Week of July 15, 2013

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.

News Clips

  • Lamm: Affirmative action for college men
    Are men the forgotten minority? If so, would affirmative action ever be justified for increasing the male to female ratio in colleges?
    For years, the percentage of males enrolled in American colleges has been declining, with women making up nearly 57 percent of all undergrads at four-year colleges last year.
    Denver Post
    July 14, 2013

  • For The Boys Who See Themselves In Trayvon Martin
    The case surrounding Trayvon Martin's death has brought up deep-seated issues around race and justice, especially for parents of African-American boys. The Rev. Otis Moss of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ talks about the discussion with host Jacki Lyden.
    NPR
    July 14, 2013

  • Poverty Rate Still High Among U.S. Children: Report
    Poverty rates remain high among children in the United States and continue to affect their health, education and safety, a new federal report shows. "Nearly a quarter of children in the United States are living in poverty. That's unacceptably high," said Dr. Thomas McInerny, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "We know that children who live in poverty have poorer nutritional status and poorer health status. They are not well set up to enter kindergarten, they are behind in their learning skills and so forth."
    Healthfinder.gov
    July 12, 2013

  • Children face severe psychiatrist shortage
    More than half of Ohio’s 88 counties don’t have a child and adolescent psychiatrist; others have one to five, and only Hamilton County has 20 or more, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
    Columbus Dispatch
    July 14, 2013

  • Youth Murder Rate Hits 30-Year Low: CDC
    The murder rate among children and young adults has hit a 30-year low, U.S. health officials reported Thursday.The good news, however, is tempered by the slowed improvement in murder rates among males and blacks, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
    Medline Plus
    July 11, 2013

  • Recession May Have Boosted Teens' Social Consciousness
    Concern for other people and the environment rose among American teens during the recent recession, a new study indicates. Researchers analyzed data collected from high school seniors between 1976 and 2010, and found that concern for others declined significantly between the mid-1970s and 2004-2006, and then climbed during the 2008-2010 recession.
    Medline Plus
    July 11, 2013

  • Teen Health, Mental Health Has Declined in Last Decade
    Adolescents' self-rated health and mental health worsened over the last decade, according to a study published July 3 in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Preventing Chronic Disease.
    doctors lounge
    July 11, 2013

  • July 12 MMWR: Homicides Among 10 - 24 Year Olds
    The Boys Initiative
    July 11, 2013

  • More men join nursing field as stigma starts to fade
    As of 2011, 9.6 percent of all registered nurses in the U.S. were male, according to a recent report by the U.S. Census Bureau. That percentage has tripled in three decades, from 2.7 percent in 1970.
    USA Today
    July 10, 2013

  • Statewide bans boost smoke-free campus momentum
    College smokers are finding themselves increasingly out of luck, as more schools across the USA ban smoking and use of other tobacco products from campus grounds. There are about 1,180 schools with 100% smoking bans, according to the advocacy group Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights (ANR). Of these, about 800 campuses ban all forms of tobacco.
    USA Today
    July 9, 2013

  • Many Docs Don't Follow HPV/Pap Test Guidelines: Study
    Too few doctors follow U.S. guidelines for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical cancer screening, according to a new study. A survey of 366 obstetricians-gynecologists in the United States found that less than one-third of them vaccinate eligible patients against HPV and only half follow cervical cancer prevention guidelines.
    HealthFInder.gov
    July 9, 2013

  • Splinter group to start Boy Scouts rival in wake of fight over gays
    A conservative group said Tuesday it will form a rival alternative to the Boy Scouts of America, in the latest sign of backlash against the Scouts' recent decision to admit gay youth. The splinter group, OnMyHonor.Net, said the new organization will offer an outdoors-oriented character-development program for boys similar to that of the Boy Scouts, while also focusing on "sexual purity" and adhering to "a standard statement of Christian values."
    Chicago Tribune
    July 9, 2013

