And death from liver disease reflects this. The death rate for African American men are more than one and a half times that of Caucasian American men and almost two and half times that of African American women. Cocaine is also used more by African American males. Twice as many African American males than females use cocaine once a week or more. Cigarette smoking too is greater among men than women and initiation peaks at 17 to 19 years of age.
Violence poses a major threat to everyone.
And young men are responsible for much of this violence. Arrests of males under age 24 account for nearly half of all arrests for serious crimes, including those for murder, rape, robbery, and assault. But while men are most often the perpetrators of violence, they are also most often the victims. In fact, males in general are nearly twice as likely as women to be victims of violent crimes. This is when rape is included and murder isn't.