Why boys and young men need Scouting now more than ever

Boys and men are increasingly lonely and at a higher risk of suicide now than at any time before.

Scouting can help, and it doesn’t have to come at the expense of girls and young women, either.

That was the message delivered by Richard Reeves, president of the American Institute for Boys and Men, at Scouting America’s 2025 National Annual Meeting.

“One of the biggest problems we’re facing now is the declining prospects of boys and young men,” Reeves says. “That makes the work of organizations like Scouting America more important than ever.

“Institutions like Scouting have a crucial role to play.”

It was this concern that led Reeves, a former senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, to create the American Institute for Boys and Men (AIBM), a think tank that conducts research across five key areas: mental health, education and skills, employment, Black boys and men, and fatherhood and family.

Reeves, himself a Scout leader in Tennessee, says his research focuses on facts, not politics, and those facts are clear: Too many boys and men are struggling at school, at work, in their families and in their communities.

“You can’t be a parent of a young man today and afford to not be aware of the challenges going on,” he says.

How can Scouting help young men and boys?

Reeves said one of the biggest problems faced by boys and young men is social isolation.

Fifteen percent of young men today say they don’t have a close friend, according to AIBM. That number is five times higher than it was in 1990. This loneliness, combined with a range of societal changes and pressures, has resulted in a mental health crisis for American boys and men.

Today, men are four times more likely than women to die by suicide but 10% less likely than women to access mental health care, according to AIBM.

How can Scouting help? By providing boys a solid, consistent community of friends and leaders who create a place of comfort. By going outdoors together, working on merit badges together, solving problems together and accomplishing things together, boys can develop positive self-esteem and the confidence to feel good about themselves in all areas of life, not just Scouting.

Additionally, a male Scout leader can be a role model that the boy might not be able to find anywhere else. According to AIBM, 63% of fathers surveyed in a recent study admitted that they spend too little time with their children. Of kids whose parents separate, one in three say they don’t see their father at all six years after the separation.

And on top of all that, the percentage of male teachers, psychologists and social workers — positions of authority that young people often look to for help — is lower than it ever has been.

Not a zero-sum game

Reeves stressed multiple times that taking care of boys and young men does not have to come at the expense of girls and young women.

“It is not an either/or, it’s an and,” he says. “It would be like saying to the parent of a son and daughter that they’re only allowed to parent one of them. Of course we have to address both.

“The problems facing women and girls today are real. We can do two things at once.”

Reeves says he’s open to families who prefer to put their children in single-gender schools and single-gender Scout units, or co-ed schools and co-ed Scout units. What’s important, he says, is that Scout leaders take advantage of the opportunity presented to them by leading young men by example and providing a listening ear when appropriate.

When young men and boys feel isolated and lonely, they naturally want to know why. Without good male role models, they’re more likely to turn to the internet for answers. There, they may find solutions that sound easy but ultimately lead to places of darkness and despair.

In the United States, 71% of the opioid overdose deaths occur among men, according to AIBM.

“Scout leaders are like mental health professionals in disguise,” Reeves says. “Boys might not be comfortable talking face-to-face in a therapy room. It turns out they’re more comfortable talking shoulder to shoulder, maybe on a hike or maybe while setting up a tent or something like that.

“Scout leaders don’t have to become trained psychologists. They just have to create a safe place for boys and young men to talk about how they’re feeling.”

Inspired by his own experiences as a father and policy expert, Richard Reeves founded AIBM to bring awareness to the challenges facing boys and men today and to develop evidence-based solutions to those challenges. His most recent book is Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why it Matters, and What to do About It.

Photo by Michael Roytek