According to Pollack and Gurian, boys today are plagued by depression, isolation, despair, and fragile self-esteem. Boys are performing poorly in school compared with their sisters, who are now thriving. Diagnoses of attention-deficit disorder in male children are escalating, as are disciplinary problems, school drop-out rates, psychiatric disorders, and suicide. In the words of Pollack, "Many feel a sadness and disconnection they cannot even name." "Millions of our adolescent boys have experienced a trauma of some kind," asserts Gurian, and they haven't got the emotional resources, or support from others, to cope with the pain. Our boys are "like soldiers traumatized in wartime," and

Sex differences in self-esteem have been reported. But it is males who tend to have slightly higher self-esteem than females. Boys and girls also evaluate themselves differently. For instance, boys are more confident in mathematics and sports while girls rate themselves as more competent in reading and music. Men's self-esteem usually depends upon whether they believe they have achieved distinction in their lives, whereas women's self-esteem is more closely related to fulfillment in their personal relationships.

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Approximate Word count = 4933
Approximate Pages = 20 (250 words per page double spaced)