Role In Youth Development Research Articles

Parenting Practices and Psychosomatic Complaints Among Swedish Adolescents.

Objectives: Parent-adolescent relationships play a crucial role in youth development. This study examines the associations between parenting practices (parental support, knowledge, and rule-setting) and psychosomatic complaints across middle and late adolescence. Methods: The study utilised data from a Swedish national cohort (n = 3,678). Participants completed self-report questionnaires in 2017 (∼15-16years) and again in 2019 (∼17-18years). Results: Parental support exhibited the strongest and most consistent inverse cross-sectional associations with psychosomatic complaints during both middle and late adolescence. Furthermore, increases in parental support and parental knowledge were associated with decreases in adolescent psychosomatic complaints. However, parental support and knowledge at age 15-16 were not prospectively associated with psychosomatic complaints at age 17-18. Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of ongoing parental engagement, particularly in terms of providing constant support, throughout middle and late adolescence.

Public Theology, the Church and Youth Development in Ghana

The article is an examination of theological insights that Public Theology provides for the development of young people in Ghana. The article argued that the church is strategically positioned to make significant responses to contemporary challenges confronting youth development through its Public Theology. The study affirmed that the churches provide spiritual guidance, Christian education, entrepreneurship programmes, support systems and youth-focused ministries which help the youth to develop a sense of purpose and a strong moral compass such as integrity, compassion and social responsibility. The young people however face the challenge of unemployment, moral decadence, social neglect, relationships and the effects of corruption. The study recommends that through its theological resources, the church must play a vital role in youth development by paying attention to the socialization processes of the youth at home, church and school. Moreover, attention must be paid to mentoring which facilitates the process of discovering the right persons for leadership, entrepreneurship, social transformation and advocacy for young people to be empowered to make significant contributions to church growth and nation building. Keywords: African Christianity, Public Theology, Youth Development

Pivoting in a complex society: Religious congregations’ role in youth development and workforce outcomes

The future of work around the world centers on preparing youth to navigate globalization, automation, and migration. This preparation typically includes both hard and soft skills centered on the ability to pivot their skillsets and engage in various work, cultural, and social settings in the future workplace. Understanding the limitations of school systems and many family units, this study focused on religious congregations as possible facilitators of youth preparation for the global new reality in both local and national workforces. This exploratory study surveyed clergy and youth leaders (N = 108) in Philadelphia (United States) regarding congregational youth preparation for a seemingly simultaneously globalizing and nationalizing society. The results indicate a gap between the perception of youth's preparation for a global society and congregations' actual programs. We recommend that religious congregations reorganize to help youth navigate and prepare for their future work and involvement in a global society at the local level.

Bidirectional Links Between Sibling Aggression and Victimization

ABSTRACT Research evaluating the deleterious effects of negative sibling dynamics has been limited, likely due to social acceptance of sibling conflict. This is a notable omission in the literature, as siblings play a major role in youth development. The current study sought to advance the literature by longitudinally examining the bidirectional links between sibling aggression and victimization. Further, anger dysregulation was examined as a potential moderator of these links. Youth (n = 323, M = 9.28 years; 55% male) completed measures at baseline and 6 months later. Sibling reactive, not proactive, aggression was associated with increases in both sibling physical and relational victimization. There were marginally statistically significant trends for sibling relational victimization to be associated with increases in sibling reactive aggression and for sibling physical victimization to be associated with decreases in sibling proactive aggression. No moderating effects of anger dysregulation were evident. Consistent with the peer relationship literature, results clearly indicate that reactive aggression toward sibling puts youth at increased risk for victimization from siblings, suggesting that reactive aggression among siblings is one target of prevention to reduce risk for subsequent victimization. Thus, aggression and victimization among siblings is important to address.

Pivoting in a Complex Society: Religious Congregations’ Role in Youth Development and Workforce Outcomes

Pivoting in a Complex Society: Religious Congregations’ Role in Youth Development and Workforce Outcomes

Youth and Gang Violence in African Townships: Exploring the Link to Exclusion from Recreational Facilities

Research shows that recreational facilities play a pivotal role in youth development, including reducing levels of delinquency and taking the youth off the streets where they are vulnerable to many social ills. However, in South Africa, it appears that many poor African townships have been excluded from accessing this fundamental human right. This article discusses the experiences of youths from Nyanga in the Western Cape and Bophelong in Gauteng, who perceive to have been excluded from accessing well-resourced recreational facilities. Principally, the article explores the way in which this exclusion has influenced youth gang violence. The article adopts an exploratory, qualitative approach to obtain an in-depth understanding of the participants’ perceptions of the topic. Face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions were conducted and the data were analysed using the data analysis approach developed by Tesch. The findings show that relevant youth development practitioners have excluded African youths from fully and actively participating in recreational activities. As a result, many of the youths are idle and this has increased their vulnerability to gangs and problem behaviour. The findings also show that there is a link between youth, troubled behaviour, and exclusion from recreational facilities. A conclusion is that well-resourced recreational facilities can help reduce youth gang involvement in marginalised communities. It is recommended that relevant youth development practitioners provide infrastructure and recreational services to offer marginalised youths alternatives to engaging in gangs and violence.

Identifying Salient Stressors of Adolescence: A Systematic Review and Content Analysis.

