-distant future, as well as for guys who have dated or been sexual with lots of people." "We put a lot of pressure on boys in the United States to look like they're competent and to not show any kind of weakness or deficiency," Smiler told me. "It's even worse with sex. For some reason, we've decided boys should be sexual experts, so they can't publicly admit what they don't know about sex or get any clarification about what they don't know."

Chicago Tribune, September 29, 2016

A few years ago, Canadian researcher Simon Lajeunesse wanted to study the effects of porn on adolescent boys. To do this, he needed to assemble two groups-young males who were porn users, and young males who were not porn users. His hope was to compare and contrast, looking for differences between the two cohorts. However, no matter how hard he tried,  he couldn't locate any adolescent males who'd never looked at porn . Eventually, with no control group, he had to abandon the study. Until recently, it was assumed that most adolescents who experienced negative consequences related to heavy porn use were, except for their age, traditional porn addicts, fully meeting the generally accepted criteria for sexual addiction. Lately, however, treatment specialists have noticed that some heavy users of porn might not be fully addicted. This is most common with young males. These boys may be using porn just as often, with similar consequences, as the boys who are truly addicted. But they are able to walk away from porn relatively easily. Moreover, their porn-driven consequences (especially erectile dysfunction issues) tend to clear up within a month or two of quitting.

Huffington Post, September 28, 2016

Factors associated with greater moderate-to-vigorous levels into adulthood included b eing male: beta=0.46 ( P <0.001).  "This group is unique because they are experiencing big and important changes during this period including mental, psychological, environmental, and contextual changes," he added. "At the same time, this group of young people starts to learn how to handle their lives, behaviors, and lifestyles independently the first time."

MedPage Today, September 27, 2016

While adolescent males are more likely to be diagnosed than females, rates of concussions among adolescent females is also climbing, increasing by 118% during the last six years compared to a 48% rise among males. The insurance company reports that more than 936,000 claims were filed for diagnosed concussions among its members, and that rates for adolescents between age 10 and 19 surged 71% during that time, while rates for adults increased by 26%. Most of the teen spike is due to sports, especially football, since rates increased sharply during the sport's fall season, according to the claims data. Much of the increased diagnosis can be tied to heightened awareness of concussions and the health effects of brain injury, after states enforced laws requiring athletes who experienced brain injuries to obtain medical clearance before resuming practice or play in a game, the study authors say. Teens were five times more likely to be diagnosed with a concussion than all other age groups combined.

Time, September 27, 2016

"We leverage community expertise and give exposure to young men of all different kinds of walks of life"

The vision behind Young Men's Journey is to help teenagers successfully transition from adolescence into young adulthood with the guidance and support of adults versus the more prevalent "rites of passage" largely based on peer influence, says Journey co-founder Nick Hodges. A Guelph resident and father of two young kids, Hodges founded the non-profit organization in 2014 with Steve Anderson, a professional coach and past Olympic volleyball coach. The intent was to connect boys with positive male role models and provide a transitional experience. The idea is based on similar groups within North America that Hodges has trained at and collaborated with over the past several years.

Guelph News, September 26, 2016

MSM Syphilis Rates 'Astounding'

100-fold higher than in straight men

Rates of primary and secondary syphilis among men who have sex with men (MSM) are dramatically higher than among men with female partners, according to the first state-level analysis of the incidence of the disease.

Across the 44 states included in the analysis, the 2015 syphilis rate among men who have sex with men was an "astounding" 107 times higher than it was among straight men, according to Alex de Voux, PhD, of the CDC division of STD prevention. The incidence for MSM was as low as 39 times higher than in other men in Minnesota and reached 342.1 times higher in Hawaii, De Voux reported at the 2016 STD Prevention Conference here.

MedPage Today, September 22, 2016

The Weekly News Roundup is produced by The Partnership for Male Youth and is released every Monday. 

For more information contact Dennis J. Barbour, JD. News Roundup editor and President/CEO of the Partnership, at [email protected].