Supportive Adult Relationships Research Articles

A Multigroup Structural Equation Modeling Approach for Analyzing Differences Among Sexually Diverse Youth

ABSTRACT High rates of negative behavioral health outcomes among sexually diverse (SD) youth are consistently documented, but population-level trends obscure within-group differences. Social dynamics intersect in youths’ lives in ways that cannot be accounted for by summing their independent effects. An intersectional perspective is essential to understanding the behavioral health outcomes of SD youth. We performed multigroup structural equation modeling using an SD subset of New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (N = 10,037) respondents to examine the moderating role of supportive adult relationships for lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth across 12 intersecting (sexual orientation by race/ethnicity by sex) identity categories. Standardized estimates show that supportive relationships are associated with moderate reductions in psychological distress among lesbians (β = –0.459 for Native, β = –0.303 for Hispanic, and β = –0.421 for white) and female bisexual youth (β = –0.352 for Native, β = –0.376 for Hispanic, and β = –0.393 for white). Among male youth, supportive relationships are associated with reduced likelihood of substance use for gay (β = –0.330 for Native, β = –0.464 for Latinx and β = –0.591 for white) and bisexual youth (β = –0.442 for Native, β = –0.306 for Latinx and β = –0.290 for white). This study challenges monolithic characterizations of SD youth, illustrating that the health-promotive benefits of support differ based on sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and sex.

Relations between youths' community violence exposure and their physical aggression: The protective role of adults.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether adults moderated the relations between youths' community violence exposure and subsequent physical aggression. Participants were 2575 middle school students (Mage = 12.3, SD = 1.00; 52% female) in the southeastern U.S. who completed surveys collected in the fall, winter, spring, and summer. The sample was predominantly African American (72%). High adult support was associated with weaker relations between exposure to violence in the fall and aggression in the winter among male adolescents. High adult support was related to weaker relations between victimization in the fall and aggression in the winter among female adolescents. Strategies promoting supportive adult relationships may benefit male adolescents by buffering the adverse impact of community violence exposure.

Power distance: Moderating effect on positive youth development in Malaysian co-curricular programs

Few studies have explored the effects of sociocultural factors on program quality in the context of positive youth development (PYD) programs. This is of relevance to countries known for high power distance between youth and adults. The current study explored the moderating effect of perceived power distance orientation on the relationship between youth program quality and the six C's of PYD. A partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was tested among 436 first-year undergraduate co-curricular program participants from public universities in Malaysia (M = 21.192 years, SD = 1.191 years; 65.6% female). Youth voice, supportive adult relationships, and program engagement positively predicted PYD, while feelings of safety did not. Power distance had no moderating effect on PYD. The findings extend support for the importance of program quality on PYD in non-WEIRD youth program settings and point to the need for further inquiry on PYD program practices in diverse sociocultural settings.

“We hear everyday, ‘this isn’t me.’” Navigating tensions and opportunities to translate interests toward entrepreneurial making

Out-of-school time (OST) makerspaces are spaces for youth to engage in exploratory practices and deepen STEM interests in personally meaningful ways. Many youth—especially teens—additionally benefit from supportive relationships (e.g., caring adult mentors, peer mentors) in these spaces to help them uncover their interests and translate them into long-term trajectories of maker practice. Using a connected learning lens, this paper focuses on supportive adult relationships at a high school OST program (Sunrise of Philadelphia), and the ways in which practices around interest identification and development within its makerspace entrepreneurship program meaningfully impacted learning trajectories for youth by connecting them to new STEM opportunities, knowledge, and experiences. Through an illustrative case study, we present a portrait-of-practice that shows how OST educators facilitated brokering to connect youth to resources, mentoring, materials, and new communities that transcended their specific program. This manuscript contributes to known practices for translating youth interests in makerspaces, including incorporating youth voice and choice and making cultural connections to entrepreneurship opportunities. This case contributes to an understudied area of entrepreneurship education programs and activities that are needed in educational (K-12) makerspaces.

School climate and resilience promoting characteristics: exploring latent patterns of student perceptions in California

ABSTRACT Few studies holistically examine how students experience the multiple dimensions of school climate and resilience promoting characteristics, or how these two constructs may be interrelated. This study utilised a sample of 78,550 7th, 9th, and 11th grade students in California. Roughly half of the participants were female (52%), and roughly half (49%) were Latino. Latent Class Analysis was used to identify a 6-profile model for school climate and a 2-profile model for resilience promoting characteristics. Students experiencing overall positive climate, those experiencing supportive adult relationships, and those who engage meaningfully in their work at schools were more likely to report higher resilience promoting characteristics. These findings highlight the importance of fostering positive and protective school climate. In addition, findings support a social-ecological theory of resilience, indicating that schools are contexts that may play an important role in developing resilience promoting characteristics for secondary students.

