Abstract
Several of the most frequent psychological difficulties in childhood and adolescence are related to anxiety and lead to numerous short- and long-term negative outcomes in emotional, social, and academic domains. Empirical evidence consistently shows that the 5Cs (competence, caring, confidence, connection, and character) of Positive Youth Development (PYD) are positively related to adolescents’ contribution to self, family, and society as well as negatively related to risky behaviors and emotional difficulties, such as anxiety. Thus, the PYD can be one of the models that informs prevention programs. To provide contextualized, data-driven support for prevention efforts, we have analyzed the predictive value of the 5Cs for anxiety and anxiety dimensions using three different convenience youth samples from Portugal (N = 384, 46.6% female), Slovenia (N = 449, 69% females), and Spain (N = 768; 60.5% females). To assess the 5Cs, we used the same short form of the PYD scale in all samples (Geldhof et al., 2013) and different anxiety measures across samples: the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) in Portugal, the Lestvica anksioznosti za otroke in mladostnike anxiety scale (LAOM) in Slovenia and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) in Spain. The findings show significant associations of PYD and anxiety across all three contexts with all three different anxiety measures used. The associations vary across countries emphasizing the need to further research the role of contexts in anxiety prevention. Despite variations the results do indicate that connection is negatively associated with anxiety in all three contexts using the three anxiety measures, while confidence is a negative predictor and caring is a positive predictor of anxiety in Slovenia and Spain. Implications for practice within an educational framework for adolescents and youth are discussed, together with public policy recommendations.
Highlights
Anxiety-related difficulties are one of the most frequent psychological challenges in childhood and adolescence (Neil and Christensen, 2009)
The findings are in line with researchers who argue that the associations between a global Positive Youth Development (PYD) factor and the 5Cs with behavioral and emotional difficulties are not inverse (Lerner et al, 2015)
On the level of 5Cs, our findings reveal the complexity of adaptive regulations as highlighted by Geldhof et al (2019), indicating that the associations between the 5Cs and anxiety depend on the context
Summary
Anxiety-related difficulties are one of the most frequent psychological challenges in childhood and adolescence (Neil and Christensen, 2009). These difficulties trigger numerous short- and long-term negative outcomes related to social, emotional, and cognitive functioning that result in leaving school early, need for mental health care, work deficiency, lower life satisfaction later. To enhance the effectiveness of prevention and intervention programs, theoretically sound models with clear links between protective factors and outcomes are needed (Silverman and Treffers, 2001), especially in childhood and adolescence, when the onset of anxiety disorders typically occurs (Kessler et al, 2005). One of the models that can serve as a theoretical framework in designing prevention and intervention programs targeting anxiety is the Positive Youth Development (PYD) perspective (Lerner, 2007)
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