Support For Youth Research Articles

A systematic review of social support interventions for youth in foster care

BackgroundExperiencing foster care is associated with a range of negative outcomes in adulthood and identifying protective factors that can be leveraged by intervention efforts is crucial. Social support is one such factor that may have a positive benefit for this population. As such, this review aims to examine the breadth and quality of intervention studies which may be used to enhance social support for youth in foster care, as well as the types of support networks (e.g., family members) directly leveraged within interventions to promote social support. MethodsA systematic literature search was conducted across five databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Cochrane database, Scopus, and Web of Science). Included studies were written in English, present an original peer reviewed study on an intervention which may be used to enhance social support for youth in foster care, feature an experimental design, take place in the United States, include an examination of youth-specific social support, and include study participants school-aged and older. The quality of studies was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) guidelines. ResultsTen articles were included in the present review. The interventions discussed in the review included family finding and engagement efforts, skills training and mentoring programs, and a peer support group. Interventions varied in networks leveraged to promote social support; five involved family members and non-related adults, two used family members only, two included non-related adults only, and one involved peers. Studies also varied considerably in methodology used to assess social support. Six articles, representing four interventions, found evidence for interventions to positively impact youth social support. ConclusionsEvidence from the present review suggest that few experimental studies have been conducted on interventions to promote social support, and the included studies indicate that interventions vary considerably in program components, networks involved, and methodology used to assess social support. Though the literature is too limited to draw overarching conclusions and suggest promising models for future interventions, the findings highlight important gaps in the existing literature and provide useful guidance for future work. Future research should give careful attention to the networks utilized and methodology used to assess social support.

“I start to doubt whether any of my actions will matter”: youth activists’ experiences and expressions of the emotions associated with climate change

This study provides insights on the ways that youth express and process the emotions arising from their involvement in climate action. The specific objectives were to: (1) understand the ways youth come to know, conceptualize and reflect on climate change, (2) explore how youth’s emotions in response to climate change impacts their everyday lives; and (3) determine the modalities in which youth are expressing and processing such emotions. We used a grounded theory approach and the photovoice interview method to elicit participant’s views on climate-change-related emotions and interviews were analysed using qualitative data analysis software according to a grounded theory approach. The study resulted in identifying key themes, as well as supports for youth experiencing difficult emotions associated with climate change.

Child Welfare, Immigration, and Justice Systems: An Intersectional Life-Course Perspective on Youth Trajectories

This study explores how racialized migrant youth navigate Ontario’s child welfare, criminal justice, and immigration systems. Insights from youth, academics, practitioners, lawyers, policymakers, and social workers were gathered from a conference and contextualized using the Intersectional Life Course Theory and a critical phenomenological framework. Our analysis focuses on timing, locally and globally linked lives, social identities, and resilience, and emphasizes the interconnectedness of individual experiences within societal structures. We review systemic challenges and ethical dilemmas for young migrants, particularly concerns about fairness in potential inadmissibility or deportation consequences. We propose systemic support measures to foster resilience and disrupt adverse trajectories in order to mitigate discriminatory practices and provide targeted support for youth within these systems.

Considerations for Alternative Decision-Making When Transitioning to Adulthood for Youth With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Policy Statement.

With advances in medical care, more youth with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD) are transitioning into adulthood. Patient- and family-centered, integrated care is warranted around this time of transition. Support teams (including the youth, caregivers, teachers, and pediatricians) should engage in transition planning, ideally starting between 12 and 14 years of age, to identify and develop resources to support the maturing youth's capacity for independent decision-making. Care teams should consider the varied levels of alternative decision-making support, which may include supported decision-making, medical proxy decision-making, power of attorney, and/or establishment of legal guardianship arrangements, to support the youth's health and well-being optimally. Ultimately, if independent decision-making is not appropriate, the goal for youth with IDD should be the least restrictive alternative, while preserving human rights and human dignity and promoting their autonomy. These considerations review alternative decision-making support, concepts, and legal requirements available for youth with IDD and their care teams. Pediatricians can support youth with IDD and their families in the transition process and decision-making autonomy by actively engaging the youth in care decisions, supporting needs for augmentative communication, fostering their expression of preferences and understanding of care decisions, and linking them to resources such as the medical-legal partnership model.

