Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption in the lives of millions of people, including children and adolescents. Youth out-of-school time (OST) programs are essential ecological assets and their disruption during the pandemic may have a major impact on youth developmental pathways. Youth programs are one of the primary ways to promote positive youth development (PYD) and, in turn, develop healthy and thriving young adults who contribute positively to society. The pandemic raises the question of how to sustain developmentally oriented forms of youth leisure in times of crisis and, especially, how to support youth with few resources. Although there is considerable scientific evidence regarding the promotion of PYD through OST programs (e.g., sport, clubs, youth groups), public health initiatives to control the pandemic also curtail the delivery of such programs. Nevertheless, research on youth programs can be applied to help support PYD during the pandemic. In this commentary, we review key elements contributing to the effectiveness of youth development programs and provide ideas for how to sustain, adapt, and create these elements and bring them into unstructured leisure settings in the face of the pandemic. In doing so, we highlight particular challenges to implementation, surmise who may be most at risk, and present potential opportunities afforded by the unique situation. Throughout, we highlight innovative examples of adaptation exhibited in affected communities. We conclude with a call to action for researchers and practitioners to unite efforts to support PYD through leisure even in the face of crisis.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption in the lives of millions of people around the world, including children and adolescents
The pandemic renders a paradox for youth leisure: youth leisure opportunities are restricted, such as the many out-of-school time (OST) programs that have come to an abrupt halt due to the challenges of adapting to the virtual environment; yet the restrictions that accompany the pandemic, such as shelter-in-place guidelines, may present youth with more free time than ever before
We contend that youth leisure can be leveraged during the pandemic to support positive youth development (PYD), and acknowledge the many barriers to leisure for youth and families
Summary
Youth leisure and OST are common terms in the youth development field but are used somewhat differently in developmental and recreation sciences. Researchers, practitioners, and families can draw on what is known about the ways in which structured OST programs promote PYD (e.g., Larson et al, 2004; Lerner, Lerner, Lewin-Bizan, et al, 2011; Roth & Brooks-Gunn, 2003) to continue to support the development of young people in this difficult time To aid in these efforts, we review the elements contributing to the effectiveness of structured OST programs and provide ideas for how to sustain, adapt, and create these elements and bring them into unstructured leisure settings in the face of the pandemic. The Big Three is a useful model to adapt during the pandemic because it distills the elements of structured OST programs that contribute to PYD into three features (e.g., Lerner, Lerner, Lewin-Bizan, et al, 2011): relationships with adult leaders, skill-building activities, and meaningful youth leadership. The challenge will be deciding whether and how to sustain existing leadership initiatives and/or turn toward pandemic-specific initiatives
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