Low-income Youth Research Articles

Aggregated Impact Of Locally Implemented SNAP-Ed Programming On Physical Activity In Michigan Youth

Equity in physical activity engagement is a critical issue. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) reaches low-income youth, with physical activity as one of the key foci. In Michigan, SNAP-Ed includes locally relevant programs selected and implemented by community organizations. Consistent evaluation is conducted across programs. PURPOSE: To evaluate state-level change in physical activity and sedentary behaviors of Michigan youth who receive locally relevant SNAP-Ed programming selected and implemented by community-based organizations. METHODS: Participants were youth (grades 4th-8th) receiving SNAP-Ed programming that included evidence-based interventions with a physical activity component. Youth received a physical activity questionnaire pre- and post-intervention. Participant data were matched based on demographic indicators, and data were aggregated at the state-level. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables of interest, and Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests were used to compare differences pre- and post-intervention for physical activity and sedentary behaviors (i.e. weekday hours spent watching TV). RESULTS: Participants included 1,899 youth (grades 4th-8th) from SNAP-Ed programming delivered through 15 different community organizations across Michigan. The majority of participants were Caucasian (65.0%) and non-Hispanic (86.5%), and approximately one-half were male (49.9%). A statistically significant increase was found for the number of days that youth self-reported being physically active for at least 60 minutes pre- and post-intervention (pre: 4.18±2.13; post: 4.43±2.05; p<0.000), and a statistically significant decrease was found for the number of hours youth reported watching TV on a weekday pre- and post-intervention (pre: 1.76±1.55; post: 1.66±1.49; p=0.012). CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of locally relevant SNAP-Ed programming selected by community organizations can positively impact physical activity and sedentary behaviors. Future research should explore commonalities amongst locally relevant programs to identify key implementation characteristics for greatest impact and progress toward equity.

Participatory action research to address aging out of LGBTQ-supportive youth programs in Chicago

LGBTQ-supportive youth programs provide access to critical resources and social support in identity-affirming environments. In Chicago, Illinois, an informal network of LGTBQ-supportive youth programs in the city’s white, middle-class, gay enclave, Boystown, draws predominately low-income youth of color from across the city who seek emergency shelter, housing, educational assistance, mental health counseling, space to build community with peers, and more. Upon their 25th birthday, however, these young people are abruptly “aged out” of LGBTQ-supportive youth programs, often with little preparation and few safety nets to support their transition into adulthood. Aging out has been examined in other service contexts (e.g., foster care); rarely, however, has it been examined among youth accessing LGBTQ-supportive programs. This article draws on applied thematic analysis of qualitative data from focus groups with young people ages 20-29 (n = 26) and interviews with service providers (n = 10) collected via youth participatory action research to examine how young people experience accessing and aging out of LGBTQ-supportive programs in Chicago. Findings highlight a lack of scaffolding for youth as they age out and extremely limited safe and affirming resources for LGBTQ adults. Recommendations are provided to better support young people in their transition out of LGBTQ-supportive youth services and into adulthood.

Positive youth development in the context of household member contact with the criminal justice system

This study addresses recent calls for investigations of within-group variability and resilience among youth with justice-involved family members by examining the nature and correlates of positive youth development (PYD) among adolescents who have experienced the arrest of a household member. Using data from the Mobile Youth Survey, a community-based study of risk and resilience among predominantly African American and low-income youth, we use linear mixed models to examine how individual, family, and community factors contribute to positive youth development and to identify associations between PYD and indicators of internalizing symptoms and delinquent behaviors. Results suggest that maternal warmth, parental monitoring, participation in religious activities, sense of belonging at school, and neighborhood connectedness were positively associated with PYD. Results further suggest that positive youth development is inversely associated with internalizing symptoms and delinquency. Findings underscore the importance of adopting a positive youth development lens in research on adolescents with justice-involved family members and suggest the value of developing interventions that not only reduce problems but that also capitalize on and foster youth assets.

Spillover Effects of Job Skills Training on Substance Misuse Among Low-Income Youths With Employment Barriers: A Longitudinal Cohort Study.

Objectives. To examine spillover effects of job skills training (vs basic services only [e.g., adult basic education, job readiness training]) on substance misuse among low-income youths with employment barriers.Methods. Data came from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997, a longitudinal cohort study of youths born between 1980 and 1984 in the United States. Based on respondents' reports of substance misuse (past-month binge drinking and past-year marijuana and other illicit drug use) from 2000 to 2016, we estimated substance misuse trajectories of job skills training (n = 317) and basic services (n = 264) groups. We accounted for potential selection bias by using inverse probability of treatment weighting.Results. Compared with the basic services group, the job skills training group showed notable long-term reductions in its illicit drug misuse trajectory, translating to a 56.9% decrease in prevalence rates from 6.5% in year 0 to 2.8% in year 16.Conclusions. Job skills training can be an important service component for reducing substance misuse and improving employment outcomes among youths with economic disadvantages and employment barriers.

