Youth Programs Research Articles

Enhancing dietary adherence among African-American adolescents: the role of parenting styles and food-related practices.

Parenting styles (PSs) and food-related parenting practices (FPPs) play a crucial role in shaping adolescent eating behavior. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the different PSs and FPPs of African-American families and the frequency of consumption of MyPlate food items by adolescents based on recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). This study used a cross-sectional design. Data collection was conducted using Qualtrics through an online survey of 211 African-American parents and their adolescents aged 10-17-year-old. Adolescents completed the Youth and Adolescent Food Frequency Questionnaire to assess their dietary behavior, while parents filled out the survey to identify the degree of PSs (i.e., authoritative, authoritarian, setting rules, and neglecting) and FPPs (i.e., monitoring, reasoning, copying, and modeling). Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, Wilcoxon rank-sum test, and stepwise logistic regression were performed to determine the answers to the research questions. For fruit consumption, authoritative parenting significantly reduced the likelihood of adherence to DGA, while authoritarian, monitoring, and reasoning practices increased it. Female adolescents were more likely to meet fruit intake recommendations, with a similar positive impact observed for those whose parents had above high school education. In vegetable intake, authoritarian and monitoring practices positively impact on adherence to DGA, whereas setting rules had a detrimental impact. Being in a married household also increased vegetable intake DGA adherence. For grain consumption, reasoning was a significant positive predictor, while setting rules negatively impacted adherence. Dairy DGA adherence was positively impacted by monitoring and copying practices, but negatively impacted by female gender. Protein intake showed a positive association with reasoning and parental education. Our findings confirm the importance of parenting in developing desired eating behaviors among African-American adolescents. The results of this study can be used to develop culture-based nutritional education programs for parents and youth.

Aboriginal youth mentoring: a pathway to leadership

This article shares findings from evaluating a mentoring programme for Aboriginal youth on Yorta Yorta (an Aboriginal Tribal nation, north-eastern Victoria and Southern New South Wales, Australia) Country. This work is positioned in First Nations worldviews that are relational and require deep listening to youth, mentors, Elders, Country, and Ancestors. Applying a qualitative participatory action research design, methods involved attending camps on Country and research Yarning Circles. The findings demonstrate that Aboriginal mentoring programmes need to be led in their delivery and evaluation by First Nations peoples. This ensures that the programmes are culturally embedded in First Nations worldviews and that important interpretations of meanings are not overlooked. On Country experiences are a place for healing and learning. Country is a stakeholder in Aboriginal mentoring programmes. A trusting mentoring relationship creates a space where youth become part of an Aboriginal community, and where they feel strong in their identity.

Recommendations for Modernizing a Culturally Grounded Substance Use Prevention Program for American Indian and Alaska Native Youth.

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth use alcohol and drugs at a higher rate with earlier onset than the overall youth population in the United States. Youth interventions are needed to support the prevention and reduction of substance misuse-related issues. Connecting AI/AN children to their heritage through culturally grounded prevention programs has been shown to be more effective than programs designed for the general population. The objective of this formative evaluation was to provide community-informed updates for an existing culturally grounded substance use prevention program, The Beauty Way. This study was conducted in partnership with an AI/AN-serving community organization using key informant interviews and talking circles with community members and parents. Participants revealed the challenges and obstacles AI/AN youth face, the impact of cultural values, and activities which engage youth to prevent problematic substance use. Recommendations include the importance of 1) incorporating current challenges to behavioral health such as social media and vaping, 2) including cultural values and activities including land-based learning, and 3) creating a robust facilitator guide and hiring culturally sensitive program staff. These results generated recommendations to strengthen the cultural focus and application of The Beauty Way for AI/AN youth.

Exploring Program Process at Movimiento La Libertad: Examining Nuances of Youth Programs That Develop Latinx Critical Consciousness Toward Educational Injustice and Anti-Immigrant Politics

ABSTRACT In the midst of political attacks on public schools to prevent discussions on social injustice and Latinx youth culture, there are after-school programs that nurture Latinx youth critical consciousness and social justice activism. This study uses agencies of transformational resistance (ATR) as a framework to explore one after-school program’s organizational processes that foster Latinx critical consciousness and social justice activism. Using semi-structured interviews, the data revealed the (a) curriculum, (b) pedagogy, and (c) co-conspirators are three organizational processes that nurtured Latinx youth critical consciousness. This study contributes to the critical youth development scholarship by highlighting nuances of three program processes of one Latinx youth afterschool program in an urban city in Iowa. This study suggests afterschool programs afford Latinx with organizational processes that nurture their critical consciousness. The Midwest, and specifically Iowa, have a growing Latinx population that is understudied.

