Positive Youth Development Constructs Research Articles

Beliefs in the future as a positive youth development construct: Conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development

This paper outlines the conceptual bases of 'beliefs in the future' as a positive youth development construct and the implications for curriculum development. Based on the concepts of hope and optimism, 'beliefs in the future' comprises (i) valued and attainable goals; (ii) the ability to plan goal-directed pathways and alternative ones in times of difficulties; (iii) positive appraisal of one's capabilities and efforts and (iv) positive and realistic expectancies of the future. With reference to the adolescents' cognitive advancement and developmental needs, as well as gender and cultural issues, ten units that promote beliefs in the future for Secondary 1-3 students in Hong Kong are designed in the Project P.A.T.H.S., supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. In the Secondary 1 curriculum, the goal of the units is to guide students to develop realistic and optimistic future orientation. In the Secondary 2 and 3 curricula, the goals of the units are to enhance students' optimistic future orientation as well as hopeful goal-directed thoughts and motivation in the aspects of academic achievement and future careers.

Emotional competence as a positive youth development construct: Conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development

This paper outlines the conceptual bases of 'emotional competence' as a positive youth development construct and the implications for curriculum development in junior secondary schools. In essence, 'emotional competence' includes (i) identifying personal feelings and those of others; (ii) managing emotional reactions and communication; and (iii) building self-managing strategies to cope with negative emotions and adversities. By considering adolescents' developmental progression, gender and cultural issues, eight units of positive youth development are designed in the P.A.T.H.S. Project, supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, to promote 'emotional competence' in Secondary 1 to 3 students in Hong Kong. In the Secondary I curriculum, the goals of the units are to develop student's awareness of their emotions and proper expression of them. In the Secondary 2 curriculum, the goals of the units are to enhance students' understanding of others' emotions and the importance of communicating emotions in relationships. In the Secondary 3 curriculum, the goal is to enhance students' adaptive coping strategies in the face of adversities.

Cognitive competence as a positive youth development construct: Conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development

This paper outlines the conceptual bases of "cognitive competence" as a positive youth development construct and the implications for curriculum development. Cognitive competence refers to the cognitive processes that comprise (i) creative thinking, which includes various creative thinking styles, such as legislative, global, and local thinking styles; and (ii) critical thinking, which includes reasoning, making inferences, self-reflection, and coordination of multiple views. Based on the adolescent development progression on cognitive competence, and with reference to Hong Kong Chinese context, six units are designed to promote creative and critical thinking for Secondary 1-3 students in the Project P.A.T.H.S., supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. In the Secondary 1 curriculum, the goals of the units are to enable students to recognize different but inter-related thinking styles and to apply these thinking skills to deal with daily life issues. The goal in the Secondary 2 curriculum is to enhance students' creative thinking skills to solve problems, whereas the goal in the Secondary 3 curriculum is to enhance students' critical thinking skills to accept beliefs and make decisions.

Spirituality as a positive youth development construct: Conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development

This paper outlines the conceptual bases of 'spirituality' as a positive youth development construct and the implications for curriculum development in junior secondary schools. In essence, spirituality embraces (i) connectedness with others that includes other people and a higher being, (ii) establishing personal beliefs and values, and (iii) the search of answers to the meaning of life. By considering adolescents' cognitive development and other developmental needs, gender and cultural issues, ten units of positive youth development programmes are designed to foster spirituality in Secondary 1 to 3 students in Hong Kong. These programme units constitute part of the P.A.T.H.S. Project supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. In the Secondary 1 curriculum, the goal of the units is to facilitate students to connect with other people and a higher being. In the Secondary 2 curriculum, the goals of the units are to help students reflect on their possessions in life and reevaluate the meaning of their life from people who experience great agony. In the Secondary 3 curriculum, the goals are to help students search for the meaning of life.