Observed staff engagement predicts postive relationships and well-being in a physical activity-based program for low-income youth

Positive youth development (PYD) programs aim to support long-term well-being in young people by building their strengths and assets. PYD program staff are pivotal in achieving this goal, as positive staff-youth interactions are associated with well-being in youth. Much of this research relies on youth perceptions of interactions with staff. A better understanding of how observed staff behaviors are associated with youth outcomes would provide guidance for developing interventions regarding effective staff behaviors. This study examined associations between observed staff behaviors and youths' perceptions of their relationships with staff and well-being. Participants were recruited from a summer physical activity-based PYD program for underserved youth. Staff (N = 24, 16 women, 8 men) were observed by researchers to evaluate their engagement, interaction, safety, and support behaviors. Youth from diverse backgrounds (N = 394; 47% girls, 53% boys; Mage = 10.20; 44% Latino/a) completed measures of their perceptions of relationships with staff (mutual respect, autonomy support, and care), and well-being (hope, self-esteem, and social competence) at the end of the program. Structural equation modeling indicated that observed staff engagement positively predicted youth perceptions of their relationships with staff and well-being. Youth perceptions of positive social relationships with staff also positively predicted their well-being. Staff who create opportunities for youth to reflect and respond to program activities are perceived as valuing, making genuine connections, and considering the opinions and feelings of youth. Developing ways to enable staff to build relationships with youth that include these features is an important avenue for future research.

Organizações não governamentais como elo entre a universidade e o mercado: uma análise por meio do projeto arrastart

O objetivo deste artigo é explorar como uma parceria entre uma ONG e uma empresa do setor privado pode ajudar a impulsionar o empreendedorismo social, com base na utilização de tecnologias digitais, em universidades de massa, voltadas para o ensino de jovens de baixa renda. Justifica-se a partir dos movimentos mundiais relacionados a criação de startups dentro de universidades brasileiras, e a relevância destas para a geração de receitas, já que práticas que atendem jovens de periferia voltadas à sua realidade social, ainda são escassas. A contribuição teórica deste artigo está em coadjuvar o entendimento de como se dá o processo de alavancagem de startups em ambientes universitários com o apoio de ONGs. No que tange os aspectos metodológicos, foi realizada uma pesquisa exploratória, de natureza qualitativa e descritiva, por meio de um estudo de caso utilizando-se de análise documental, observação participante, entrevistas com professores e gestores da ONG, baseadas em roteiros semiestruturados, e um grupo focal com alguns universitários beneficiados pelo programa. Os resultados relevaram que a ausência de transparência na transmissão das informações, bem como as diferentes compreensões sobre os objetivos a serem alcançados com o projeto se constituem como barreiras que devem ser consideradas na fase inicial do projeto haja visto a possibilidade de seus resultados terem efeito contrário do esperado.

“Good Social Media?”: Underrepresented Youth Perspectives on the Ethical and Equitable Design of Social Media Platforms

This study investigates underrepresented youths’ perspectives on social media design and how these may inform the development of more ethical and equitable social media apps. In contrast to the tradition of universal design in the field of human–computer interaction, this study centers difference to investigate how users’ perspectives and expectations, shaped by their identities, help determine the affordances of social media and their ethical implications. Twenty-five in-depth interviews and youth-guided “think aloud” social media tours were carried out with a diverse range of young people from underrepresented groups. Findings illustrate how young people perceive and experience empowering and disempowering aspects of social media design. Interviewees expressed a palpable sense of underrepresentation in the digital technology design sector and noted several ways in which design elements of social media can exacerbate a sense of inadequacy. The negative implications of user profile design and popularity rating systems that encourage conformity were found to be of particular concern for low-income youth, youth of color, and other underrepresented groups. However, our findings also illuminate youth perspectives on how social media can sometimes serve as a tool to counter negative stereotypes and build social capital. The analysis includes concrete suggestions from underrepresented youth for more ethical and equitable social media design.