Development and validation of an early diagnosis model for bone metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer based on serological characteristics of the bone metastasis mechanism

Bone metastasis significantly impact the prognosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, reducing their quality of life and shortening their survival. Currently, there are no effective tools for the diagnosis and risk assessment of early bone metastasis in NSCLC patients. This study employed machine learning to analyze serum indicators that are closely associated with bone metastasis, aiming to construct a model for the timely detection and prognostic evaluation of bone metastasis in NSCLC patients. The derivation cohort consisted of 664 individuals with stage IV NSCLC, diagnosed between 2015 and 2018. The variables considered in this study included age, sex, and 18 specific serum indicators that have been linked to the occurrence of bone metastasis in NSCLC. Variable selection used multivariate logistic regression analysis and Lasso regression analysis. Six machine learning methods were utilized to develop a bone metastasis diagnostic model, assessed with Area Under the Curve (AUC), Decision Curve Analysis (DCA), sensitivity, specificity, and validation cohorts. External validation used 113 NSCLC patients from the Medical Alliance (2019-2020). Furthermore, a prospective validation study was conducted on a cohort of 316 patients (2019-2020) who were devoid of bone metastasis, and followed-up for at least two years to assess the predictive capabilities of this model. The model's prognostic value was evaluated using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Through variable selection, 11 serum indictors were identified as independent predictive factors for NSCLC bone metastasis. Six machine learning models were developed using age, sex, and these serum indicators. A random forest (RF) model demonstrated strong performance during the training and internal validation cohorts, achieving an AUC of 0.98 (95% CI 0.95-0.99) for internal validation. External validation further confirmed the RF model's effectiveness, yielding an AUC of 0.97 (95% CI 0.94-0.99). The calibration curves demonstrated a high level of concordance between the anticipated risk and the observed risk of the RF model. Prospective validation revealed that the RF model could predict the occurrence of bone metastasis approximately 10.27±3.58 months in advance, according to the results of the SPECT. An online computing platform (https://bonemetastasis.shinyapps.io/shiny_cls_1model/) for this RF model is publicly available and free-to-use by doctors and patients. This study innovatively employs age, gender, and 11 serological markers closely related to the mechanism of bone metastasis to construct an RF model, providing a reliable tool for the early screening and prognostic assessment of bone metastasis in NSCLC patients. However, as an exploratory study, the findings require further validation through large-scale, multicenter prospective studies. This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO.81974315); Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission Medical Innovation Research Project (NO.20Y11903300); Shanghai Municipal Health Commission Health Industry Clinical Research Youth Program (NO.20204Y034).

Extension Services-237: Everything You Need to Know

The Extension Services-237 (ES-237) is a report of University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension that consists of statistics for youth ages 5–18 participating in UF/IFAS Extension youth programs and the volunteers providing service to these programs. Family Nutrition Programs (FNP) are the only youth Extension programs that are exempt from ES-237 reporting. In Florida, an annual ES-237 report is completed for each UF/IFAS Extension County office based off total 4-H enrollments entered into 4-H Online. County reports are compiled into a single state report and submitted to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Physical activity and sedentary behavior among school-going adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: insights from the global school-based health survey.

The Global School Student Health Survey (GSHS) is being carried out by students in various countries across the globe to advance improved health programs for youth. However, in comparison to high-income countries, adolescents in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are generally at an early stage of understanding regarding physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB), often exhibiting low levels of PA and high levels of SB. Furthermore, there is limited evidence connecting PA and SB in school-going adolescents from LMICs. The objective of this review was to synthesize the available evidence regarding PA and sedentary behavior among school-going adolescents in LMICs using data from the GSHS. On March 18, 2023, a systematic literature search was performed across four electronic databases, namely Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and EBSCO with n odaterestrictions. Studies were eligible if they: (1) utilization of data sourced from the Global Student-based Health Survey; (2) exploration of physical activity; (3) specific focus on adolescents; (4) conducted in low- and middle-income countries; (5) study design encompassing observational; (6) published as English journal articles. Among the 29 studies included in the analysis, the majority revealed elevated levels of sedentary behavior and diminished levels of PA in low- and middle-income countries. Furthermore, notable disparities in physical engagement and sedentary behavior were noted between male and female adolescents (p < 0.001). Augmented PA among teenagers was observed to correlate with higher consumption of vegetables and fruits (AOR = 1.30; 95% CI [1.13-1.50]; p < 0.001), decreased alcohol consumption, and a reduced prevalence of loneliness and depression (aOR 1.37, 95% CI [1.18-1.59]). The results of this review affirm that in contrast to high-income countries, adolescents in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are in the early stages of comprehending physical activity, marked by low levels of PA. Physical activity and sedentary behavior in school-going adolescents from LMICs appear to be influenced by factors such as policies, cultural norms, socioeconomic conditions, as well as gender, and age.