Developing a Whole Child School Screening Instrument: Evaluating Perceived Usability as an Initial Step in Planning for Consequential Validity

We are developing the Equitable Screening to Support Youth (ESSY) Whole Child Screener to address concerns prevalent in existing school-based screenings that impede goals to advance educational equity using universal screeners. Traditional assessment development does not include end users in the early development phases, instead relying on a psychometric approach. In working to develop the ESSY Whole Child Screener, we are integrating a mixed methods approach with attention to consequential validity from the outset of measure development. This approach includes end users in measure development decisions. In this study, we interviewed a diverse sample of school staff (n = 7), administrators (n = 3), and family caregivers (n = 8) to solicit their perceptions of the usability of the initial draft of the ESSY Whole Child Screener. We identified three overarching themes: (1) paving the road for implementation of a whole child screener, (2) potential roadblocks to use, and (3) suggested paths forward to maximize positive intended consequences. Paving the road for implementation of a whole child screener includes subthemes related to alignment with existing initiatives, comprehensive yet efficient design, and potential positive consequences of assessing the whole child. Potential roadblocks to use includes subthemes of staff buy-in, family comfort with contextual screening items, teacher accuracy, and school capacity to provide indicated supports. Suggested paths forward to maximize positive intended consequences include clear and precise messaging to staff and families, optimizing instrumentation and data collection procedures, and strengthening connections to data interpretation and use. We discuss next steps in the design and testing of the initial measure as well as assessment development more broadly.

Два года СВО: динамика изменения отношения молодежи

The article presents results of a study of young people’s attitude towards the Special Military Operation (hereinafter – the SMO). Data from monthly measurements carried out from March 2022 to January 2024 by Levada Center (recognized as a foreign agent in Russia), as well as the results of two online surveys (n = 2872) and a series of focus group interviews of young people (n = 74) conducted in November 2022 and November 2023 by employees of the Department of Political Science of Saratov State University are analyzed. It turned out that young people assess what is happening more moderately than society as a whole. At the same time, the majority of young people still support the SMO itself, but the level of this support is significantly lower than that of representatives of older ages. The degree of approval of decisions to carry out partial mobilization and to include four new regions in Russia turned out to be below 50%. Regarding the preferred options for continuing the conflict, there are more young people who are in favor of starting peace negotiations with Ukraine. Possible reasons for more skeptical attitude of young people towards the SMO are formulated, i.e. age features of representatives of this social group; specificity of the conditions in which their political socialization took place (ideological vacuum at a certain stage was filled with Western values, some of which do not correspond to the national culture, traditions and mentality of Russians); features of media consumption by modern youth and imperfections in information support for the SMO by media resources loyal to the state government. One of the ways to improve the current situation is substantiated.

A study exploring the impact of unemployment on the psychological well‐being of youth

AbstractUnemployment is widely recognized to cause a variety of psychosocial problems that might have a harmful impact on mental health. The study looks into the psychological well‐being of youth and their personal experiences with the unemployment. This article draws on primary sources to provide an in‐depth understanding of the effects unemployment among youth in Anantnag, Kashmir. The primary data include narratives, which are a qualitative approach that specifically emphasizes the stories of those who were unemployed. To collect the data, a demographic form and an interview guide were used. An unstructured interview schedule was employed with 25 youths with ages ranging from 21 to 32 years. Data were collected from July to August 2023. Participants were selected using the snowball sampling method. All of the participants were from Anantnag, the district in Jammu and Kashmir. As per the findings of the study, unemployment causes youth to feel worthless, lose self‐identity, feel shame, and experience stress. Given the possible detrimental effects of youth unemployment, efforts should be made to increase psychological support for unemployed youth to address mental health issues.

