It’s Not Just a Feeling: Data Shows Boys and Young Men Are Falling Behind

Boys and young men are struggling. Across their lives — in their educational achievement, mental health and transitions to adulthood — there are warning signs that they are falling behind, even as their female peers surge ahead.

In the United States, researchers say several economic and social changes have combined to change boys’ and men’s trajectories. School has changed in ways that favor girls, and work has changed in ways that favor women. Boys are often seen as troublemakers, and men have heard that masculinity is “toxic.”

Young people themselves tend to agree that girls are now at least equal to — and often doing better than — boys. Many young men say they feel unmoored and undervalued, and parents and adults who work with children are worried about boys. It’s not just a feeling: There’s a wealth of data that shows that boys and young men are stagnating. Below, I’ll explain what some of that data is.

What’s Going On With Boys and Young Men? We Want to Hear From You.

Some boys have been affected more than others — the outcomes for Black boys are worse, and growing up in poverty disproportionately hurts boys. And in some cases, the patterns aren’t new — boys have always lagged girls in certain areas, yet there has been little focus on their issues, perhaps because men have dominated in so many spheres.

That is beginning to change, said Niobe Way, author of “Rebels With a Cause: Reimagining Boys, Ourselves and Our Culture” and a professor of developmental psychology at N.Y.U. “Boys and young men, they are starving just like everybody else to be seen as they see themselves, as good people,” she said. “They want to not only survive but also have the opportunity to thrive.”