Weekly links among irritability and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in high-risk youth.

Previous studies demonstrate a link between irritability and suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) in youth samples. However, they have mostly assessed irritability in community samples and as a largely dispositional (i.e. trait-like) construct. Thus, it remains unclear to what extent links between irritability and STBs reflect within-person processes of elevated risk in clinically meaningful time periods. The present study used clinical data from 689 adolescents aged 12-19 years attending a total of 6,128 visits at a specialty Intensive Outpatient Program for depressed and suicidal youth to examine patterns in weekly assessments of irritability and STBs throughout treatment, including associations among trends and fluctuations departing from these trends via multilevel structural equation modeling. Youth completed self-report measures of irritability, depression, and STBs weekly as part of standard IOP clinical care. Overall, two-thirds of variance in weekly irritable mood was accounted for by between-person differences and the remaining portion by weekly fluctuations. After controlling for depression, during weeks when youth were more irritable they experienced increased STBs. Rates of change in irritability and STBs tended to track together at early stages of treatment, but these effects were generally accounted for by depression severity. Our results suggest that although changes in STBs are best accounted for by depression, irritability can be understood as a specific, proximal risk factor for youth STBs that exacerbates youth STBs in clinically informative timeframes above and beyond depression.

“To Use This Word … Would Be Absurd”: How the Brainwashing Label Threatened and Enabled the Troubled-Teen Industry

From the early 1960s to the early 1990s, a range of concerns about “brainwashing” in youth reeducation programs obfuscated professional and political discourse, influencing key outcomes that shaped the development of the troubled-teen industry in the United States. The most significant historical developments related to this controversy involved three different youth programs. In response to accusations of “brainwashing,” program executives created elaborate counterarguments and public-relations campaigns. Instead of working to address inherent risks associated with therapeutic reeducation, the brainwashing label obscured the potential for harm and enabled an unethical teen program industry.

Acceptability and feasibility of a short-term group therapy for people with borderline personality disorder symptoms.

This study evaluated the acceptance, feasibility and safety of a short-term group program for adults (18 years and older) and youth (16 to 18 years) with borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms. Termed Road Maps, the content and development were informed by common treatment factors identified from evidence-based therapies for BPD. Two-hundred and eight people consented to participate in the research trial and completed baseline measures. Intervention participants rated the acceptability and subjective experience of the group. Attrition rates informed feasibility, and serious adverse events were tracked to identify potential harms. Participant post-group ratings of the group's acceptability and subjective experience were above average across both adult and youth populations. Attrition rate after commencement of group was 38% for adults and 27% among youth. The incidence rate of emergency department presentations was reduced by 41% in the 6 months post-group, relative to 6 months pre-group. The current study provides preliminary support for the acceptability and feasibility of a short-term group therapy program for people with a diagnosis of BPD. Road Maps may be a useful intermediate intervention in a broader model of stepped care. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, https://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12622000849796.aspx, (ACTRN12622000849796).

No Matter Your Age, "It's Your Life, It's Your Choice": Compulsory Persuasion and Informal Rehabilitative Support in Youth and Adult Intensive Supervision Programs.

Although existing literature identifies that public protection and risk reduction are the primary goals of intensive supervision programs (ISP), little is known about how or whether rehabilitation of high-risk offenders is prioritized outside of enforcing court-mandated conditions. Using qualitative semi-structured interviews and focus groups within two Canadian metropolitan ISPs, our study explores how rehabilitative support is offered to youth and adult high-risk offenders in the absence of formal conditions. Using the framework of late-modern rehabilitation and compulsory persuasion, we draw on themes of offender responsibilization and coercion to interrogate the provision of informal rehabilitative support. Our findings indicate that officers negotiate "voluntary agreements" with select high-risk offenders, which hierarchicalizes them into two groups: those worthy of informal support and those who "choose" not to want to rehabilitate. We also find that youth and adults are treated similarly despite substantive differences between the types of crimes committed.

Upstarts T3: An Asynchronous and Cohort-based Entrepreneurship Train-the-Trainer Program

UpStarts is a reverse-mentoring youth program designed to foster an entrepreneurial mindset among participants and a sense of connection between youth and adults. Effective facilitators are critical to the success of the program. This paper describes an asynchronous, cohort-based virtual train-the-trainer (T3) program for potential UpStarts facilitators that was developed to navigate the challenges posed by the COVID pandemic. Participants of the initial UpStarts T3 program reported positive feedback for the training and a high sense of efficacy in implementing UpStarts in their communities. The current T3 model is emerging as a promising means of preparing facilitators to implement UpStarts.