Social competence as a positive youth development construct: Conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development

Social competence as a positive youth development construct: Conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development

Positive identity as a positive youth development construct: Conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development

According to the theories of Erikson, Marcia, and Higgins, adolescents who can cultivate a clear and positive identity after their developmental struggles in adolescence often advance more smoothly into adulthood. Identity is organized, learned, and dynamic, and subjective evaluation of an individual's identity has emotional consequences for that individual. This paper discusses literature on the nature and importance of identity and presents strategies such as self-esteem enhancement, management of exploration and commitment, as well as reduction of self-discrepancies to help adolescents develop functional identity. Significant determinants of a person's identity development, namely gender and cultural issues, are also addressed as they are important in designing the "Positive Identity Development" package of Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes (P.A.T.H.S.), supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, to help adolescents develop a positive identity.

Self-efficacy as a positive youth development construct: Conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development

Self-efficacy denotes people's beliefs about their capabilities to perform in different situations. It functions as a multilevel and multifaceted set of beliefs that influence how people feel, think, motivate themselves, and behave. Self-efficacy beliefs are informed by enactive attainment, vicarious experience, imaginal experiences, social persuasion, as well as physical and emotional states. These beliefs are mediated by cognitive, motivational, affective, and selection processes to generate actual performance. Self-efficacy development is closely intertwined with a person's experiences, competencies, and developmental tasks in different domains at different life stages. This paper outlines the conceptualization of the construct and presents how its determinants are used in Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes (P.A.T.H.S.), supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, to help adolescents cultivate self-efficacy.

Prosocial involvement as a positive youth development construct: Conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development

Pro-social involvement programmes are significant and important for the healthy growth of adolescents as well as for the development of society. Pro-social involvement of adolescence refers to paid-job, volunteer works, sport and games. It serves the functions of making adolescents aware of and to accept the social norms and moral standard of the society, which would bring positive changes to the adolescents and consequently benefit the society as a whole. Past studies showed that adolescents who participated in pro-social involvement programmes tended to have positive self-perception, more social skills, and less anti-social behaviors. In Hong Kong, professionals in education and social services have fully recognized the benefits of pro-involvement programmes. They have organized multi-level and diverse pro-social involvement programmes and encouraged adolescents to participate. Through participation, adolescents could be helped to redefine their relationship with the society, and maximize their potentials for growth. The current programme described in this article is designed in the P.A.T.H.S. Project, support by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.

Resilience as a positive youth development construct: Conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development

Literature and research studies indicate that resilience is crucial for the healthy development of the adolescent. With the objective to enhance the level of resilience among Secondary 1 to 3 students in Hong Kong, a curriculum was designed to strengthen both the internal and external protective factors basing on the literature and practitioners' practice wisdom. Internal protective factors focus on problem-solving skills, emotional control and divergent thinking. One aspect of students' personal competence, i.e., the sense of humor and optimism, will also be targeted. This curriculum also aims to develop students' future-driven orientation so as to strengthen their ability to overcome everyday obstacles. Moreover, activities are included to help students recognize and improve two major external protective factors, i.e., family and school relationships. This article contributes to the formulation of a service construct and provides a direction for curriculum planning that assists adolescents to develop resilience through a change in individual and structural conditions. It has to be noted that other components of the Positive Youth Development Program would also benefit the students with increasing their level of resilience.

Prosocial norms as a positive youth development construct: Conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development

Prosocial norms are clear, healthy, ethical standards, beliefs, and behavior guidelines that promote prosocial behavior and minimize health risks. The promotion of prosocial norms like altruism, solidarity, and volunteerism is an important aspect of positive youth development programs. From the literature, it is evident that a prosocial orientation is encouraged in traditional Chinese philosophy. Longitudinal studies have shown that prosocial behavior increases gradually over adolescence, and that the development of prosocial behavior is closely linked to the development of moral reasoning, perspective taking, and regulation of personal distress. It is noteworthy that females have a higher prosocial orientation than males, and peer influence could be a major mediating factor of interventions to foster prosocial norms and behavior during adolescence. This review also analyzes the mechanism underlying prosocial behavior using the cost-reward model, social cognitive theory, and stages of moral development. Role modeling, social reinforcements and evaluations, discussion of moral dilemmas, empathy skills training, and foot-in-the-door procedures are identified as useful strategies for fostering prosocial norms and behavior.

