Individual Youth Research Articles

Adolescent, caregivers, and therapists’ experiences of youth and family suicide intervention: A qualitative study

Objective This study explores the experience of an individual and family therapy youth suicide intervention from the perspectives of seven psychotherapy triads (young people aged 12–18, their parents/caregivers and therapists). Method Data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews and analyzed using consensual qualitative research methods. Results Four domains were identified: Focusing on the youth-parent relationship, individual therapy for young people and their parents, conjoint therapy, and public service structures and systemic practice that facilitated tailored treatment. All participant groups valued intervention that improved the youth-parent relationship; however, they held different views about its influence on suicidality and recovery. Separate youth and parent therapy was crucial for facilitating the tailoring of treatment and enhancing the reparative potential of conjoint therapy. Barriers to productive intervention included inaccessible, fragmented, and siloed treatment that excluded parents, stigmatizing clinician responses, and acute care that was not attuned to need or developmental context. Helpful intervention was systemically and attachment-informed, multi-disciplinary, individually tailored, and integrated freely available specialist therapy with crisis and inpatient care. Conclusion A relational, nuanced, and flexible approach is needed to tailor youth suicide treatment in the context of the complexity of youth-parent relationships.

Examining community-level protection from Alaska Native suicide: An Indigenous knowledge-informed extension of the legacy of Michael Chandler and Christopher Lalonde.

Chandler and Lalonde broadened the scope of inquiry in suicide research by providing theoretical grounding and empirical support for the role of community, culture, and history in understanding Indigenous youth suicide and reimagining its prevention. Their work pushed the field to consider the intersectional process of individual and collective meaning-making in prevention of Indigenous suicide, together with the central role culture plays in bringing coherence to this process over time. Their innovation shifted the research focus to include the shared histories, contexts, and structures of meaning that shape individual lives and behaviors. We describe here a new generation of research extending their pathbreaking line of inquiry. Recent work aims to identify complex associations between community-level structures and suicidal behavior by collaborating with Alaska Native people from rural communities to describe how community protective factors function as preventative resources in their daily lives. Community engagement and knowledge co-production created a measure of community protection from suicide. Structured interviews with rural Alaska Native community members allowed use of this measure to produce relevant, accessible, and actionable knowledge. Ongoing investigations next seek to describe their mechanisms in shaping young people's lives through a multilevel, mixed-methods community-based study linking community-level protection to protection and well-being of individual youth. These efforts to understand the multiple culture-specific and culturally mediated pathways by which communities build on their strengths, resources, and practices to support Indigenous young people's development and reduce suicide risk are inspired by and expand on Chandler and Lalonde's remarkable legacy.

Hybrid organisations embedded in resource-poor contexts: linking organisational capabilities and individual capabilities – a slippery ground?

Purpose This paper aims to contribute to research on hybrid organisations operating within the information and communication technology for development paradigm to foster socio-economic inclusion through the capacity building of marginalised individual youth to enable their entry and participation in the formal labour market. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative research design, the authors investigated impact sourcing service providers and their beneficiaries to unpack how hybrid organisations fulfil their social mission and to provide a nuanced understanding of their needed capabilities. Data triangulation through document analysis, participant observation and semi-structured interviews were conducted for the empirical findings’ robustness and in-depth analysis. Findings This paper illuminates how hybrids strived to build beneficiaries' capabilities through empirically grounded approaches of “standardised” and “individualised” skills development, which were strongly connected to the perceived capabilities among the beneficiaries. Organisations that practiced the “individualised” approach imparted technical knowledge and, depending on individual needs, relevant social skills. Critically, the empirical findings call into question the effectiveness of the scalability model, as the results showed that the creation of standardised, low-skilled and low-paid jobs contradicts the idealised self-help status that employment advocates. In addition, the findings underline the central role of constant experimentation, resilience and organisational learning in revamping capabilities of hybrid organisations. Remarkably, compared to organisations committed to the “standardised” technical competency path, the results underscored the difficulties that organisations taking an “individualised" approach face in developing organisational capabilities for their financial sustainability. Further, organisations engaged in standardised” skills development were found to readapt their business model to the economic value and kept the wording of dual mission as a narrative. Originality/value The paper makes a conceptual and empirical contribution bringing together two separately developed literature strands – the organisational capability approach and – the individual capability approach, to enhance a more profound understanding of how both capabilities are connected to each other in the dual-mission orientation of hybrids embedded in resource-poor environments, global value chains, Global South, hybrid organisations, organisational and individual capability building.