The Role of the National Training and Development Curriculum for Foster and Adoptive Parents in Improving Caregiver Perceived Preparation and Confidence to Parent

ABSTRACTBeing a foster, relative or adoptive parent (herein referred to as ‘resource parent’) is a crucial but highly challenging role. Resource parent trainings are designed to build knowledge, skills, preparation and confidence in resource parents prior to beginning their support of children and youth. However, often resource parents go into these roles feeling unconfident and unprepared to fulfil their responsibilities. The National Training and Development Curriculum for Foster and Adoptive Parents (NTDC) is a new curriculum developed with support from the United States Children's Bureau. This study compares the perceived preparation, confidence and willingness to care for a variety of subgroups of children at baseline and 6 months after training of caregivers who participated in NTDC training curriculum versus training as usual to assess whether the NTDC curriculum led to improved caregiver preparation to foster or adopt. NTDC caregivers were found to have more positive differences than control group caregivers from baseline (pretraining) to follow‐up on confidence to care for children considered challenging, confidence to care for children across multiple age ranges and perceived preparation to care for children aged 13 years and older. NTDC is a promising new resource that can help overcome some traditional resource parent training and preparation‐related challenges.

Lived Experiences of Parenting Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Youth: Implications for Clinical Social Work Practice

AbstractTransgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) youth are the focus of media attention, policy and practice changes, and multidisciplinary research. Due to their disproportionate risk of self-harm, depression, and suicidality, family support of TGNC youth is a key focus. Despite growing community awareness, TGNC children, and their families, continue to navigate a complex myriad of challenges, including at an individual, family, community, and societal level. Parents are likely influenced by their child’s TGNC identity however little is known about how this parenting experience is perceived and navigated, with most research exploring the TGNC person’s perspective. Using qualitative photovoice methodology, this study explored the lived experience of raising a TGNC child from the parent perspective. Eight Australian parents of a TGNC young person aged between 10 and 18 years participated in an in-depth interview guided by their chosen photographs as the stimulus. Thematic analysis identified five key findings: 1. crossing the threshold: finding out and figuring it out; 2. changing and adapting; 3. same but different: attachment and family dynamic; 4. letting go and holding on; and 5. finding a path forward. Findings suggest complex psychosocial impacts on parenting. Recommendations include targeted support for parents that addresses grief, social isolation, career stress, and access to relevant information and services. Clinical social workers can play a vital role in supporting parents of TGNC children by providing trauma informed responses that recognise disenfranchised grief, acknowledge socioemotional impacts, and empower parents with appropriate resources to meet their needs, and those of their TGNC child.

Intersections of trauma and grief: Navigating multilayered terrain in music therapy to support youth through bereavement

Experiencing the death of a loved one as a young person is challenging in its own right, and underlying trauma can complicate one’s bereavement. With little available research exploring the intersections of trauma and grief, this paper aims to provide a foundational understanding of how trauma contexts and histories manifest in music therapy bereavement support programming for young people. Theoretical models that are culturally grounded, resource-oriented, and adopting an ecological, multisystemic lens are presented. The impacts of interpersonal trauma, trauma from systemic oppression, collective trauma, and intergenerational trauma are explored within the context of bereavement support. Diverse music therapy approaches to support the various trauma and grief intersections are shared. Lastly, reflection questions to support a culturally humble practice are offered for those committed to providing meaningful and socially conscious support for youth who have experienced trauma and loss. Given the high prevalence of trauma and death experiences among young people, all music therapists, regardless of clinical setting, would benefit from being trauma- and bereavement-informed.

Randomized Feasibility Pilot of an Executive Functioning Intervention Adapted for Children's Mental Health Settings.