Mental health stigma, community support, and somatic complaints among Latinx youth

Latinx youth comprise the largest growing ethnic group in the United States and contend with several, oftentimes overlapping, environmental stressors. Researchers have noted the importance of identifying mechanisms that allow for a fuller picture of mental health distress in Latinx youth, including somatic complaints. In this exploratory study, 212 Latinx youth across the Central Coast of California were sampled to identify risk factors (which would correspond with more vulnerable or negative outcomes) and protective factors (which would correspond with better health outcomes) associated with somatic complaints. A hierarchical linear regression revealed that being a first-generation immigrant had the strongest negative association with somatic complaints (b = -1.43) followed by a supportive relationship with an adult in the community (b = -0.83), and that girls reported higher prevalence of somatic complaints (b = 1.00) than males. While mental health stigma was significant in the first two models, it lost significance when adding supportive adult relationships to the regression. Our findings highlight that demographic differences and socioecological contexts are key to understanding how somatic complaints present across diverse Latinx youth.

Identifying Root Causes: Evaluation of a Program to Engage Youth in a Social Justice Approach to Tobacco Control.

Movements designed to engage youth in tobacco control have been an important part of tobacco prevention for decades. Today, young people are increasingly diverse, and their primary issues of concern are gun control, racism, mental health, and climate change. To engage today's young people, tobacco control programs need to draw connections between youth's identities, top issues, and tobacco. UpRISE is a social justice youth tobacco control movement that engages diverse youth in identifying the root causes of youth nicotine use. In 2018-2019, 21 youth-serving organizations and schools hosted youth coalitions. Coalitions engaged in a six-session workbook called "Getting to the root cause," and adults were provided training and reflective supervision. Pre/post surveys with youth participants (n = 180) and end-of-year interviews with adult facilitators (n = 22) were used to assess outcomes. The primary outcomes were supportive adult relationships, youth voice in decision-making, anti-tobacco industry attitudes and beliefs, psychological empowerment, critical consciousness, and global belief in a just world. Quantitative measures of supportive adult relationships, youth voice in decision-making, psychological empowerment, and anti-tobacco industry attitudes and beliefs all increased significantly over time (p < .0001, p < .0001, p < .0001, p = .0034, respectively). Critical consciousness and global belief in a just world did not change significantly. During interviews, adults reported learning how: to engage in youth-adult partnerships, the tobacco industry abused its power, to engage in critical reflection about power. Adults also felt empowered. UpRISE may be a promising approach to increase racially diverse youth's engagement in social justice-oriented tobacco control efforts that advance equity.

Capital development within supportive adult relationships: processes of positive adaptation for marginalized youth

ABSTRACT Supportive adults offer adolescents a positive resource for building a resilient profile, as they generally provide guidance, encouragement, and emotional support. These transformative relationships have the potential to unlock specific social and cultural benefits over time that serve to promote resilience, especially in marginalized groups. This mixed-methods study examines supportive adult relationships within the context of sociological concepts of capital development as a process toward positive adaptation. The current study first, uses binary logistic regression as a method of analysis in a racially diverse sample of 4,882 individuals. Findings suggest that individuals who reported having a supportive adult relationship by age 14 were more likely to possess emotional capital than those who did not have a supportive adult relationship by age 14 (OR = .836, p = .009). Secondly this study utilized thematic analysis to identify salient themes regarding social, cultural, and emotional capital from a smaller portion of the sample (N = 111), providing evidence for how SARs can impact the positive adaptation of marginalized individuals through capital development.

The role of adult facilitators in arts-based extracurricular settings: Perceived factors for success of adult-youth relationships.

Extracurricular arts programmes and supportive adult relationships provide youth with opportunities for positive development, however, more research about how relationships within these programmes develop and what factors and practices adults use to guide their work would help to improve youth programmes' outcomes. Eight Film Club facilitators at an after-school film-making club for students in grades 5 through 8 were interviewed about their perceived their role and what practices they successfully utilised. The semistructured interviews were then thematically analysed. Facilitators perceived the development of authentic and supportive relationships provided a foundation for meaningful learning. Rather than being directive, the facilitators had a collaborative approach to engagement, which allowed for social and emotional learning opportunities and established youth agency. Relationships within creative extracurricular spaces, which are youth-led and include supportive adult facilitators may provide young people with valuable opportunities for social, emotional and identity development.