Adolescents at the skatepark: identifying design features and youth behaviours that pose risk for falls

BackgroundSkateboarding is an increasingly popular leisure activity for youth, yet injuries due to falls are common. This study aimed to identify the features at skateparks and tricks performed by youth...

Patient-focused programable release indomethacin tablets prepared via conjugation of hot melt extrusion (HME) and fused depositional modeling (FDM) -3D printing technologies

Indomethacin (IND) eases the chronic pain caused by Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) in clinic, but it was reported that it has dose-related side effects such as gastrointestinal irritations and potential damage to nervous system. So, there is a considerable demand for offering effective, safety, and quality IND dosages for individual pediatric and youth patients. The main aim of this work is to on-demand manufacture personalized and programmable release IND tablets via combining hot melt extrusion (HME) and 3D printing technologies based on the structure-release correlations. IND loaded filaments were extruded and then the tablets were designed and printed. A series of physical and chemical characterization studies were also conducted, including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), hot stage polarized light microscopy (PLM), texture analysis, and in vitro drug release studies. The results showed that IND was dispersed in HPMCAS matrix and formed amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs). Additionally, the in vitro drug release studies demonstrated that the release of IND can be programmed via manipulating 3D structure design. The mathematical model to predict the IND from structural designed tablets was obtained and two tablets (T-v1 and T-v2) were printed to validate such model, where the fitting coefficient are 0.9964 and 0.9965, respectively. This study suggested that combining HME and 3D printing technologies could be an optimal approach for personalized and precision drug delivery dosage development.

Individual and Interpersonal Factors Associated with Youth Antisocial Behavior among a Low Income, Immigrant, and Ethnic Urban Youth Sample

This study explores the association between youth antisocial behavior outcomes and predictors including individual factors (youth attitudes) and interpersonal factors (friends and parents) in a low income, immigrant, and ethnic community in Pomona, California USA. Social cognitive theory is used in a cross sectional design to perform correlation and multiple regression analysis on survey data from 2,693 high school students. While factors related to youths and their best friends were associated with youth antisocial behavior outcomes, parental factors did not show any association with youth antisocial behavior outcomes in both correlation and regression analysis. These results conflict with dominant trends in the literature and underscore the need for at risk communities such as Pomona to develop their own community data so that intervention programs can respond to their unique circumstances. The following intervention strategies are recommended for youth program designers in Pomona: prioritize individual youth and friends in intervention activities; develop intervention strategies to grow parental influence on youth antisocial behavior such as integrating engagement tools which immigrant, minority, and low income parents could use to counter antisocial risk factors and enhance protective factors. Future research should investigate the factors that drive the influence of best friends on youth antisocial behavior particularly how these trump parental influence in Pomona and other disadvantaged environments. The research findings should shape the intervention strategies recommended above.

