Positive Youth Development: Is There a Nomological Network of Concepts Used in the Adolescent Developmental Literature?

Abstract

To gauge the status of connections between the research literature about adolescent development and current theoretical and applied work pertinent to the concept of positive youth development (PYD), we assessed whether the adolescent development literature from 1991 to 2003 reflected a network of terms associated with PYD. A list of 16 terms potentially linked to PYD was generated by integrating conceptualizations of PYD presented in key scholarly publications and found among the ideas of scholars who are expert in the PYD perspective. The presence of these terms was then assessed in a set of nine leading development journals. The analysis of more than 5,500 article titles and abstracts indicated that a nomological network of concepts pertinent to PYD has not yet emerged in the research literature. We discuss possible reasons for the disparity between this sample of publications in developmental science and the growing theoretical and applied interest in PYD.