The critical role of executive functioning in autism as well as the co-occurring mental health challenges common among autistic youth support to the immense value of interventions targeting executive functioning for enhancing mental health services for autistic children. The goal of the present study was to conduct a randomized feasibility trial of Unstuck and On Target, an executive functioning intervention, adapted for delivery in children's community mental health setting. Mental health therapists (n = 26) enrolled with participating autistic clients (n = 32) were randomized to receive training in and deliver the adapted Unstuck intervention or to deliver care as usual. We completed masked observational measures of Unstuck strategy use (fidelity) during recorded sessions of participating therapist-client dyads and collected measures of acceptability from participating clients and their caregivers. We also collected measures of pre-post changes in executive functioning and mental health symptoms. Therapists trained in Unstuck demonstrated significantly higher use of Unstuck strategies compared to usual care therapists. Caregivers and autistic clients perceive adapted Unstuck as highly acceptability and helpful. Autistic clients whose therapists were trained in adapted Unstuck demonstrated larger pre-post changes in executive functioning compared to usual care. Across all participating clients, changes in executive functioning were significantly related to changes in mental health symptoms. Finally, clients of therapists trained in adapted Unstuck demonstrated moderate improvements in overall mental health symptoms. The current study provides preliminary evidence of the feasibility and impact of Unstuck and On Target for children's community mental health settings.

“Supporting my daughter, the best way I can”: Parental support in youth golf

Burgess et al. (2016) emphasized the importance of parental support in youth sports as they provide financial, informational, and emotional support to the youth-athlete. Parents also play a “significant role in shaping youth sport experiences” (Sheridan et al., 2014, p. 198). Research around parental support has been conducted in sports such as tennis, gymnastics, and football. The aim of the present study was to examine the parents’ perspective of parental support in female youth golf, exploring how they support their female youth golfers, and if the support changes through their child’s development. Twenty-two semi structured interviews were conducted with parents (14 fathers, 10 mothers) of high-performance female golfers in the specializing or investment stages of Côté’s (1999) DMSP. Participants were recruited from six countries (England, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada). Using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2012) six higher order themes were identified, namely, parental support: emotional, practical, technical, financial, organizational, and reflective support. The results align with the grounded theory of parental support (Burke et al., 2023a) providing an insight into the parents’ perspective of providing support aligning with informational, emotional, and instrumental support of the theory. Furthermore, the current research presented novel findings regarding reflective support that parents provide. Findings highlighted that parental support changed depending on temporal differences (place in the golf season) and their daughter’s development. The present research reinforces the need to provide support programs for parents based on their needs, rather than programs designed from a governing body or coaches perspective. Lay summary: Parents perspective of parental support and associated temporal changes were explored in female youth golf. Six themes of support were identified: emotional, practical, technical, financial, organizational, and reflective support. Changes in parental support were dependent on their daughter’s development (level of maturity or level of play) and the time of year differences.

"I am still human and worth a life:" a qualitative study of the impacts of a community based, peer-led, treatment support model for young adults living with HIV in Zimbabwe.

A persistent treatment gap remains between children and adults living with HIV. The Zvandiri program, developed by Africaid, is one of the few models of differentiated service delivery for children, adolescents, and youth that has been shown to improve outcomes along the HIV care continuum, employing Community Adolescent Treatment Supporters (CATS) to offer peer counseling and patient navigation. Our qualitative study provides an in-depth analysis of the feelings and experiences Zimbabwean youth had following an HIV diagnosis, and the ways that CATS facilitated linkage and retention in care. We conducted in-depth interviews in Shona with adolescents and young adults who were recently diagnosed with HIV in Zimbabwe. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and then translated to English. Interviews were coded in Dedoose using a structured a priori codebook. We wrote semi-structured summary memos for each interview. We co-conducted thematic analysis, guided by interpretive phenomenology with a team of Zimbabwean and American experienced qualitative researchers and community partners. We co-developed memos to elaborate and understand key themes across interviews. Most of our interview participants recounted an immediate sense of loss upon testing HIV positive and a fear that "there was no hope for the future." CATS played a pivotal role for youth, providing emotional, educational, and logistical support to facilitate treatment initiation, adherence, and persistence in care. The CATS program supported youth through multiple approaches: group sessions, individual meetings, and via text or phone. While CATS offered counseling and comfort to participants, they emphasized the long-term importance of identifying at least one other person in participants' lives who could know their status and support them around HIV. Our findings delineate some of the key concerns that face youth after receiving an HIV diagnosis and the ways that a community-based adherence peer navigation program supported participants to navigate both their feelings and the health care system. Results can inform practice at community-based agencies that are implementing or considering peer youth navigation programs and garner support for policy to fund interventions for youth.