Transformation of Value Orientations of Russian Youth: on the Issue of Stability of Russia Against the Background of Confrontation with the Countries of the World of the West

Relevance. The ongoing confrontation between Russia and Western countries makes the study of the role of youth and youth public organizations in the stability of the socio-political and social development of our country more and more relevant. Taking into account the ongoing events, it is necessary to consider the process of transforming the value orientations of modern Russian youth and its impact on the stability of our country and the activities of youth public organizations.The purpose – to carry out a comparative analysis of the value orientations of Soviet/Russian youth and the trends of their development since the end of the XX century to the present and their impact on the stability of Russia against the background of confrontation with the countries of the Western world.Objectives: analyze the historical orientation of the value orientations of young people in the late USSR; carry out an analysis of the value orientations of the youth of the new Russia (1991-2000); consider the consequences of the transformation of value orientations of young people for the stability of Russia (2000-2023).Methodology. We used data from Rosstat on demography, secondary analysis of data on the results of research by the WCIOM Sociological Service (1992-2023), the Center for Labor Research of the Higher School of Economics (HSE) on youth issues, analysis of scientific materials published in scientific journals, historical documents of the period under study, methods of comparison and analogy.Results. Since the 80s of the XX century, the value orientations of domestic youth have been transformed towards the Western cult of consumption, which was the basis for various negative manifestations, participation in the destructive protest activities of individual youth public organizations. The situation began to change in the early 2000s, when more and more young people began to think about the need to restore traditional moral norms and values. The coronavirus pandemic and a special military operation in Ukraine had a particularly serious impact on the transformation of the value orientations of modern youth.Conclusions. The transformation of the value orientations of modern Russian youth towards a return to traditional values is a positive factor for the stability of the development of our country.

A multisystem model for understanding stress and adaptation in ethnically and racially diverse youth.

Contemporary biological and contextually based theoretical frameworks have conceptualized how stress exposure may influence adaptation in youth. However, nearly all of this scholarship neglects the role of specific contextual features and/or biological processes that are involved in ethnic-racial minority youth's responses and adaptation to sociocultural stressors. Drawing on the theoretical principles of the developmental psychopathology framework and contemporary models of stress and adaptation, this article proposes a new multisystem model that explains how multiple levels and systems within and outside of individual youth influence their sociocultural adaptation. We provide empirical evidence to support components of this multisystem model. We propose that research based on our new theoretical framework will capture the sociocultural experiences of ethnic-racial minority youth by centering processes that are relevant to their lived experiences, coping, and adjustment. In doing so, this model will inform psychosocial interventions focused on promoting healthy adaptation among ethnic and racial diverse youth. Finally, we offer recommendations to guide future research on stress and adaptation among ethnic and racial diverse youth, in particular, and developmental psychopathology more broadly.

Boundaries on Parent Involvement in Their Child's Anxiety Cognitive-Behavioral-Treatment Outcome: Parent Reinforcement and Relationship Behaviors Moderate Outcome.

Extending a recent parent mediation efficacy trial, we identified parent reinforcement and relationship behaviors as setting boundary conditions, or moderators, of youth anxiety outcome in 254 youths and their parents, who were randomized to: (1) Cognitive Behavioral Treatment (CBT) with parent reinforcement behavior training (CBT + Reinf); (2) CBT with parent relationship behavior training (CBT + Relat); or (3) individual youth CBT - a comparator control arm. Findings revealed that parents with high baseline negative reinforcement levels and acceptance levels (i.e., above the mean) report their children as having lower anxiety at outcome, when assigned to CBT + Reinf, and CBT + Relat, respectively, versus CBT. No moderation effects were found for either parent positive reinforcement or parent psychological control. Implications for treating anxiety disorders and moving toward precision treatment approaches in youth are discussed, and the importance of research replication and extension.

The Individual Youth-related Factors Influencing the Extent of Youth Engagement in Development Interventions in Western Kenya