Stressors play a defining role in youth development and, in particular, in adolescent psychological and behavioral adaptation. However, the nature of stressors experienced during adolescence has not been reviewed or investigated comprehensively. To bridge this gap, this investigation conducted a systematic review of adolescent stressors reported in the literature (Study 1, N = 18 studies) and a content analysis of self-reported stressors (Study 2, N = 1,568 adolescents, Mean age = 15.5 years, 41.5% female adolescents). The results converged in the identification of negative stressors (i.e., health issues, parental conflicts, issues with parents, teachers, peers or friends, romantic issues, concerns about the future and school) and positive stressors (i.e., leisure time, finding oneself, school or other accomplishments, social acquisitions, receiving help, romance and friendship, birth and good time in the family), which are highly occurring and highly intense among adolescents. Overall, these findings can guide researchers and practitioners towards developing efficient stressors measures, integrative theories on adolescent stress and development, as well as effective interventions targeting specific stress processes in the domains of education, criminology and psychopathology.

Changes in developmental assets across a 4-month competitive season among youth basketball players

Abstract The present study examined the changes in developmental assets among young basketball players during a 4-month competitive period, accounting for variation by age group. Additionally, we examined the age-related variation on developmental assets. Sixty-five adolescent basketball players aged between 9.5 to 17.3 years were considered. We used the Portuguese version of the Developmental Assets Profile Questionnaire. Multilevel modeling was used to estimate the magnitude of changes on developmental assets across the 4-month competitive season, as well as aligning assets scores by chronological age. Positive values and positive identity scores were substantially increased after the 4-month competitive sample. The other assets scores showed no variation across the competitive 4-month competitive season, independent of age group. There was a trend of linear decrease in developmental assets as the adolescent players got older. For positive values, there was a non-linear trend with a higher decrease rate between about 10 to 14 years, levelling off thereafter. Developmental assets did not appear to be influenced by exposure to a period of organized training and competition among adolescent basketball players. Hence, the observed decrease on developmental assets when aligning by age may reflect the influence of contextual and cultural environments of practice. This is of particularly interest for positive values, which refer to school engagement or and social justice, qualities that are not sport-specific but assume a key and importance position in sport participation for a positive role in youth development.

Longitudinal Associations Between Sibling Relational Aggression and Adolescent Adjustment.

Sibling relational aggression is an important but understudied dimension of sibling relationships that has potential implications for adolescents' adjustment. This study examined the longitudinal associations between being the target of sibling relational aggression and adolescent adjustment (i.e., depressive symptoms, risky behavior, self-worth, and romantic competence) among younger and older siblings over a three-year period in adolescence. The moderating roles of birth order, sibling gender, and sibling dyad gender constellation also were tested. Participants were 196 European American adolescent (firstborn-secondborn) sibling pairs who were 16.47 years (SD = 0.80) and 13.88 years (SD = 1.15) of age, respectively, at the onset of this study. Data were collected separately from each sibling during home interviews. Multilevel models revealed that being the target of sibling relational aggression was associated with all four adjustment outcomes at the between-person level, and with risky behavior and romantic competence at the within-person level. However, some of these effects were moderated by sibling dyad characteristics. Although often overlooked in the literature on adolescence, sibling relationship dynamics play a key role in youth development and adjustment.

Social Agents’ Influence on Self-Perceived Good and Bad Behavior of American Youth Involved in Sport: Developmental Level, Gender, and Competitive Level Effects

Significant social agents are thought to play a vital role in youth development (Brustad, Babkes, & Smith, 2001). The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) commissioned a nationwide survey to examine the effect significant social agents had on youth sport behavior. In Phase I, initial data were collected and results were published in the Journal of Coaching Education (2011). The results of the previous analyses were largely descriptive, and further analyses were desired. Therefore, the current study (Phase II) is a secondary but more in-depth data analysis of the initial data collected by the USADA. Phase II analyses (n = 3379, Mage = 12.23, SD = 2.78) revealed that youth sport coaches have the greatest positive influence on youth followed closely by parents, but all of the significant social agents, to different extents, were seen as more positive than negative by youth. Results varied by developmental level, gender, and competitive level. Results, limitations, and practical implications are discussed.

How School Social Workers Integrate Service Opportunities into Multiple Elements of Practice

This article reports the results from a research study regarding how school social workers extend opportunities for students to volunteer, serve others, or contribute to their communities and how social workers engaged students in service activities within their roles. The results are one part of the findings of a large research study on the role of youth development in strengths-based school social work. Results indicate that school social workers refer students to existing service opportunities; facilitate service projects and clubs; and create an array of individualized opportunities for students to help peers, younger students, adults, or the community. Examples are provided. Social workers observed that students who participated in service developed more protective and promotive factors such as self-esteem, friendships, and confidence. Students also gained familiarity with the social worker and felt more comfortable going to him or her for help with crises. The findings suggest that integrating youth development principles into school social work practice is a powerful application of the strengths perspective and an important way to build resiliency. Youth development activities such as service can also be conceptualized as tiered interventions within a response to intervention and positive behavioral interventions and supports system.

Examining Ways in Which Youth Conferences Can Spell Out Gains in Community Youth Development and Engagement

With student outcomes increasingly becoming associated witht est scores, schools are less able to dedicate themselves to helping students learn how to become engaged and active participants in a democracy. As a result, other community based organizations have stepped in to help students acquire the sense of agency, belonging, and competence—known as the "A, B, C’s" of youth development—that research has shown to be crucial for youth to become contributing citizens. Drawing on survey, interview and observational data, this paper considers how two such organizations give students an opportunity for personal development, while providing youth with leadership skills and opportunities to engage in their schools and communities. This research suggests that in addition to the traditional "A, B, C’s," it may be beneficial to consider aspects of diversity—proposed here as "D"—that play an important role in youth development, as well as the synergy of all four components of youth development that result in positive student outcomes.