6.3.1.2 Boys Adrift

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Another take on depression and anxiety (with an emphasis on motivation) comes from Leonard Sax book entitled: Boys Adrift (2011). Here we will discuss a few select sections from the book. In boys adrift Sax attempts to address an undeniable phenomenon in our culture today: the widespread lack of motivation and achievement of boys. Sax exclaims: “What’s really new about the situation is the young man isn’t bothered by this situation. It’s not just school, but also career, relationships, or other real-world schemes. They are content to live at home indefinitely, fool around, remain irresponsible, and live the life of the slacker.” Sax describes five factor that are causing the decline of Boys:

Video Games: Sax describes multiple studies that show that some of the most popular video games are causing boys to disengage from real-world pursuits. Because boys crave control over their environment, video games offer a quick and easy fix, but leave out skills like patience. They also displace activities such as family time, schoolwork and relationships with girls. Additionally, often video games are the avenue to pornography which can disconnect sex from women and thus reinforce the belief that there is no need to develop relationships.

Teaching Methods. Profound changes in the way children are educated have had the unintended consequence of turning many boys off school. For example, more emphasis is placed on sitting and reading, and environment that is fine for girls who develop quicker, but not for boys who are often too developmentally young. Additionally, competition, something that boys excel at has been removed, causing boys to become disinterested in school at a young age.

Prescription Drugs. Overuse of medication for ADHD may be causing irreversible damage to the motivational centers in boys’ brains. Boys are thirty times more likely to be taking ADHD medication today than in 1987. These medications have been shown to reduce brain development, especially in the motivation section of the brain, especially if given at a young age.

Endocrine Disruptors. Environmental estrogens may be lowering boys’ testosterone levels, making their bones more brittle and throwing their endocrine systems out of whack.

Devaluation of Masculinity. Shifts in popular culture have transformed the role models of manhood. Sixty years ago, we had Father Knows Best; today we have The Simpsons. These kinds of shifts remove the cultural component of duty.