  • Boys can hit the right note
    "Early in life children regulate their musical dispositions according to what they think is acceptable for their gender," Dr Hall said. "The choirboys in the study are extremely proud and passionate about their singing, and they don't see themselves as feminine at all, despite realising this is how others may view them.
    psy.org
    July 8, 2013

  • Recess time headed for a rocky road
    After years of organizing by parent groups and others, CPS instituted a 20-minute recess as a mandatory part of its longer school day. The district even issued a recess guide for schools, training sessions about how to make the best use of recess time and hired a staff person to help schools with issues that arose. But lack of money to hire staff to supervise children was a problem, one that is likely to worsen given the budget cuts already reported by some schools. 
    Chicago Tribune
    July 8, 2013

  • Ernst & Young, now EY, has a 'sexy boys' problem
    Before Ernst & Young rebranded itself EY, maybe it should have run a quick Google search.
    The giant London-based accounting firm and professional services company now shares a name with a racy magazine, EY! Magateen. The magazine, which features scantily clad young men, is the work of Luis Venegas, a Spanish creative director known for his flamboyant, sexually charged fashion publications.
    Los Angeles Times
    July 8, 2013

  • Early puberty may not be the root cause of adolescent turmoil, study says
    Puberty has always been a time of stress and emotional turmoil for adolescents and their parents. And scientists have long recognized that kids who start puberty before their peers are particularly likely to have trouble getting along with other children and with adults. New research suggests, though, that those difficulties can be traced back to even earlier ages, indicating that early puberty may not be the root cause.
    Washington Post
    July 8, 2013

  • Boys With Guns at High Risk of Assault: Study
    Many violent young people carry guns, a new study shows.The research, published online July 8 and in the August print issue ofPediatrics, surveyed nearly 700 teens and young adults aged 14 to 24 who were treated in a hospital emergency department for injuries related to violent assaults.
    HealthFInder.gov
    July 8, 2013

  • Baseballs, Softballs Often to Blame for Kids' Facial Fractures
    Errant catches can lead to serious trauma, study found
    Most sports-related facial fractures among children occur when they're trying to catch a baseball or softball, according to new research. These injuries are relatively common, and they can be serious.
    MedLine Plus
    July 6, 2013

  • Sleepy Teens Reach for Fast Foods First
    Study found those who slept less than 7 hours a night were also less likely to eat fruits, vegetables
    Sleep-deprived teens make poor food choices, a new study finds.
    "Not only do sleepy teens, on average, eat more food that's bad for them, they also eat less food that is good for them," study leader Lauren Hale, an associate professor of preventive medicine at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, said in a university news release.
    MedLine Plus
    July 4, 2013

  • Study Finds High Poverty, Arrest Rates Among Some Asian American Males
    Sub-groups of Asian Americans are falling behind in life as a result of “deepening economic inequality, racism, failing public education systems, increasingly punitive and intolerant criminal justice laws, and insufficient culturally competent health services and prevention.”  These were the findings of “Widening the Lens on Boys and Men of Color,” a new report fromAsian American Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP).
    Asian Philanthropy Forum
    July 2, 2013

International News

INDIA

  • More girls than boys pursuing post-graduation
    According to the university authorities, out of 3,256 students pursuing post-graduate courses in the university, 70 per cent are girls. However, the figure tells a completely different story if the literacy rate of the entire state is taken into account.
    Times of India
    July 9, 2013

NEW ZEALAND

  • HPV jab for gay boys under study
    Health initiative proposes vaccination priority for males from the age of 11 who identify as homosexual.
    The New Zealand Herald
    July 14, 2013

  • Boys more likely to fail as students
    "You're more likely to be failing if you are a boy, and even more likely if you are a boy and you're poor, and even more likely if you are a boy and you're poor and you're Maori or Pasifika."
    News Talk KZB
    July 8, 2013

SOUTH AFRICA

UK

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The Boys Initiative is a groundbreaking national nonprofit campaign to shed light on documented trends in recent years pertaining to boys' underachievement and young men's failure to launch. For more information about The Boys Initiative, visit www.theboysinitiative.org.