This paper discusses the factors affecting how much the youth are engaged in development programmes. Despite development interventions that the government and its partners have embarked on to promote youth development in Kenya, there is room for improvement in youth engagement. The study utilized a pragmatism research philosophy, incorporating qualitative and quantitative research methods within a mixed-methods research framework and concurrent triangulation research design. Using simple random sampling procedure, 329 youths were selected for the quantitative component, while 18 participants were selected purposively for the qualitative component. Quantitative data was collected through the survey method using interviewer-administered questionnaires, while qualitative data was gathered through key informant and in-depth interviews. Quantitative data were analysed statistically, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Results show the highest proportion of respondents (41.7%) had low extent of engagement in development interventions. Individual youth factors such as the level of education (p=.0120), age cohort (p=.027), and locality (p=.010), and level of independence (p=.05) influenced the extent of youth engagement in development interventions. However, the gender of the youth, marital status, parental economic status, parental occupation and parental/guardians’ level of education had no statistically significant relationship with the extent of youth engagement. Tailoring youth development interventions to the unique characteristics of all youths is recommended based on this paper's conclusion that low youth engagement was attributed to individual youth-related factors. Additionally, programme managers should encourage genuine youth involvement in all stages of interventions’ development to ensure that they own interventions that target them.

Parenting Education As A Vital Tool For Sustaining Green Skills Among Youths For Nation Building

This study examined the efficacy of parenting education in developing and sustaining green skills for youth to foster sustainable nation-building. Parenting education provides a platform that individual youth can use to acquire green skills with the right attitude, knowledge, and values necessary for workforce in a knowledge economy to build a sustainable nation in the contemporary time. In contemporary times, parental education inculcates diverse range of home training and skills development in the youth, enabling them to express self-capabilities to drive sustainability, innovation, and green growth for nation-building. This is possible because many youths spend most of their formative years within the family. Therefore, parenting education plays an important role in contributing to the development of green skills acquisition among youth and producing competent youth amid many ethical and sociological menace such as cultism, corruption, examination malpractices, sexual immorality, promiscuity, hooliganism, impersonation, financial fraud, money ritual, and a host of other ethical cum sociological problems that threaten nation-building in the contemporary time. It was discovered that. Parents need to set an excellent example for their youths so that they will be compelled to adopt green lifestyle changes. In reality, culture and mindset change will progress towards green technology and practice. Small changes we make today will have a significant impact in the future. Therefore, this paper examined the place of parenting education in youth acquisition of green skills toward sustainable nation-building. The study employed a descriptive method to harness the discourse. The study investigates practical ways parenting education can be utilized to develop green skills among youth.

A social network analysis of perpetrators of child maltreatment reported by youth in foster care

ObjectivePrior research on child maltreatment has focused on distinct features of maltreatment (type, severity, chronicity) important for youth outcomes, yet perpetrators of child maltreatment reported by youth have gone largely unstudied. The present study examines connections between perpetrators, the total number and type of perpetrators reported, and the frequency at which each type of perpetrator was reported across 24 relationship types to provide a foundation for future research seeking to provide comprehensive measurement of perpetrator profiles. MethodsData from 503 youth in foster care (8–21 years old) were collected through the Studying Pathways to Adjustment and Resilience in Kids (SPARK) Project. Youth reported on their history of physical, sexual, and psychological maltreatment. Social Network Analysis (SNA) was used to visualize links between perpetrators within maltreatment type and paired samples t-tests were used to compare differences between network edge weights. ResultsFull sample SNA results were highly interconnected and variable across maltreatment types. Biological parents and peers were the most common perpetrators of physical and psychological abuse with peers and non-family adults being most common for sexual abuse. Family and community member groupings were most distinct in the physical and psychological abuse networks whereas in the sexual abuse network, ties between perpetrators were more equidistant. ConclusionsDifferences exist in perpetrator profiles across maltreatment types, adding a layer of complexity to how maltreatment experiences are captured, and variability in profiles might provide insight to differing youth outcomes. Understanding individual youth perpetrator profiles could be used to inform foster care placements and reduce the risk of revictimization.