Surviving crisis after crisis: strengths and gaps in support for Syrian refugee families living in Lebanon

PurposeAs host to over one million Syrian refugees, Lebanon continues to experience challenges addressing the needs of refugee families. This research examined the experiences of Syrian families with the refugee support system in Lebanon. The purpose of this study was to better understand the strengths and gaps in existing mechanisms of support for these Syrian families, including informal support from family, neighbors and community and more formalized support provided through entities such as nongovernmental organizations and United Nations agencies.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 46 families displaced by the war and living in Lebanon (N = 351 individuals within 46 families). Collaborative family interviews were conducted with parents, children and often extended family.FindingsThe data identified both strengths and gaps in the refugee support system in Lebanon. Gaps in the refugee support system included inadequate housing, a lack of financial and economic support, challenges with a lack of psychosocial support for pregnant women and support for disabled youth. Despite these challenges, families and community workers reported informal community support as a strong mediator of the challenges in Lebanon. Furthermore, the data find that organizations working with Syrian families are utilizing informal community support through capacity building, to create more effective and sustainable support services.Originality/valueThis study provides an overview of strengths and gaps in supports identified by refugees themselves. The research will inform the development and improvement of better support systems in Lebanon and in other refugee–hosting contexts.

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.

Increasing access to mental health supports for 12–17-year-old Indigenous youth with the JoyPop mobile mental health app: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundIndigenous youth in Northwestern Ontario who need mental health supports experience longer waits than non-Indigenous youth within the region and when compared to youth in urban areas. Limited access and extended waits can exacerbate symptoms, prolong distress, and increase risk for adverse outcomes. Innovative approaches are urgently needed to provide support for Indigenous youth in Northwestern Ontario. Using a randomized controlled trial design, the primary objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the JoyPop app compared to usual practice (UP; monitoring) in improving emotion regulation among Indigenous youth (12–17 years) who are awaiting mental health services. The secondary objectives are to (1) assess change in mental health difficulties and treatment readiness between youth in each condition to better understand the app’s broader impact as a waitlist tool and (2) conduct an economic analysis to determine whether receiving the app while waiting for mental health services reduces other health service use and associated costs.MethodsA pragmatic, parallel arm randomized controlled superiority trial will be used. Participants will be randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to the control (UP) or intervention (UP + JoyPop) condition. Stratified block randomization will be used to randomly assign participants to each condition. All participants will be monitored through existing waitlist practices, which involve regular phone calls to check in and assess functioning. Participants in the intervention condition will receive access to the JoyPop app for 4 weeks and will be asked to use it at least twice daily. All participants will be asked to complete outcome measures at baseline, after 2 weeks, and after 4 weeks.DiscussionThis trial will evaluate the effectiveness of the JoyPop app as a tool to support Indigenous youth waiting for mental health services. Should findings show that using the JoyPop app is beneficial, there may be support from partners and other organizations to integrate it into usual care pathways.Trial registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05898516 [registered on June 1, 2023].

How can the Values and Ethics of Youth Work be Shared among Practitioners and with the Society? – A Challenge for the ‘Story Practice’ in Japan

ABSTRACT This study attempted to answer the question of how to share the values and ethics of youth work among practitioners and with policymakers, funders, and society. Although social interest in youth support in Japan has been on rise recently due to the increase number of difficulties surrounding young people, the ‘ethics and values’ in practice and in the field can be driven by the neoliberal social and political trends present in our society. This study presents a way to resist and counter the penetration of neoliberal practical ethics and organisational management through the process of visualising, sharing and legitimising the ‘practical ethics and values’ embedded in the fields where youth work has been developed with young people. This is the research-based practice of ‘practitioners collectively telling, writing, sharing, and communicating the stories of practice’.

