Staff perspectives on building social relationships with participants in a physical activity-based youth development program

Abstract

Staff in youth development programmes are often tasked with establishing positive relationships with youth to support well-being in young people from underserved backgrounds. To understand how staff understand and approach the development of positive social relationships with youth, and learn how to better support this process, we examined staff perspectives on how they establish these relationships and feedback on training designed to foster staff – youth connections. Staff (N = 10) in a physical activity-based youth programme were interviewed about their experiences and perspectives on their interactions with youth, and how the training they received influenced these interactions. Interviews were analysed through the lens of constructivism. Staff shared that they fostered positive social bonds with youth through mutual experiences, one-on-one conversations, enacting supportive roles, and applying their training. Barriers to establishing positive social relationships with youth included a large staff-to-youth ratio, limited downtime to socialise, and unfamiliarity with youths’ cultures. Staff communicated that they promoted growth in youth by serving as role models and helping youth apply programme lessons to life challenges. Further, a new theory-based training for staff helped them take advantage programme activities to connect with youth and implement evidence-based strategies to establish positive social bonds with youth. Findings highlight staff perspectives, and illustrate the variety of approaches staff use to establish positive social relationships with youth. These perspectives offer practical strategies to help future staff to leverage social connections to promote youth development, and feedback on how training can improve staff – youth connections.