Association between the sleep environment and sleep problems in low-income Latinx youth

ABSTRACTThis study examined the association between the sleep environment and sleep disturbances in 44 low-income Latinx youth. Participants reported an average of 2.10 past-week ambient sleep disruptions. Most participants slept in a bed (89%) and at home (93%) seven nights out of the previous week. Past-week ambient sleep disruptions were cross-sectionally associated with insomnia symptoms, daytime sleepiness, bedtime fears/worries, and symptoms of restless legs syndrome. Longitudinal analyses showed a positive association between ambient sleep disruptions and insomnia symptoms and between fewer nights sleeping in a bed and symptoms of restless legs syndrome. Assessing the sleep environment can inform comprehensive interventions.

The Food Allergy Management in Low Income Youth (FAMILY) Study: A family-centered approach to improving anaphylaxis knowledge and childhood food allergy management skills.

The Food Allergy Management in Low Income Youth (FAMILY) Study: A family-centered approach to improving anaphylaxis knowledge and childhood food allergy management skills.

Promoting Civic Knowledge and Political Efficacy Among Low-Income Youth Through Applied Political Participation

Studies indicate growing disparities in youth civic knowledge and political efficacy based on socioeconomic status, parental educational attainment, and race. Most studies of youth political participation focus on the effect political efficacy and civic knowledge have on political participation. Few report on the effect political participation has on political efficacy and civic knowledge. This article describes an intervention that coupled civic literacy workshops with applied political participation to increase the civic knowledge and political efficacy of low-income, ethnically diverse high school students. Over three years, 47 high school students enrolled in Upward Bound participated in a six-hour civic literacy workshop. Upon conclusion of the workshop, students spent a day meeting with legislators and attending legislative hearings. Results indicate increases in political efficacy and significant increases in civic knowledge among the youth after both the workshop and the visits with elected officials.

Socioeconomic Disparities in Vape Shop Density and Proximity to Public Schools in the Conterminous United States, 2018.

We conducted an environmental justice assessment examining the distribution of specialty vape shops in relation to where minority and low-income youth live and attend school. We collated and examined the density of vape shops in public school districts in 2018 throughout the conterminous United States using geographic information systems. We calculated the proximity of vape shops to public middle and high schools through nearest neighbor analysis in QGIS software. We examined the statistical relationships between the density of vape shops in school districts, and proximity to schools, with the proportion of racial/ethnic minorities and those living in poverty. We found that vape shops are more densely distributed, and are in closer proximity to schools, in school districts with higher proportions of Asian and Black or African American populations. However, vape shops were further away from schools in school districts with higher proportions of the population in poverty. The proximity and higher density of vape shops in relationship to schools in Asian and Black or African American communities may result in disproportionate health impacts due to greater access and exposure to vape products and advertisements. Our results may help school district administrators prioritize and target efforts to curb youth vaping (e.g., health education curricula) in these school districts with high density and closer proximity of vape shops to schools. Policy efforts, such as local ordinances restricting the promotion and sale of vaping products close to schools, could help prevent disproportionate human and environmental health impacts to minorities.

Defining Their Right to the City: Perspectives from Lower-Income Youth

In their desire to revitalize their cities, local government leaders actively promote private development without equal attention to the ways all residents—and not just those with financial means—live their daily lives. To the lower-income teenager with little spendable money, the privatization of public spaces, the lack-of-funding driven demise of public pools and recreation centers, curfews that limit the times when teens can be out, posted restrictions on where they can be and what they can do while there, and not infrequent negative interactions with law enforcement make cities seem almost hostile. Using qualitative data collected through interviews in 2014 and 2018, this article discovers how teenagers perceive their right to the city. The words of the adolescents make clear that their vision of a just city includes not only the fair use of physical spaces but also a place that gives them the right to mature into healthy, well-educated, and financially secure adults.

Neighborhood Profiles and Associations with Coping Behaviors among Low-Income Youth.

Extant research has typically examined neighborhood characteristics in isolation using variable-centered approaches; however, there is reason to believe that perceptions of the neighborhood environment influence each other, requiring the use of person-centered approaches to study these relationships. The present study sought to determine profiles of youth that differ in their perceptions of their neighborhoods and objective neighborhood characteristics, and whether these profiles are associated with youth coping. Participants were low-income, African American youth (N= 733; 51.0% female, M age = 18.76 years, SD = 1.71) from a metropolitan city who were originally recruited for the Youth Opportunity program in Baltimore, Maryland. A latent profile analysis was conducted which included self-reported neighborhood social cohesion, collective efficacy, disorder, violence, and disadvantage derived from census data. Coping behaviors, specifically positive cognitive restructuring, problem-focused coping, distraction strategies, and avoidant behaviors were assessed via self-reported questionnaires. Four neighborhood profiles were identified: highest disorder (20.0%); highest violence/highest disadvantage (5.2%); high violence (26.6%); and highest cohesion/lowest disorder (48.2%). Individuals in the highest violence/highest disadvantage profile reported higher positive cognitive restructuring and problem-focused coping than the other profiles. These findings warrant an investigation into the individual assets and contextual resources that may contribute to more positive coping behaviors among youth in more violent and disadvantaged neighborhoods, which has the potential to improve resilient outcomes among youth in similar at-risk settings.

