April 2, 2014

The Roundup contains information about all of the latest news, commentary, reports, surveys, issue briefs, charts, and fact sheets related to boys' issues collected by our staff during the preceding week.

Special Note

We are deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of Linda Juszczak, President of the School Based Health Alliance, one of our Partners for Male Youth.

More information can be found here.

News Clips

  • Pre-K Suspension Data Prompt Focus on Intervention
    New data showing that thousands of children�including a disproportionate number of boys and black children�are suspended from school before reaching kindergarten have researchers and policymakers asking tough questions about pre-K discipline, and highlighting programs that help keep challenging children in preschool.
    Education Week
    April 2, 2014

  • STUDY: 1 In 3 American Children Has High Cholesterol
    One of the largest studies of its kind finds that nearly one in three Americans children between the ages of 9 and 11 has either high cholesterol or borderline high cholesterol, raising their risk for developing cardiovascular diseases later in life and underscoring the need to screen kids' cholesterol levels.
    Think Progress
    April 1, 2014

  • Girls Are Taught To 'Think Pink,' But That Wasn't Always So
    Pink has always been with us, though it was not always as gender-entrenched as it is today. Back in the 1700s, men and women wore pink. Curator Michelle Finamore says a painting in the exhibit gives early evidence.
    NPR
    April 1, 2014

  • Boy Scouts fire openly gay troop leader 
    Geoff McGrath's stint as a Scoutmaster for Troop 98 in Seattle's Rainier Beach was short-lived. After the Boy Scouts of America realized he was gay, they booted the Eagle Scout from the organization.
    New York Daily News
    April 1, 2014

  • Stronger kids have lower risks for diabetes and heart disease
    It is well known that having good physical fitness lowers risks for a number of health problems. But now, the first study to make the link between strength capacity in adolescents and reduced risk for diabetes, heart disease or stroke has been published in the journal Pediatrics.
    Medical News Today
    March 31, 2014

  • Leggings distracting for boys? Debate over a ban
    The principal of Haven Middle School in Evanston, Ill., thought leggings on girls were too distracting, so she banned female students from wearing them.
    Following this rule, the school revised its dress code once more, to include a ban on yoga pants and skinny jeans. Both moves left students upset and parents scratching their heads.
    WTOP
    March 31, 2014

  • Yummies: young, urban males obsessed with personal grooming and health
    Retailers are increasingly targeting twentysomething men willing to splash out on luxury brands
    The Guardian
    March 30, 2014

  • Game assault highlights problems in high school boys soccer
    An alarming number of ejections from boys high school soccer games this spring became a frightening reality for two schools this week when a fight during a game put one boy in the hospital and another in jail.
    Deseret News
    March 30, 2014

  • Overweight Teens Don't Share in Life-Expectancy Gains: Study
    Death before 50 more likely for those who were heavy during adolescence
    The average lifespan in the United States has increased by more than a decade since 1950, to nearly 79 years for someone born in 2011, the researchers said. But rising obesity rates may stall that progress, they said. "In studying the rate of death among adults younger than age 50, we found that there was no improvement among men who were overweight or obese as teenagers," said Dr. Amir Tirosh, of the division of endocrinology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
    Medline Plus
    March 28, 2014

  • Exercise in Youth Boosts Bone Strength Later: Study
    And continued activity is even better for your skeletal health
    Physical exercise at a young age increases bone health, and those benefits continue with age, a new study of baseball players finds. And people who continue to exercise as they grow older have even greater bone health benefits, said lead researcher Stuart Warden, associate dean for research at Indiana University's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.
    Medline Plus
    March 28, 2014

  • Autism Rates Jump 30%, CDC Reports
    New estimates put the figure at 1 in 68 children aged 8 years (or 14.7 per 1000) ― roughly 30% higher than previous estimates reported in 2012 of 1 in 88 children (11.3 per 1000) having an ASD, the agency said.
    Medscape Multispecialty
    March 27, 2014

  • Marijuana, Prescription Drugs Pose Greatest Threat to Adolescent Men
    "Addiction develops by repeated exposure to a substance in susceptible individuals. The more immature the brain, the more rapidly it changes with exposure to drugs, which can cause addiction. Males are more likely than females to engage in risky substance use at an earlier age, and, as a result, are more likely to develop an addiction."
    Digital Journal
    March 26, 2014

  • Teen boys who play sports twice as likely to admit abusing a girlfriend: study 
    There may be a 'spillover' from aggressive athletics to off-the-field relationships, research from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine suggests. Boys who played football, basketball or both were the most likely to admit to some form of abuse.
    Recent research suggests that one in three youth experience physical, psychological or sexual violence in romantic relationships, McCauley and her coauthors note in the Journal of Adolescent Health. A total of 1,648 male high school athletes who indicated they had been in at least one relationship with a girl for more than one week were included in the analysis. The boys, who were in ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth grades, were asked about their attitudes toward gender and what's expected from males and females in relationships. They were also asked if they had physically, verbally or sexually abused their dating partners during the previous three months.
    New York Daily News
    March 26, 2014

  • Nearly 50 Percent of All Young Males are Coerced Sexually, Latinos Suffer Highest Rate
    New research conducted by the University of Missouri asserts 43 percent of all high school boys and young college men report having unwanted sexual experiences and, of those, 95 percent said a female acquaintance was the aggressor, according to a study published online in the American Psychological Association's journal Psychology of Men and Masculinity.
    Latin Post
    March 25, 2014

  • Kids Benefit From Counseling At The Pediatrician's Office
    Pediatricians often recommend some mental health counseling for children who have behavior problems like defiance and tantrums. But counseling can be hard to find. Children are much more likely to get help if the counselor is right there in the doctor's office, a study finds. The children in the study had behavior problems, and many also had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or anxiety. They were 8 years old, on average, and two-thirds were boys.
    NPR
    March 25, 2014

STUDIES/REPORTS

International News

AUSTRALIA

  • Kids Helpline calls going unanswered due to rising demand
    Forty per cent of calls to national children's counselling and support service Kids Helpline are going unanswered, the organisation says.About 156,000 calls to the helpline went unanswered in 2013 due to a rise in demand for youth counselling services, Kids Helpline chief executive Tracy Adams said.
    Brisbane Times
    March 27, 2014

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