Thea Cox
New studies from social scientist claim that boys are more sensitive to disadvantaged starts than girls. They claim growing up in poverty, in a bad neighborhood or not having a father, takes more of a toll on boys especially boys from minority and immigrant communities. Society discourages boys from showing vulnerability, so reason boys fare worse than girls is hard to pinpoint. The study says boys are more sensitive to extreme stress than girls.
Boys tend to have more problems with discipline and a lot of that difference has to do with poverty for minority kids. Girls are more suited for doing well in school while boys have trouble with authority. These problems, starting in elementary school, have long term effects. “Early suspensions are strongly correlated with not graduating from high school”. The research emphasizes that boys suffer from not having a male role model and for parents spending more time with their children has huge payoffs.
“Boys get a message from a very young age to be a man, and to be a man means you’re strong and you don’t cry and you don’t show your emotions. I see boys suffering because of that, and a lot of that comes out in aggressive behaviors”