YES: What does it mean to be a good man? Boys need fathers — or male mentors.

One in five children grows up without a father at home, she notes. Fatherlessness especially disadvantages boys.

Black boys, who are the most likely to be raised by a single mother, “do better in neighborhoods where there are more fathers around, even if not their own,” research has shown.

Even when disadvantaged children are matched with mentors, a majority are women, writes Miller. Mentoring groups find it hard to recruit enough men to meet the demand.

Sports, Scouts and church are the primary places where boys without involved fathers find male mentors. It makes a difference, young men told the Times.

Boys need dads. So do girls.