Bonding as a positive youth development construct: Conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development

Extensive literature and research studies indicate that promotion of bonding is crucial for the healthy development of the adolescent. With the objective to enhance the level of bonding with peers, parents, and teachers among Secondary 1 to 3 students in Hong Kong, a curriculum was designed to promote specifically a deeper sense of trust and mutual respect with parents, teachers, and peers, as well as a careful selection of friends and a healthy development of relationships with the opposite sex. Through activities students will learn the skills of building positive relationships. This article contributes to the construction of a service construct and provides a direction for curriculum planning that assists adolescents to develop bonding with significant others.

Recognition for positive behavior as a positive youth development construct: Conceptual bases and implications for curriculum development

Recognition of positive behavior has gained momentum as the focal perspective in understanding the needs of growth and development among youth. Parents, teachers, youth workers, and other helping professions are encouraged to recognize the strength and potential of young people instead of merely attending to problem behaviors of the youth. Implementing the concepts and practice of recognizing positive behaviors involves both explicit, implicit or symbolic positive reinforcements. Effective recognition of positive behaviors involves the consideration and the combination of different reinforcement strategies that would help young people develop appropriate values and attitudes towards life. Within the Chinese culture, Hong Kong parents are very practical and place strong emphasis on academic achievement. Discipline is the most frequently used method to correct misbehaviors; whereas recognition of positive behaviors is rarely utilized. Consequently, curriculum design needs to encompass contents that help teachers, parents and students understand the importance of positive behaviors, and learn how to promote positive behaviors. The ultimate goal is to help young people internalize positive behaviors, develop a more positive self-perception and to be more active and pleasant in relating to others, and to feel that helping others is self-fulfilling and rewarding. The curriculum programme described in this article is designed for the PATHS-Project, supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.

Design of a Positive Youth Development Program in Hong Kong

The design of a positive youth development program in Hong Kong is outlined. Based on adolescent developmental issues observed in Hong Kong and the conceptual framework on positive youth development, a 2-tier program was designed. For the Tier 1 Program, it is a universal positive youth development program for students in Secondary 1 to Secondary 3 with the curricula developed by a research team comprising scholars from different disciplines (e.g., social work, psychology, and education). For the Tier 2 Program, it is a selective program targeting adolescents with greater psychosocial needs, developed by school social workers providing school social work service in the schools. With particular reference to the Tier 1 program, several principles are maintained in the design of the program. These include comprehensive coverage of positive youth development constructs, theoretical and empirical grounding of the program, holistic emphasis, focus on both adolescent development assets and problems, developmentally appropriate content, culturally relevant content, multi-year intervention, provision of proper and adequate training to the workers, and use of effective teaching methods in the delivery of the program.

Effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S.: Preliminary Objective and Subjective Outcome Evaluation Findings

There are two tiers of programs in the Project P.A.T.H.S. (Positive Adolescent Training through Holistic Social Programmes). In the Tier 1 Program, teaching units based on different positive youth development constructs are covered. Pre- and post-test data utilizing the Chinese Positive Youth Development Scale (CPYDS) and post-test subjective outcome evaluation data were collected from 546 students who participated in the 20h Tier 1 Program of the P.A.T.H.S. Project. Results showed that high proportions of the respondents had positive perceptions of the program and the instructors, with 85.3% of the respondents regarding the program as helpful to them. Positive changes in the program participants in many measures of positive youth development were also observed. Although there were some increases in problem behavior in some areas, adolescent problem behavior was generally stable. The present study provides preliminary support for the effectiveness of the Tier 1 Program of the Project P.A.T.H.S. in Hong Kong.

Impact of Adolescents' Perceived Self-Regulatory Efficacy on Familial Communication and Antisocial Conduct

The present study tested the hypothesis that perceived self-efficacy to resist peer pressure for high-risk activities is related to transgressive con- duct, both directly and through the mediation of open familial communi- cation. Adolescents rated their self-regulatory efficacy, openness of com- munication with parents, and their involvement in delinquent conduct and substance abuse. Results of structural equation modeling confirmed that a high sense of efficacy to ward off negative peer influences was accompanied by open communication with parents about activities out-