The financial and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth with eating disorders, their families, clinicians and the mental health system: a mixed methods cost analysis

BackgroundThe onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse impact on children, youth, and families with eating disorders (EDs). The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing personal and financial costs to youth, caregivers, and health professionals accessing or delivering ED services. The objectives of this mixed methods study were to (1) understand the indirect, direct medical and non-medical costs reported by youth, caregivers, and clinicians; (2) understand how the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted these costs, and (3) explore implications of these costs with regards to barriers and resources to inform future decisions for the ED system of care.MethodsYouth (aged 16–25 years) with lived/living experience, primary caregivers, clinicians, and decision-makers were recruited with support from various partners across Canada to complete group specific surveys. A total of 117 participants responded to the survey. From those respondents, 21 individuals volunteered to further participate in either a discussion group or individual interview to provide additional insights on costs.ResultsYouth and primary caregivers reported costs relating to private services, transportation and impacts of not attending school or work. Additionally, primary caregivers reported the top direct medical cost being special food or nutritional supplements (82.8%). In discussion groups, youth and caregivers elaborated further on the challenges with long waitlists and cancelled services, impact on siblings and effect on family dynamics. Clinicians and decision-makers reported increased work expectations (64.3%) and fear/isolation due to COVID-19 in the workplace (58.9%). Through discussion groups, clinicians expanded further on the toll these expectations took on their personal life. Approximately 1 in 3 health professionals reported contemplating leaving their position in 1–2 years, with greater than 60% of this group stating this is directly related to working during the pandemic.ConclusionsFindings demonstrate the need for increased support for youth and caregivers when accessing ED services both during crisis and non-crisis times. Additionally, attention must be given to acknowledging the experience of health professionals to support better retention and resource management as they continue to navigate challenges in the health care system.

Impact of social support on the resilience of youth: mediating effects of coping styles.

Chinese youth are at high risk for depression with a significantly higher detection rate of depression risk than other age groups, which brings about a huge challenge to the mental health work of universities. Developing supportive resources that promote resilience against adverse environmental influences in high-risk groups is quite more urgent than medical treatment for firm diagnoses of mental issues that have developed into depression in the current background. A total of 665 university students in China completed self-reported questionnaires measuring psychological resilience, social support, and coping styles. The structural equation model testing on the goodness of fit of the theoretical framework was first performed. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation analysis among social support, resilience, and coping styles were then conducted. At last, we tested the mediating role of coping styles. Social support has a significant positive effect on the psychological resilience of the youth. Mixed coping and immature coping styles have significant negative impacts on both social support and resilience, while mature coping styles have a significant positive effect on social support and resilience. Mature and immature coping styles mediate the association between social support and resilience in youth. Based on stress theory, this study explores mechanisms that facilitate the development of resilience in young people with regard to social support and coping styles. The current research depicts an interventional perspective of building a social support network that guides the youth to adopt mature coping styles to enhance their resilience and facilitate their mental health.

Factors Limiting Credit Uptake among the Youth in Kenya

Purpose: This study explores the factors limiting credit uptake among Kenyan youth, a demographic comprising about 75% of the country's population yet facing high unemployment and barriers in accessing credit to start businesses.
 Methodology: The study employed a qualitative design using semi-structured interviews with 20 Kenyan youth entrepreneurs (ages 18-35) who sought credit, and four focus groups with 6-8 diverse participants. Purposive sampling recruited participants who pursued credit within the past two years. Thematic analysis identified themes from the inductively coded interview and focus group data. Ethical protocols were followed. Validity and reliability were enhanced through triangulation, member checking, maintaining an audit trail, and strategies to minimize bias.
 Findings: The inadequate funding by easily accessible credit services such as the Hustler Fund is one of the notable impediments hindering the youth from starting small-scale business enterprises. Other barriers include stringent borrower age, business operational lifespan, and employability and minimum wage limit eligibility criteria.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study recommends government partnerships with private lenders, relaxed eligibility criteria for youth, credit guarantees or collateral support, expansion of low-risk credit products, and initiatives to build youth's banking histories. These recommendations integrate theoretical perspectives on financial literacy, social influences, and individual or systemic factors shaping credit behaviors. The study contributes to practice by proposing context-specific interventions tailored to Kenyan youth. Policy-wise, it aims to empower this valuable economic resource by improving credit access and harnessing their entrepreneurial potential.