Boys today are in serious trouble, including many who seem normal and to be doing just fine. Confused by society’s mixed messages about what’s expected of them as boys, and later as men, many feel a sadness and disconnection from the world around them. New research shows that boys are faring less well in school than they did in the past and in comparison to girls. Many boys have developed remarkably fragile self-esteems, and the rates of both depression and suicide in boys are frighteningly on the rise. Many of our sons are currently in a desperate crisis.
Boys are experiencing serious trouble outside school as well. The rate of depression among today’s boys is shockingly high, and statistics now tell us that boys are up to three times more likely than girls to be a victim of a violent crime (other than sexual assault) and between four to six times more likely to commit suicide.
These statistics are even more magnified among African American boys and young men. An entire generation of young African American men born between 1990 and 2000 is at-risk of becoming dysfunctional members of our society. The proliferation of dynamic social and cultural problems (i.e., substance abuse/use, criminal activity, dropping out of school, lack of parenting, abject poverty, lack of male role models, etc.) in the “urban” core has drastically increased the probability of failure for many young African American males.
The processing required to reverse this negative trend for boys and young men must be long term and innovative. Youth development programs must be devised to attack the negative elements holding boys and young men at such high risk to become dysfunctional members of society. Programs must begin to create caring pathways to access and harness opportunities for these youth to extend their abilities, strengths, hopes and dreams beyond the boundaries of the neighborhood.
why the male?
