# Presentation: 810985

## What Challenges Are Boys Facing and What Opportunities Exist To Address Those Challenges? 

- Resa Matthew, Ph.D.
- JBS International, Inc.
- Washington, DC
-  September 12, 2008

## Overview

- Purpose of the project
- Approach used
- Facts and strategies or interventions shown to work
- Limitations

## Purpose of the Boys’ Project

- Commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
- Aim was to pinpoint what strengths make some boys likely to succeed and what risks, or challenges, increase the likelihood that they will struggle.
**Products Developed**
- Initial Findings Brief
- Annotated Bibliography
- Fact Sheets

## Seven Research Areas or Domains

- Constructive Use of Time
- Education
- Employment
- Juvenile Delinquency
- Mental Health
- Substance Abuse
- Victimization and Mortality

## Our Approach

**Theoretical Framework**

**Source: **Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1986

## Our Approach (Cont’d)

- The literature search included computer searches of the major bibliographic databases (e.g., PsychINFO, MEDLINE/PubMed, EBSCOhost) looking, in particular, for two primary types of studies:
- Epidemiological studies that attempt to discover what factors make boys more or less prone to certain outcomes, and
- Intervention studies that test whether certain programs or approaches increase boys’ likelihood of success.

## There is Good and Bad

- In general, many adolescent boys are doing well.
- Some boys continue to struggle.
- There are disparities among boys based on race/ethnicity, family structure, SES, and geographic areas.

## Constructive Use of Time 

**Facts**
- Boys are using their time constructively: nearly 50% of high school senior boys play a sport, more than a quarter take part in community affairs or volunteer at least once or twice per month, more than a quarter are part of a school club or activity, and about one-fifth play music or do other performing arts.
- A greater percentage of high school senior boys volunteered their time in 2006 than in the early 1990s.
**Strategies/Interventions-Pairing youth with mentors**
- Adolescents who have supportive adults in their lives develop personal qualities, such as life skills, problem-solving skills, and social skills.
- For boys in particular, features of effective mentoring programs include:
- 	Matching boys with male mentors who share the same culture, race, ethnicity, or interests
- 	Having mentors focus on teaching specific skills rather than simply trying to develop emotional connections

## Education

**Facts**
- While overall school dropout rates have declined, in 2004, boys still represented over half (56 percent) of school dropouts ages 16 to 24.
- African American and Hispanic adolescents have improved their performance on standardized tests over the last 20 years; however, their achievement continues to be lower than that of their White peers.
**Strategies/Interventions- School based peer support programs**
- Effective elements include:
- Providing adult facilitators, both from the school and the community
- Including peer facilitators who have a semester’s worth of training in listening and communication skills
- Ensuring that meetings occur weekly for regular periods of time (about an hour)
- Using a social skills curriculum that teaches good social behaviors, such as communicating clearly, listening, resolving conflicts, sharing, and helping others

**Notes:**
While overall school dropout rates have declined, in 2004, boys still represented over half (56 percent) of school dropouts ages 16 to 24. 
African American and Hispanic adolescents have improved their performance on standardized tests over the last 20 years; however, their achievement continues to be lower than that of their White peers

## Employment

**Facts**
- The employment rate for high school boys ages 16-18 dropped from 33% in ’95-”96 school year to 25% in the ’03-’04 school year.
- A 2007 study showed that boys and girls who were employed while in school learned how to more efficiently manage their time, were more motivated, and learned about workplace norms and responsibilities
- In 2007, employed high school students spent more time participating in religious, spiritual, and volunteer activities
**Strategies/Interventions-Hours of employment**
- Youth who work 20 hours or less a week are more likely to attain some college education
- Youth who work more than 20 hours a week may be at risk for negative outcomes

**Notes:**

Negative outcomes include dropping out of school, engaging in delinquent behavior, abusing substances.

## Juvenile Delinquency

**Facts**
- In 2006, arrests of boys represented more than 70% of all juvenile arrests
- From 1994 to 2004, there was a 21% increase in the number of youth who were held in adult jails
- In 2006, nearly 20% of people arrested for violent crimes were under the age of 18 and boys represented 83% of juvenile arrests for these violent crimes
- More than 25% of persons arrested for property crimes were under age 18 and boys made up 68% of juvenile arrests for property crimes, according to 2006 figures
**Strategies/Interventions**
- Supportive parents and other adults
- Parental monitoring
- Involvement in positive social activities

## Mental Health

**Facts**
- While adolescent boys report depression less frequently than girls, depressed boys are more resistant to treatment and more likely to commit suicide.
- In 2006, an estimated 7% of youth in the United States had ADHD, and boys were about three times as likely as girls to have the diagnosis.
- Adolescents from low-income families show higher risk for all forms of mental illness. For instance, disadvantaged boys are at elevated risk for depression and suicide in adolescence.
**Strategies/Interventions**
- Fostering self-confidence
- Promoting positive problem solving skills
- Attachment to school
- Positive relationships with peers

## Substance Abuse

**Facts**
- In 2006, boys were typically more likely than girls to drink large quantities of alcohol in a single sitting, and these gender differences become considerably larger at the upper grade levels
- While older boys tend to smoke, drink, and use drugs more than younger boys do, eighth graders are more likely than older boys to use inhalants.
- Among boys and girls ages 12 to 17, prescription drugs have become the second most abused drug behind marijuana
- Studies have linked adolescents’ abuse of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco to many other problem behaviors and outcomes, including low academic performance, suicide, automobile accidents, and juvenile delinquency

## Substance Abuse

**Strategies/Interventions-Family strengthening & support programs**
- Teaching parents, through group or one-on-one sessions, to reward good behavior, communicate better with their children, put in place ways, such as weekly family meetings, for the whole family to communicate, set rules and expectations for their children, and discipline fairly and calmly
- Encouraging family bonding through shared activities and meals with other families
- Teaching young people, through group or one-on-one sessions, a range of skills including how to cope with stress, set goals, be aware of and control their feelings, solve problems, deal with peer pressure, and communicate better
- Providing families with access to appropriate mental health screenings, and with the skills, tools, and supports needed to address their child’s mental health needs
- Fostering parent-child bonding through therapy sessions, including “play therapy” in which parents and children do activities together in the presence of a trained therapist

## Victimization and Mortality

**Facts**
- Between 1994 and 2004, fewer boys between the ages of 10 and 18 have died each year. (Boys are most often killed in accidents, such as car crashes, followed by homicide and suicide.)
- In 2006, school was the most common setting for violent victimizations: 53% of victimization for 12- to 14-year-olds and 32% of victimization for 15- to 17-year-olds occurred on school grounds
**Strategies/Intervention**
- Reduce access to firearms in the home, especially for boys
- Encourage association with positive peers
- Ability to discuss problems with parents

## Challenges and Limitations

- Lack of a health domain
- Short time frame
- U.S. studies only

## To access the products, please visit the following web sites

- Findings Brief _[http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/08/boys/Findings1](http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/08/boys/Findings1)_
- Fact Sheets _[http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/08/boys/FactSheets](http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/08/boys/FactSheets)__ _
- Annotated Bibliography _[http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/08/boys/Biblio](http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/08/boys/Biblio)__ _

## Contact Information Resa MatthewJBS International, Inc. Phone: (301) 496-1080Email: rmatthew@jbsinternational.com