REPRESENTASI PEREMPUAN DI POLITIK

The political representation of women sticks out in the midst of domination and hegemony of patriarchal culture in various dimensions of life, especially in the political space. There is a kind of socio-political obstacle that forces women to double their capital and power, which must be spent more heavily and complicated than men when they enter politics. This study wants to see how far the role of women legislators in the NTT Provincial DPRD for the 2019-2024 period is in carrying Political parties and are in accordance with the interests of the categorization of women members of the legislature. The strategy for dividing positions for women is also quite diverse. Women have political hopes that are placed on increasing access power and opening up political opportunities to occupy strategic positions such as important positions or involvement in the decision-making process in political parties. The hope for increasing access is related to increasing the capacity of individual women and youth in political parties. Increasing women's access to strategic positions in political parties. This political hope emphasizes the importance of women and youth to have economic, social and political capacities. Economic capacity relates to financial resources, social capacity refers to social relations and networks, and political capacity relates to political knowledge and skills

How did the Treatment Work for Robin? And for Dylan? Studying Individual Youth Treatment Mediators Using Single-Case Experimental Designs

Study of individual treatment mechanisms in youth interventions facilitates evidence-based development, selection and implementation of treatment components that are most effective for each individual child. This position paper aims to bring together two important topics from the area of youth intervention research: mediators of treatment outcomes and single-case experimental design methodology. We start by outlining the benefits of studying within-person mechanisms and propose how statistical mediation analysis and single-case methods can be integrated to enable this type of research. Further, we review existing methodology for the study of individual youth treatment mechanisms and provide recommendations for the clinical practice research.

The trade-offs of co-ruminating with friends: A profile analysis.

Adolescents' co-ruminating with friends has been tied to trade-offs: having higher quality friendships but experiencing more depressive symptoms. To determine if individual youth experience these trade-offs, we applied a person-centered approach to Swedish adolescents' self-reports of co-rumination with friends, depressive symptoms, and friend support (n = 2767, aged 12-16, 52% girls; 88% Swedish). We found four latent profiles: Two high in co-rumination and two low. One high co-rumination profile exhibited the proposed trade-offs; the other reported high friendship support and fewer depressive symptoms. Comparisons indicated that the trade-offs profile were primarily girls and exhibited comparatively more difficulties with stress regulation, conceptions of their parents and themselves, and relations with peers. Focusing on the complexity of co-rumination could reveal further nuances.

Family–Friendship Linkages in Youths With Autism Spectrum Disorder

AbstractObjectiveTo examine the relative contribution of family functioning to friendship quality in youths with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).BackgroundYouths with ASD often experience problems in their friendships. Although researchers have identified linkages between individual youth characteristics and friendship difficulties in youths with ASD, much less is known about the possible linkages between family and friendship problems in this population. However, the family system is an important context in which youths with ASD can learn skills that are necessary for developing friendships.MethodThe current study examined the relations of key dimensions of family functioning and caregiver romantic relationships to central domains of friendship quality in youths with ASD, while also accounting for individual characteristics of the youths. Participants included youths with ASD (N = 93) and their primary caregivers who completed measures that assessed family, caregiver, and friendship variables.ResultsHierarchical linear regression models revealed that family functioning and caregiver romantic relationships explained significant variance in domains of youth friendship quality above and beyond individual youth characteristics.ConclusionFriendships in youths with ASD were more strongly related to important elements of the family system than to various characteristics of the individual youth.ImplicationsFamily relations should be considered in interventions that aim to improve peer relations for youth with ASD.

YOUTH AS TRUTH-TELLERS AND RIGHTS-HOLDERS: LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS TO ENABLE YOUTH HOUSING SECURITY

In the first pan-Canadian study on youth homelessness, 57.8% of youth reported prior involvement with child protection services. Indeed, transitions from government institutions (e.g., child/youth protection, inpatient mental health treatment, the youth justice system) represent common pathways into homelessness for youth across North America. This article examines young people’s experiences navigating youth protection services to identify institutional, legislative, and policy processes that pose problems for youth experiencing or at risk of homelessness, as well as processes that show promise for the promotion of the interests, protection, and well-being of youth. Our participatory youth research team explored homeless youth’s histories of involvement with youth protection services, seeking to clarify the sociolegal mechanisms in and beyond the youth protection system that make young people vulnerable to homelessness. Youth and adult co-researchers interviewed 38 individual youth (aged 16–29) who completed 64 qualitative institutional history interviews. According to our analysis, young people identified the following sociolegal practices as implicated in their experiences of homelessness: the use of totalizing institutions, the criminalization of runaways, the abrupt cessation of service delivery at 18 years of age, a systemic failure to view youth as rights-holders, and an overly complex emancipation process.

