Week of October 21, 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.

The Boys Initiative Announces Launch of Clinical Tool

The Boys Initiative has announced that it will soon be releasing a clinical health checklist for adolescent and young adult (AYA) males. The project has been underway for nearly a year. The checklist is designed for health care providers who serve AYA males between the ages of 10 and 24. The recommendations are based on published scientific literature on the health care needs of this age group. The recommendations were developed under the guidance of a multi-disciplinary group of nationally known clinicians and researchers from the fields of pediatrics, family medicine, adolescent medicine, sexual and reproductive health, psychiatry, psychology, substance use, trauma, violence and urology. The checklist will be continually updated with suggestions from users and from focus groups of clinicians who will review the instrument.�

"Recent reports on the health of young males have underscored the importance of our project to develop comprehensive recommendations for clinicians and health information for their patients," said Dennis Barbour, Boys Initiative Co-Founder.� "Our work to improve the health of adolescent and young adult males is not only groundbreaking but essential."

More information on the project can be found�here.

News Clips

  • Single-sex schooling can empower black boys
    Instead of abandoning the option, educators and policymakers should learn from the promising work of some of the schools that serve young black men. An all-male public school can celebrate many different ways of being a young man, freeing students from a straitjacket notion of masculinity.
    CNN
    October 18, 2013

  • U.S. Teens More Vulnerable to Genital Herpes, Study Suggests
    Today's teens may be at higher risk than ever of contracting genital herpes because they don't have enough immune system antibodies to shield them against the sexually transmitted virus, a new study suggests.
    HealthFinder.gov
    October 17, 2013

  • Meds That Prevent HIV Infection Don't Spur Risky Behavior: Study
    HIV-negative heterosexuals who take drugs that protect them from contracting the AIDS virus from their HIV-positive partners don't engage in more risky sexual behaviors, according to a new study.
    HealthFinder.gov
    October 17, 2013

  • Boosting young men of color
    There are clear warning signs that a child needs help. Watch for them � it's vital to the future of our state, where 70% of those under 25 are people of color.
    Los Angeles Times
    October 17, 2013

  • VIDEO: The unique challenges of raising boys
    Author Rosalind Wiseman finds that boys often have difficulties reaching out about problems in their lives
    Al-Jazeera America
    October 16, 2013

  • Research could reveal the linkage between early puberty and adolescent substance abuse
    Research revealed that adolescents who go through puberty at an earlier age may be more likely to experiment with substance abuse because of their desire to resemble older peers. 
    The Daily Texan
    October 15, 2013

  • Is bacon a male contraceptive?
    Study shows processed meat hurts sperm
    Seattle pi
    October 15, 2013

  • Male Teens Are Still Developing Empathy Skills
    Adolescent males actually show a temporary decline, between ages 13 and 16, in a related skill�affective empathy, or the ability to recognize and respond to others' feelings, according to the study
    Wall Street Journal
    October 15, 2013

  • Oregon Father’s Memorial Trek Across Country Ends in a Family’s Second Tragedy
    As he made his way across the country, Joe Bell walked through rain squalls, slept in ditches and talked to anyone who would listen about how his gay son had killed himself after being taunted and bullied at school. Mr. Bell’s artificial knees ached and his feet were mapped with blisters, but he told friends and strangers that he was determined to make it on foot from his home in eastern Oregon to New York City, where his son, Jadin, 15, had dreamed of one day working in fashion.  But last Wednesday, Mr. Bell’s American journey � one that drew attention from local newspapers and attracted thousands of followers on social media � ended in an instant on a two-lane road in rural eastern Colorado. He was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer whose driver had apparently fallen asleep, the state police said.
    New York Times
    October 15, 2013

  • Overweight Teen Years Tied to Later Cancer Risk
    Study found too much weight may be connected to esophageal disease
    Overweight teens are at increased for developing esophageal cancer later in life, new research says.
    Health Day
    October 14, 2013

  • Can Playing Ball Be Bad for Children?
    Many families spend a good amount of their leisure time at soccer games or gymnastics meets. But it wasn’t always this way. A recent Atlantic article suggested that a "competitive frenzy over college admissions" struck parents of boomers in the 1960s and hasn’t abated since.
    New York Times
    October 10, 2013

  • Many Teens Admit To Coercing Others Into Sex
    Almost 1 in 10 high school and college-aged people have forced someone into sexual activity against his or her will, a study finds. The majority of those who have done it think that the victim is at least partly to blame.  The results come from a multiyear study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was designed to look for the roots of adult sexual violence. Most adult perpetrators say they first preyed on another while still in their teens.
    NPR
    October 8, 2013

  • Interactive: Prescription Drug Abuse
    Find state-by-state prescription drug overdose death rates and learn how your state scores on the 10 key steps to curb abuse.
    Robert Wood Johnson Foundation:
    October 8, 2013

The Boys Initiative 900 Second St, NE, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20002
(202) 567-3531 | info@theboysinitiative.org | 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.