Are My Pants Lowering Your Test Scores? Blaming Girls and Girls’ Empowerment for the “Boy Crisis” in Education

Drawing on participatory research in a high school implementing single-sex classes, this article demonstrates how single-sex education masks racialized economic inequality by framing low academic achievement among low-income youth of color as a function of gender, thereby scapegoating girls for a supposed “boy crisis” in education. We demonstrate this with data collected by and from students, as well as from educators and parents, delineating how girls of color were held accountable for boys’ sexual and even academic behavior. We argue that this misattribution of blame succeeds by capitalizing on entrenched gender roles that cast girls/women as responsible for boys/men and on neoliberal rhetoric trumpeting postfeminist, commercialized “girl power” and the virtue of personal responsibility. We focus particularly on how girls’ supposed newfound empowerment is folded into the long-standing discourse of girl blame by posing girl power as a problem for boys.

What Counts?: A Qualitative Study of Adolescents' Lived Experience With Online Victimization and Cyberbullying.

To inform development of cyberbullying interventions that are both accurate and meaningful to all adolescents, this qualitative analysis examines experiences of online peer victimization among a sample of predominately minority and low-income youth. Adolescents ages 13 to 17 years who reported past-year cyberbullying on a previously validated survey were recruited from an urban pediatric clinic to complete semistructured interviews. Interview topics included definitions of cyberbullying, prior cyberbullying experiences, and strategies to reduce cyberbullying and its consequences. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Using thematic analysis, study team members applied both structural and emergent codes to transcripts. Saturation was reached after 23 interviews (mean age 14.8 years; 65% female, 47.8% Hispanic, 35% Black, 74% low socioeconomic status). Four main themes emerged: 1) Teens avoided the term "cyberbullying," due to its association with suicidality and severe depression; they preferentially described experiences (even those meeting criteria for repetition, power differential, etc.) as "online conflict". 2) In-person bullying categories (bully, victim, bully victim, bystander) apply to online conflict. Few identify purely as victims. 3) Cyberbullying is part of a larger continuum of peer violence, including physical fights and in-person bullying. 4) Teens want to help victims of cyberbullying; they desire more guidance in so doing. These youth rarely acknowledge presence of cyberbullying; instead, they describe online conflict as part of a larger spectrum of peer violence. Clinicians may consider prevention of a range of conflict-related behaviors (rather than focusing exclusively on cyberbullying), and may consider engaging adolescent bystanders in prevention of online conflict.

Cardiac autonomic functioning and post-traumatic stress: A preliminary study in youth at-risk for PTSD

The identification of robust, psychophysiological markers of trauma-related distress is critical for developing comprehensive, trauma-informed, mental health assessments for youth. Thus, the present study examined the clinical utility of cardiac autonomic balance (CAB) and cardiac autonomic regulation (CAR), two composite indices of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. We hypothesized that CAB/CAR would more reliably index post-traumatic stress (PTS) responses compared to measuring the parasympathetic (i.e., respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA) and sympathetic (i.e., pre-ejection period; PEP) nervous systems in isolation. Our sample was comprised of 88 diverse, low-income youth (40.9% African-American and 36.4% White; 60.5% girls; Mage = 12.05 years; SDage = 1.57) who are at increased risk for adversity-exposure. RSA and PEP were measured during a 5-minute baseline period and 5-minute parent-child conflict discussion task. Adolescent-caregiver dyads completed a clinician-administered measure of the youth's lifetime trauma-exposure and current PTS. CAB represented the difference between RSA and PEP, while CAR was the summation of RSA and PEP. Analyses revealed that sympathetically-oriented CAB reactivity uniquely (a) indexed PTS, especially in the context of elevated trauma, and (b) distinguished between those with and without PTSD. Findings highlight the translational promise of using physiological markers that account for the balance between the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system.

