November 18, 2013
This Week’s Highlight
The Gender Connection: A Conversation About The Future of Boys
The Good Men Project
November 12, 2013
Between Mark Sherman, a proud liberal, and Lisa Levey, a feminist with two sons,10 of the people they love the most are boys and men. Yet despite their liberal and feminist leanings the issues of men and boys are critically important to them. They are starting a conversation to explore how society, especially progressive and liberal members of it, can begin to bridge this widening gender gap. Read their discussion and comment on it.
News Clips
- Men’s Health Begins with Boys
Dennis Barbour has been involved in the healthcare field for the whole of his career. All along, he has been dismayed that medical care is not more inclusive of the health needs of men: “Cause or effect, the fact is that men and boys are dismal at taking care of themselves. On the whole, they simply do not seek health care unless pushed to do so by pain, life-threatening issues, or their partners”.
The Turek Clinic (blog)
November 11, 2013 - Network of all-boys NYC public schools growing
Once seen as sexist and outdated, the all-male educational model had been resurrected to serve New York City’s poorest boys, a group feared to be more likely to go to prison than college. The Eagle Academy for Young Men was the city’s first all-boys public school in more than 30 years when it opened in the Bronx nine years ago. “It’s a movement to try and save our sons,” said David C. Banks, the founding principal of the first Eagle Academy who is now president of the Eagle Academy Foundation, the network’s fundraising arm.
chron.com
November 17, 2013 - Identifying, preventing adolescent depression
By age 18, approximately 11 percent of adolescents have a depressive disorder according to the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement and the National Institute of Mental Health. “The mean age for diagnosis of adolescent depression is 15 years old with symptoms emerging three to four years earlier,” Whitney Mingus, prevention consultant with Compass-Pointe Behavioral Health Services, said.
Spencer Daily Reporter
November 16, 2013 - Preterm Birth, More Prevalent Among Males, Linked to Numerous Health Problems
Babies born premature are still a problem for the whole world. There are numerous health problems linked to a preterm birth, which mainly affect boys more than girls. While in the womb, girls develop faster, especially the lungs, leading to fewer risks if born before 37 weeks.
Las Vegas Guardian Express
November 16, 2013 - San Francisco Transforms Into Gotham For Boy’s Batman Wish
A 5-year-old boy recovering from leukemia will be transformed into a crime-fighting superhero on Friday with the help of San Francisco city officials and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Miles, who lives with his parents in Tulelake in Siskiyou County, asked to be Batman for his wish with the nonprofit, and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, police Chief Greg Suhr and others are obliging with a series of special events for the youngster.
WOWKTV.com
November 15, 2013 - Can men adjust to a changing world?
What’s going on with boys? Even women are noticing.
Hanna Rosin, in her book “The End of Men” has noticed some disturbing trends. The title is figurative, referring to career and marriage especially. But there are long-term trends that are literal.
Florida Times-Union
November 14, 2013 - E-cigarettes gain attention in schools amid rise in popularity
E-cigarettes are beginning to show up in the hallways of the nation’s middle schools and high schools. Just as health officials have begun to debate their potential dangers and school districts have started to pay attention to them, educators are grappling with how to deal with students who are found puffing on e-cigarettes while at school.
The Washington Post
November 14, 2013 - Fewer teens smoke but more use e-cigarettes, hookahs
The good news is that fewer young people are smoking cigarettes. The bad news is that more are turning to other tobacco products such as hookahs or waterpipes.
USA TODAY
November 14, 2013 - Adolescents Need To Learn About Depression – Before It’s Too Late
Adolescents need to be educated about depression so that if they find themselves experiencing the symptoms, they can realize that they’re suffering from an illness, and can then go about seeking treatment from there.
The Good Men Project
November 14, 2013 - Most Teens Who Misuse Painkillers Aren’t After a High, Study Finds
Most teens who misuse narcotic painkillers hope to get relief from pain, a new study reveals. Researchers found that four out of five teens who misused prescription pain medications such as OxyContin or Vicodin by taking more than directed or using someone else’s prescription cared less about getting high than they did about easing their discomfort.
Medline Plus
November 13, 2013 - Circumcisions in older boys and related costs skyrocket in Florida, UF Health study shows
Dr. Saleem Islam, an associate professor in the College of Medicine department of surgery’s division of pediatric surgery, said he and his study collaborators believe the state’s decision to terminate Medicaid funding for routine circumcisions in babies under 1 month old has led to the increase in circumcisions for older boys. The study was published in the September issue of the journal The American Surgeon.
University of Florida News
November 13, 2013 - Is Being Male Hazardous to Your Health?
Men need to be more like women. That means understanding our bodies, taking better care of ourselves, and getting the medical care we need.
Intelihealth.com
November 13, 2013 - Join the movement to save black boys
Our young black boys are struggling to fit into a world that is increasingly telling them they don’t have a place. Add to the fact that many of those boys are being parented by a single young mother, ill-prepared to raise a child alone.
Austin Weekly News
November 12, 2013 - (No) Condom Culture: Why Teens Aren’t Practicing Safe Sex
The percentage of young people using condoms has stalled, while STD rates are on the rise
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of American students using condoms hit its peak at around 60% a decade ago, and has stalled since then, even declining among some demographics.
