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

• Child Experts: What to Say About Verdict
  Child therapists say the verdict creates an opportunity to talk to our sons about history.
  The Root
  July 21, 2013

• Taliban tried to make eight-year-old a suicide bomber: Afghan rebels recruit starving orphans with sweets and 60p bribes
  Film-maker Najibullah Quraishi said: ‘Thousands of children are being recruited and taught to make bombs or become suicide bombers. It is common for 13-year-olds to carry guns. Less than ten per cent of the population is educated so these children don’t have their own minds, they only have what the mullahs are telling them in the mosques.’
  Mail Online
  July 20, 2013

• Study finds boys more likely to receive HPV vaccine when their mothers receive preventive care
  Boys are more likely to receive the quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV4) if their mothers receive flu shots or Pap screenings, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the American Journal of Public Health.
  The study examined the electronic health records of more than 250,000 boysaged 9 to 17 years enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente Southern California health plan and found that a total of 4,055 boys – or 1.6 percent of the membership in this age group – initiated the HPV4 vaccine between October 2009 and December 2010. 
  Medical Express
  July 17, 2013

• Vienna Boys' Choir faces crisis over rent bill
  The world-famous Vienna Boys' Choir faces a financial crisis that could put it out of business if it does not reach a deal over the rent for its concert hall and school.
  The choir, whose roots go back to the 13th century, may have to pay 200,000 euros ($263,000) per year to stay in the Augarten Palace after an agreement for it to use the building rent-free in exchange for renovation work was declared invalid.
  Reuters
  July 17, 2013

• Obese boys out, more girls in at Boy Scouts of America's national Jamboree
  The Boy Scouts of America national Jamboree under way in Glen Jean, W.Va., has more girls than ever in attendance -- but no dangerously overweight boys. This year's Jamboree is more physically demanding than ever.  To be eligible, scouts and their leaders had to meet body mass index and other health standards. BMI is a measure of body fat as gauged from weight and height. Scouts with BMIs of 40 or higher were excluded. Those whose BMIs ranged between 32 and 39.9 had to hand in medical information to be approved.
  Syracuse.com
  July 16, 2013

• Study: Family violence can lead boys to aggression and to drug problems
  Boys exposed to familial violence, including conflict between siblings, become increasingly aggressive toward their peers at school, and this aggression is associated with greater levels of alcohol and drug use over time, a new study by a University of Illinois researcher suggests.
  Medical Express
  July 16, 2013

• Gay Suicide: 60 Seconds Could Save a Boy's Life (video)
  The Trevor Project

• U.K. Experts Urge HPV Vaccine for Young Gay Men
  It might reduce their risk of anal cancer.
  Young gay men are 15 times more likely to develop anal cancer due to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection compared to straight men, and should be given the HPV vaccine, British health experts say.
  Healthfinder.gov
  July 16, 2013

• Physical Punishment in Childhood Tied to Health Woes as Adults
  Study found higher odds for adult obesity, heart disease, arthritis.
  Children whose parents use "harsh" physical punishment such as slapping or shoving may end up in relatively poorer physical health as adults, a new study suggests.
  Healthfinder.gov
  July 15, 2013

• Study: Family violence can lead boys to aggression and to drug problems
  Boys exposed to familial violence, including conflict between siblings, become increasingly aggressive toward their peers at school, and this aggression is associated with greater levels of alcohol and drug use over time, a new study by a University of Illinois researcher suggests.
  Illinois.edu
  July 15, 2013

• Salty snacks, extra pounds send blood pressure soaring in U.S. kids
  Spurred by too much salt and too many extra pounds, blood pressure in America's kids and teens has gone sky-high, creating a young generation at risk for serious health problems, including heart disease, stroke -- and worse. The percentage of American children and adolescents ages 8 to 17 who have high blood pressure -- a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, organ damage, heart attacks and strokes -- climbed 27 percent over 13 years, according to researchers from Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital and other institutions funded by the National Institutes of Health.
  NBC News
  July 15, 2013

• Why Men Age 20-24 Commit Suicide at 5.4 Times the Rate of Their Female Contemporaries
  Dr. Joiner and I share a professional interest in suicide prevention. Suicide is a major world-wide epidemic taking the lives of over 1,000,000 people a year, according to the World Health Organization. Estimates suggest that 10 to 20 times more individuals attempt suicide.
  The Good Men Project
  July 13, 2013

• From the director of Miss Representation - an exploration of American masculinity.
  Compared to girls, research shows that boys in the U.S. are more likely to be diagnosed with a behavior disorder, prescribed stimulant medications, fail out of school, binge drink, commit a violent crime, and/or take their own lives. Jennifer Siebel Newsom's new documentary film, The Mask You Live In, asks: As a society, how are we failing our boys? 
  Kickstarter

The Boys Initiative 1000 Vermont Ave., NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005 (202) 380-1788 | [email protected] | www.theboysinitiative.org

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.