Conceptions of distance education and financial mathematics from an onto-historical understanding

Mathematics as a system of knowledge organized in distance education, in continuous expansion is applied in almost all disciplines of knowledge, is aimed at stimulating the development of cognitive skills, as well as analytical and critical skills, whose importance lies in the theory of value, seeks to discover manifestations to the development of the capacity for self-determination, collective autonomy and solidarity. The research was developed under the mixed paradigm, supported by a historical-dialectical and quantitative approach of confirmatory factor analysis, having as key informant’s managers, tutors, graduates and students of different programs of distance education. His ontology from the nature of the reality, was to generate a theoretical and didactic approach from the onto - historical understanding of financial mathematics in the trajectory of programs in distance education. The results obtained show that there is a significant relationship between the modality, the critical dialogical approach in the teaching of financial mathematics and technology. It is concluded that the conception of distance education is determined as an opportunity to be professional, for low-income youth who live in vulnerable areas, and have labour commitments. The structural model identifies factors, motivation, human relationships and resources, associated with the conception and development of cognitive skills in financial mathematics

The benefits of an afterschool music program for low-income, urban youth: The music haven evaluation project.

This study was an evaluation of an afterschool music program that serves primarily low-income, urban children, and adolescents. The evaluation examined academic and nonacademic outcomes through a mixed-method design. Focus group participants included 10 parents/caregivers and 8 youth. Focus groups yielded several themes regarding academic and nonacademic (musical skills, responsibility/discipline, self-efficacy, empowerment, social competence, and family bonding) benefits of involvement with the program. An annual questionnaire for the program was created based on these themes. Fifty-three parents/caregivers completed the questionnaire and rated their children highly on all outcomes. The independent t tests revealed that lower-income students were rated higher on responsibility/discipline than higher-income students and that those children who attended the program more than three times per week were rated higher on responsibility/discipline than those who attended less. Implications of these results, particularly the need for increased access to afterschool music programs for low-income youth, are discussed.

South African adult caregivers as "protective shields": Serving as a buffer between stressful neighborhood conditions and youth risk behaviors.

Low-income youths in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, face elevated risks to their well-being from exposure to neighborhood conditions correlated with engaging in risky behaviors. These risks can be mitigated through adult caregivers who serve as protective shields, buffering adverse conditions. However, this protective role is dependent on the caregivers' mental health and well-being. This secondary analysis uses baseline data from 475 child-caregiver dyads in an HIV-prevention program to examine the mediating effects of caregiver mental health on the relationship between neighborhood conditions and child risk-behaviors. Multivariate analyses identify the direct and indirect effects of neighborhood stressors and caregiver mental health on child risk-behavior. Findings suggest that caregivers mitigate the impact of neighborhood conditions on their children, but caregivers' mental health is directly affected by neighborhood conditions. Therefore, caregivers' mental health and well-being must be considered key elements in developing youth risk-behavior interventions.

P162 EFNEP Nutrition Education Outcomes for Low-Income Youth in Los Angeles County

Objective To improve youth nutrition knowledge and behaviors by implementing and evaluating the USDA Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). EFNEP teaches youth how to develop healthy eating habits, increase physical activity, and practice safe food handling. Use of Theory or Research School-based nutrition education programs have demonstrated effectiveness in improving dietary habits and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption. Research shows that low-income communities suffer from higher rates of pediatric obesity. Target Audience Low-income youth (ages 5-18) in Los Angeles County. Program Description Trained nutrition educators implemented a six-lesson nutrition class series in schools, after-school programs, or summer programs. Alternately, nutrition educators trained and supported teachers or agency-paid staff to implement the lesson series. Classes were typically held once a week for one hour. The curriculum used varied by grade-level; all curriculum was developed and tested by the University of California and collaborators. Evaluation Methods Randomly selected program participants completed pre/post lesson evaluations. Four separate evaluation tools were used to evaluate students across grade levels. National EFNEP designed and tested the evaluation tools. Results In Federal Fiscal Year 2107/2018 Los Angeles EFNEP graduated 6,761 youth, and selected 1,295 participants to evaluate. Eighty-one percent of evaluated youth improved their abilities to choose foods according to Federal Dietary Recommendations or gained knowledge, 42% improved their physical activity practices or gained knowledge and 44% used safe food handling practices more often or gained knowledge. Improvements were greatest for 9th-12th grade youth, where 99% improved in one or more core area. K-2nd grade youth experienced lower results: 80% improved in one or more core area. Conclusions Los Angeles EFNEP is successful in improving the nutrition, physical activity and food safety knowledge of urban low-income youth. Improvements in knowledge appear to be greater for older youth; more research is needed to determine if these differences are significant. This research has implications for future nutrition education program development including effective targeting of health education topics by grade level. Funding None.