Time
November 12, 2013 - Why Teenagers Are So Impulsive
Why do teens—especially adolescent males—commit crimes more frequently than adults? One explanation may be that as a group, teenagers react more impulsively to threatening situations than do children or adults, likely because their brains have to work harder to rein in their behavior, a research team reported here yesterday at the Society for Neuroscience meeting.
Science
November 11, 2013 - Why Johnny can’t write, and why employers are mad
“With Gen X and Gen Y, because everything is shorthand and text, the ability to communicate effectively is challenged,” he said. “You see it in the business world, whether with existing employees or job candidates looking for work.”
CNBC
November 11, 2013 - Parents refusing vaccines
Raising fears among the medical community of disease outbreaks
Ever since a British doctor published a study in 1998 suggesting that some vaccines may contribute to autism, the number of parents refusing vaccines for their children, or demanding an “alternative’’ immunization schedule, has steadily grown. And even though that paper has since been discredited, and scores of peer-reviewed studies have failed to find any link between vaccines and autism, the suspicion that vaccines are dangerous has stuck.
The Boston Globe
November 11, 2013 - Young Men and Suicide: No One is Disposable
In her book Men on Strike, Dr. Helen Smith writes that in 2010, more than 38,000 people killed themselves in the United States — more than 30,000 of them men. Why would Shoop choose to terrorize a mall before taking his own life? Perhaps because we don’t notice people until they do something really crazy.
TownHall
November 10, 2013 - The Real Reason New College Grads Can’t Get Hired
The technical term for navigating a workplace effectively might be soft skills, but employers are facing some hard facts: the entry-level candidates who are on tap to join the ranks of full-time work are clueless about the fundamentals of office life.
Time
November 10, 2013 - Mixing caffeine, alcohol common for underage drinkers
College-age drinkers who mix caffeine and alcohol are more likely to make risky decisions and require medical care, research has shown. A new study suggests younger drinkers often combine caffeine and alcohol as well.
Medline Plus
November 8, 2013 - Body Building Linked to Eating Disorders in Boys
Eating disorders in adolescent boys are more common than thought and differ from eating disorders in girls in terms of their symptomatology and risk factors, new research suggests. Further analysis of more than 5000 boys from the Growing Up Today Study showed that 31% reported infrequent binge eating or purging, and many reported a higher concern with building muscle rather than thinness (9.2% vs 2.5%). In addition, boys highly concerned with muscle building often used supplements to enhance their physique and were twice as likely as their peers to use drugs and to participate in binge drinking.
Medscape
November 7, 2013 - Male Teen Athletes at Risk for Medication Misuse
The study, which followed 1,540 teens, showed that male athletes were more likely to use and misuse opioids medications on at least one occasion in the past year than non-athlete males. However, said Veliz, “one surprise was that female athletes were not more likely to be prescribed these medications or misuse them.”
Newswise
November 7, 2013
New Mental Health Resources
- Suicide Prevention Resource Center adds JEDCampus program to best practices registry.
JedCampus is an online self-assessment program that provides colleges with a tool to evaluate their compliance with the elements of the Jed Foundation (TJF)/Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) model for college- and university-based mental health promotion and suicide prevention (including strategic planning). - Behavioral health United States, 2012
This volume includes estimates on alcohol and substance abuse as well as estimates related to mental health. Drawing on 40 different data sources, it includes national and state-level trends in private and public sector behavioral health services, costs, and clients.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
International News
AUSTRALIA
- Teenage boys drag down HPV vaccination levels
Queensland Health is concerned about the low number of adolescent males, particularly those in Year 10, who are yet to receive the human papillomavirus vaccine. Acting senior director of the Communicable Diseases Unit Stephen Lambert said 62 per cent of Year 10 males had been vaccinated in the school-based program, compared to 72 per cent of those in Year 8.
Brisbane Times
November 13, 2013
CANADA
- One-size-fits-all education system isn’t working for boys, author says
No parent would deny there are differences between their sons and daughters, so educator Michael Reist wonders why Ontario insists on an educational model that has traditionally treated them as if they learned the same way.
The Windsor Star
November 11, 2013
FINLAND
- Sharp increase in children’s mental health problems
Finland’s social security institution Kela supported the treatment of more than 15,000 children for mental and behavioural disorders last year. The number of beneficiaries has seen a steep upturn in the last decade, with children from wealthy backgrounds also showing mental problems.
Yle.fi
November 13, 2013
INDIA
- Let the change start at home
Most of our efforts to prevent sexual crimes seem to be centred around girls, but do we consider that boys too need guidance and help, asks Hema Vijay
The Hindu
November 15, 2013
UAE
- One in five teenage boys in UAE smokes, report finds
Levels of tobacco use by young people were described as shocking on Monday after a new study found one in five boys aged 13 to 15 was a smoker.
The National
November 4, 2013
UK
- Children’s heart rates on the rise, boys’ rate double that of girls’
Children today may be at greater risk of heart disease in later life because of their unhealthy lifestyles, according to an analysis of changes in pulse rates over 30 years.
The Telegraph
November 13, 2013