The relations between growth mindset, motivational beliefs, and career interest in math intensive fields in informal STEM youth programs.

Past research has shown that growth mindset and motivational beliefs have an important role in math and science career interest in adolescence. Drawing on situated expectancy-value theory (SEVT), this study extends these findings by investigating the role of parental motivational beliefs (e.g., expectancy beliefs, utility values) and parent growth mindset in math on adolescent career interest in math-intensive fields (e.g., mathematics, computer science, statistics, and engineering; MCSE) through adolescent motivational beliefs in math. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model using data from 290 adolescents (201 girls, 69.3%; Mage = 15.20), who participate in informal STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) youth programs, and their parents (162 parents, 87.7% female) in the United Kingdom and the United States. As hypothesized, adolescent expectancy beliefs, utility values, and growth mindset in math had a significant direct effect on MCSE career interest. Further, there was a significant indirect effect of parental expectancy beliefs in math on MCSE career interest through adolescents' expectancy beliefs. Similarly, there was a significant indirect effect from parental utility values in math to MCSE career interest through adolescents' utility values. The findings suggest that parents' math motivational beliefs play a critical role in adolescent math motivational beliefs and their career interest in math-intensive fields.

The value of outdoor environmental education programs for girls and youth of color: cultivating positive dispositions toward science and the environment

Outdoor environmental education (OEE) programs can provide a valuable entry point for youth of color and girls who may have felt excluded and/or marginalized from traditional science learning experiences. This study investigated: (1) Can OEE programs contribute to the development of positive dispositions toward science and the environment?, and (2) Are there differences in effects by racial/ethnic and gender identity, or interactions thereof? Youth (n = 457; grades 4-6, approximate ages 9-12) reported their dispositions toward science and the environment along 5 scales before and after participating in OEE programs. Results found growth across all subscales for youth overall. Girls showed stronger effects than boys, and youth of color showed stronger effects than White youth. Girls of color showed particularly strong growth in Comfort in Nature. The implications of these results, particularly as a challenge to long-standing biases and inequities in the field, are discussed.

Exploring Firearm Access, Carriage, and Possession among Justice-Involved Youth.

Firearm carriage and possession predicts youth firearm violence victimization and perpetration. This study describes self-reported factors associated with firearm access, carriage, and possession among justice-involved youth. We conducted an exploratory, mixed-methods study. Participants were recruited from May 2022 to February 2023 from the Juvenile Justice Collaborative, a diversion program for justice-involved youth. We used online anonymous surveys to investigate exposures related to firearm access, carriage, and possession. We performed semi-structured interviews using the phenomenology framework. We used descriptive statistics to examine firearm exposures by participant demographics. We performed qualitative analyses using an iterative approach with constant comparison to identify key themes. We completed 28 surveys and 5 interviews. Most survey participants identified as male (57%) and Black (61%) with a median age of 18 years. Interview participants described the socialization and cultural normalization of firearms, most prominently among peers. Survey participants reported whether they had ever carried (25%) or possessed (21%) a firearm. Survey and interview participants endorsed protection in the context of increasing violence exposure over time as the primary motivation for firearm possession. Interview participants describe accessing firearms primarily through social networks while survey participants also reported access from strangers (25%) and licensed sellers/gun dealers (18%). In conclusion, justice-involved youth believe firearm carriage and possession may be needed for protection due to increasing violence exposure. Further investigation is necessary to determine interventions that may decrease firearm access, carriage, and possession among justice-involved youth.

Appropriateness and use of civic engagement, advocacy, and behavior change techniques in environmental education across the United States

Recent research suggests that many environmental education (EE) programs for youth in the United States focus on meeting educational standards rather than using civic engagement and advocacy techniques to promote environmental literacy. We distributed a survey to members of several EE organizations to identify which civic engagement, advocacy, and behavior change techniques a sample of EE providers feel are appropriate to use for youth at different developmental stages (grades 4–5, grades 6–8, and grades 9–12), as well as the extent to which they use them. Educators rated many techniques as less appropriate and were less likely to use them with younger age groups. We also conducted an appropriateness/use analysis to identify techniques that were deemed highly appropriate but were not used as often. The techniques related to civic engagement and advocacy for diversity, equity, and inclusion appeared underutilized. Implications of these findings for policy and practice are discussed.