Evaluating the Utility of a Psychoeducational Serious Game (SPARX) in Protecting Inuit Youth From Depression: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Inuit youth in Northern Canada show considerable resilience in the face of extreme adversities. However, they also experience significant mental health needs and some of the highest adolescent suicide rates in the world. Disproportionate rates of truancy, depression, and suicide among Inuit adolescents have captured the attention of all levels of government and the country. Inuit communities have expressed an urgent imperative to create, or adapt, and then evaluate prevention and intervention tools for mental health. These tools should build upon existing strengths, be culturally appropriate for Inuit communities, and be accessible and sustainable in Northern contexts, where mental health resources are often scarce. This pilot study assesses the utility, for Inuit youth in Canada, of a psychoeducational e-intervention designed to teach cognitive behavioral therapy strategies and techniques. This serious game, SPARX, had previously demonstrated effectiveness in addressing depression with Māori youth in New Zealand. The Nunavut Territorial Department of Health sponsored this study, and a team of Nunavut-based community mental health staff facilitated youth's participation in an entirely remotely administered pilot trial using a modified randomized control approach with 24 youths aged 13-18 across 11 communities in Nunavut. These youth had been identified by the community facilitators as exhibiting low mood, negative affect, depressive presentations, or significant levels of stress. Entire communities, instead of individual youth, were randomly assigned to an intervention group or a waitlist control group. Mixed models (multilevel regression) revealed that participating youth felt less hopeless (P=.02) and engaged in less self-blame (P=.03), rumination (P=.04), and catastrophizing (P=.03) following the SPARX intervention. However, participants did not show a decrease in depressive symptoms or an increase in formal resilience indicators. Preliminary results suggest that SPARX may be a good first step for supporting Inuit youth with skill development to regulate their emotions, challenge maladaptive thoughts, and provide behavioral management techniques such as deep breathing. However, it will be imperative to work with youth and communities to design, develop, and test an Inuit version of the SPARX program, tailored to fit the interests of Inuit youth and Elders in Canada and to increase engagement and effectiveness of the program. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05702086; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05702086.

‘Everybody needs to be on board’: Individual and organisational youth worker experiences of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy training and implementation in a multi-cultural Singaporean context

Despite growing knowledge of intervention outcomes associated with Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, practitioner-centred processes of training and implementation, especially involving social workers of the same organisation in a non-Western, Asian setting, remain research gaps. Over 1 year, using in-depth qualitative interviews with Singaporean youth workers to understand individual and organisational experiences of training and implementation, findings indicated that, chronologically and cumulatively, the combination of a formative training experience, individual implementation, and organisational and team experiences led to personal and professional development. This study has implications for youth workers to better understand the therapy individually and organisationally, thereby improving its long-term impact.

Predictors of Aggression, Disruptive Behavior, and Anger Dysregulation in Youths with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience difficulties related to aggression, disruptive behavior, and regulation of emotions that precipitate these behaviors (i.e., anger). The extent to which aggression, disruptive behaviors, and anger dysregulation are correlated with distinct or overlapping factors has not yet been explored. The present study examined whether aspects of participant demographics, individual youth functioning, caregiver stress, and family warmth contributed to youth aggression, disruptive behavior, and anger dysregulation. Participants were caregivers of 511 youths with ASD. Analyses revealed that significant proportions of variance in aggression, disruptive behaviors, and anger dysregulation were accounted for by shared variables pertaining to demographics, the individual youth, and caregiver stress. Implications of treatment and future research are discussed.