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

• Boy-On-Boy Sexual Hazing on the Rise (audio)
  Ten percent of high school boys report being victims of rape, forced oral sex and other sexual assault, according to a study by the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. Experts say sexual hazing has been increasing in the past decade, and high school hazing fuels college hazing.
  NPR
  June 21, 2013

• Stop Penalizing Boys for Not Being Able to Sit Still at School
  Instead, help them channel their energy into productive tasks.
  A study released last year in the Journal of Human Resources confirms my suspicions. It seems that behavior plays a significant role in teachers' grading practices, and consequently, boys receive lower grades from their teachers than testing would have predicted. The authors of this study conclude that teacher bias regarding behavior, rather than academic performance, penalizes boys as early as kindergarten. On average, boys receive lower behavioral assessment scores from teachers, and those scores affect teachers' overall perceptions of boys' intelligence and achievement.
  The Atlantic
  June 18, 2013

• Fewer Young Americans Lack Health Care Coverage
  The new report found that 27 percent of young adults between the ages of 19 and 25 had no health care coverage in 2012, down from more than 35 percent in 2010, according to report co-author Robin Cohen, a CDC health statistician. At the same time, the number of young adults covered by a private health plan increased, from 49 percent in 2010 to 58 percent in 2012.
  Healthfinder.gov
  June 18, 2013

• Many Young Americans Unaware They're Infected With HIV
  The younger you are, the less likely you are to realize you are infected with HIV or receive treatment for it, a new study finds. Early diagnosis, prompt and continued care, and antiretroviral drug therapy are key to lowering the risk of illness and death among patients, and reducing transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. However, this study of 2009 data from the National HIV Surveillance System found that people under the age of 45 who are infected with the virus are much less likely than their older peers to know they are infected or to be getting proper care.
  Medline Plus
  June 17, 2013

• Blood tests could detect sexually-transmitted oral cancers
  "Up to now, it was not known whether these antibodies were present in blood before the cancer became clinically detectable," said Paul Brennan, of the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), who led the study and described the findings as "very encouraging". "If these results are confirmed, future screening tools could be developed for early detection of the disease," he said. While HPV is better known for causing cervical and other genital cancers, it is also responsible for an increasing number of cancers of the mouth and throat, particularly amongst men.
  Medline Plus
  June 17, 2013

• Doctors Fail To Share Sexual Health Information With Sexually Active Teens, Study Finds
  A report published by Center for Advancing Health states that doctors refrain from providing important sexual health information to sexually active teens. Reportedly, one in every five sexually active teenage boys is not provided with information about condoms and birth controls by doctors, parents or teachers.
  hngn.com
  June 17, 2013

• Bullying by siblings just as damaging, research finds
  Bullying and aggressive behavior by a sibling can be as damaging as bullying by a classmate, neighbor or other peer, finds a new study that links it to increased depression, anxiety and anger among victimized kids and teens.
  USA Today
  June 17, 2013

• BPA Exposure Tied to Undescended Testicles in Boys
  Fetal exposure to the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) has been linked to low levels of a key developmental hormone in newborn boys with undescended testicles, according to an early new study.
  Health Day News
  June 17, 2013

• 'Men don't talk about health issues,' says Samuel L Jackson, as he fronts charity campaign to make men aware of cancer 
  The Pulp Fiction star is fronting a new charity called One For The Boys
  Mail Online
  June 17, 2013

• Project Expands Reach of Mental Health Providers
  A video teleconference system that connects specialists with community health providers to provide better care for patients in underserved areas is expanding to mental health, thanks to a grant announced Friday. The GE Foundation will provide $4.6 million to the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque to expand its Project ECHO to increase access to mental health and addiction services. The Project ECHO model -- ECHO is short for Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes -- allows specialists at a center like the university's to electronically connect with community providers to discuss complex cases and help those providers better treat their patients.
  Med Page Today
  June 14, 2013

International News

UK

• Child obesity shock as figures reveal over 16 per cent of boys in Scotland aged between two and four are obese
  THE figure, released by the Scottish Government, has risen from 10.4 per cent just two years ago and has led to warnings for parents to take more responsibility for the children's health.
  Daily Record
  June 21, 2013

• Boys now spending almost as much as girls on their prom outfits
  Image-conscious teenage lads are going for a slick, groomed look, spending 24% more on their outfit than a year ago.American-style prom nights are sending sales of tuxedos rocketing as boys get a glam makeover to keep up with the girls. Image-conscious teenage lads are ditching trainers and T-shirts for a slick, groomed look, spending 24% more on their outfit than a year ago. And they are tidying up monobrows and facial hair as they head to beauty salons for head-to-toe treatments from eyebrow threading and face masks to spray tans.
  Daily Mirror
  June 19, 2013

• Boys exaggerate more than girls
  Sons are taking their cue from dads when it comes to milking their injuries to get maximum attention, says new research.
  Men whose colds are always flu are passing on early life lessons to their sons, who rate grazed knees as serious leg injuries requiring bandages, not plasters, and even a trip to hospital. A new study conducted by Sudocrem, coinciding with the launch of their new TV ad campaign, confirms what we have all suspected, that boys exaggerate more than girls and take longer to recover from playground tumbles. It also showed that they take their cue from dads.
  Burton Mail
  June 16, 2013

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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.