Estimating the effect of intergroup contact over years: evidence from a youth program in Israel

AbstractWe study how an intervention combining youth intergroup contact and sports affects intergroup relations in the context of an active conflict. We first conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of one-year program exposure in Israel. To track effects of a multiyear exposure, we then use machine-learning techniques to fuse the RCT with the observational data gathered on multiyear participants. This analytical approach can help overcome frequent limitations of RCTs, such as modest sample sizes and short observation periods. Our evidence cannot affirm a one-year effect on outgroup regard and ingroup regulation, although we estimate benefits of multiyear exposure among Jewish-Israeli youth, particularly boys. We discuss implications for interventions in contexts of active conflict and group status asymmetry.

239 Promoting Health Equity in South Los Angeles: A Place-Based Initiative in the Nickerson Gardens Housing Development

OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Partnering with the Housing Authority of Los Angeles, we launched a place-based initiative in the Nickerson Gardens housing development in South Los Angeles, where we apply our community engagement approach of listening and learning, and trust and relationship building, to deliver public health interventions in a discrete community. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Nickerson Gardens is the largest housing development in Los Angeles, with 1,066 units and over 3,000 residents. 58% and 40% of the residents are Hispanic and Black/African American respectively with an average yearly income of less than $30,000. To build trust and establish relationships, our team began attending community events, holding weekly educational workshops, and participating in the summer program for youth. We also held listening sessions in English and Spanish that asked aboutthe overall health of the Nickerson Gardens community, environment and public space, access and barriers to care, needed healthcare services, and the lived experience within Nickerson Gardens. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: To date, we have held eight 90-minute listening sessions in English and Spanish with 59 participants. The sessions provided insight into theneeded health and educational resources and services, the organizational structure of the housing development and how that impacts access to information and services, as well as the nuanced and area-specific transportation issues and the connection to safety concerns. These findings will inform the next phase of this initiative which includes convening a Coordinating Council composed of service providers and Nickerson Gardens residents. This council will oversee the coordination and implementation of needed services, help maintain accountability of the providers, and offer residents the opportunity to take ownership of the process. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Academic-community partnerships are an effective strategy to deliver public health interventions and promote health equity in under-resourced communities. We tested and measured impact in a distinct community to reinforce a widely-applicable place-based model.

Comparison of Retro Marketing in the Heritage building case studies: M Bloc Space and the Pos Bloc Space in Jakarta, Indonesia

The renovation of historic buildings in Jakarta now has a new approach by including youth programs. In the Post Bloc building, the central concept is that young people still remember the presence of the Post office. In the former Peruri official residence building, the Blok M area where the M Bloc space building is located can add to the lives of young people. A marketing business approach is also included so businesses that occupy this historic building can sell well. Namely the retro marketing approach. This paper will discuss two retro marketing approaches for these new youth places, M-Bloc Space and Pos Bloc in Jakarta. The Data is collected by surveying and interviewing; they draw and digitalize it to analyze both buildings well. The Research Methodology used is Qualitative, with case studies comparison. This paper aims to know the retro Marketing ideal in heritage buildings to make Adaptive reuse inside sustainable. In conclusion, this paper is expected to be useful for other cities to revive historical areas and facilities in their cities with a business approach imitating the success of M Bloc Space and Pos Bloc Space.

Improving Access to Care Through Youth-Focused Virtual Sexual Health Navigation

PurposeGender and sexually diverse adolescents and young adults in Baltimore City, Maryland, are disproportionately impacted by HIV. The Virtual and Online Integrated Sexual Health Services for Youth program is a health navigation program which combines virtual sexual health service delivery and health navigation to link youth at risk for HIV acquisition to HIV testing/prevention and sexual healthcare services. MethodsYouth between 13 and 26 years old and residing in the Baltimore area were eligible to participate in the program. Demographic and engagement data from 238 youth (average age 21.4, SD = 2.5) who requested navigation were collected and recorded in a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-secure medical database and examined for associations between demographics, referral source, and the number of navigational services to which they were linked. Focused populations were defined as residents of high HIV prevalence zip codes who identify as sexual and gender diverse youth. ResultsReceipt of navigational services was significantly associated with self-identifying as sexually diverse. A multivariate regression revealed a significant association between the count of navigational services a youth was linked to and recording one's sexual orientation, identifying as a cisgender male, and residing in a high HIV-prevalence zip code. DiscussionVirtual health navigation has the potential to engage priority populations, including sexual and gender diverse youth. By refining linkage and identification approaches to health navigation, future outreach attempts can be tailored to support vulnerable communities, with the potential to improve sexual healthcare access.