Adolescent's views on youth gang involvement in a South African Township

Youth gang involvement is a serious public health challenge and there is limited research with adolescents on their understandings of adolescent gang involvement, particularly in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). This paper reports on the key theme of adolescents' experiences of youth gangs which emerged from qualitative research exploring adolescents' experiences of daily life. Six focus groups and 10 individual interviews were conducted with adolescents aged 13–14 years. Four factors were identified as protective against gang involvement; access to resources, school achievement, positive peer influences and supportive adult relationships. These findings illustrate the multiple factors which contribute to youth gang involvement and highlight the need for interventions to take an integrated and uniform approach to reduce risk factors and increase protective factors at the individual, family, school and community level.

How High Schools Become Empowering Communities: A Mixed-Method Explanatory Inquiry into Youth-Adult Partnership and School Engagement.

Educational reform efforts emphasize empowerment and engagement, but these concepts are rarely translated into policy or classroom practice. This inquiry explores how schools can become places where students take ownership over their own learning. Phase 1 of this inquiry, a survey of students from diverse high schools, examines pathways to school engagement. Results indicated that youth voice in decision-making, particularly when the experience is situated within supportive adult relationships and a sense of safety, significantly predicts emotional and cognitive engagement. Phase 2, a case study of an exemplary high school, sought to explain these pathways. Grounded in the theoretical perspectives of "empowered community settings" and "youth-adult partnership," analyses highlighted the importance of a shared belief system and core instructional activities that were student-centered, affirmative, and strength-based. Within this context, the opportunity role structure allowed students to exercise voice in creating their own educational program. The relational environment offered partnership and safety for academic risk-taking. Teachers broke down traditional roles and power hierarchies in ways that helped students discover their own sources of engagement. The article identifies ways that community psychologists, as policy framers and as researchers, can help schools become places of empowerment and engagement.

PTSD Symptom Trajectories among Mothers Reporting Interpersonal Trauma: Protective Factors and Parenting Outcomes

The childbearing years are further complicated when experiences of interpersonal trauma from childhood and/or adulthood lead to symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Maternal symptoms of PTSD over time were examined in relation to supportive adult relationships and parenting experiences. Ninety-five primarily economically disadvantaged mothers reporting exposure to childhood maltreatment and/or intimate partner violence were assessed from pregnancy through 2-years postpartum. Latent class growth analysis of PTSD symptoms indicated a 2-group model: stable low (82%) and moderate dysfunction (18%). The stable low group reported higher levels of support from romantic partners and family members, but not friends, and lower levels of parenting distress compared to the moderate dysfunction group. Results highlight individual variability in adaptation after violence exposure; current support from romantic partners and family members may have helped maintain lower PTSD symptoms for some trauma-exposed mothers. Psychological interventions aimed at reducing the impact of trauma exposure on parenting should consider promoting ongoing social support.

Community predictors of school engagement: The role of families and youth-adult partnership in Malaysia

School engagement is central to students' academic achievement and their successful transition into post-secondary programs. Existing research on contributors to school engagement has been mostly limited to individual and school-based predictors in Western countries. Additionally, few studies have investigated the ‘cross-over’ relationship between student experiences within community settings and school engagement. This study addresses these limitations. It explores youth-adult partnership (youth voice, supportive adult relationships) in two types of out-of-school time youth programs and family processes (parental monitoring, family cohesion) as predictors of cognitive and emotional school engagement in Malaysia. Surveys were administered to 507 diverse students (56% male, 64% Malay) age 15 to 17, attending after-school co-curricular and community-based youth programs. The findings indicate that experiences in community and family settings may have a positive influence on student experiences in school. Specifically, OLS hierarchical regression analysis showed that youth voice in decision-making within both types of programs as well as parental monitoring contributed to both types of school engagement. Supportive relationships with adult staff were significantly associated with students' emotional engagement. Implications for practice in out-of-school time programs and schools, as well as future research, are discussed.

Youth–Adult Partnership and Youth Civic Development: Cross-National Analyses for Scholars and Field Professionals

Across the world, community-based youth organizations are engaging youth as partners with adults to promote youth civic development. A sample of 528 youth from the United States, Portugal, and Malaysia were surveyed to explore associations between youth–adult partnership (youth voice in decision making; supportive adult relationships) and two key aspects of civic development (youth empowerment; community connections). Multi-level modeling, regression, and profile analysis were used to compare patterns of association across the three national samples. Results indicate that youth are most likely to achieve positive outcomes when they experience the freedom to make decisions, while experiencing trust and power sharing from adults. The results were consistent across the three national samples, suggesting that the influence of partnership may transcend cultures and contexts. Future scholarship should aim to support field professionals in building organizational structures and opportunities that encourage shared dialogue, program planning, and purposeful action among youth and adults.

Pathways to Youth Empowerment and Community Connectedness: A Study of Youth-Adult Partnership in Malaysian After-School, Co-Curricular Programs.

After-school programs are prevalent across the world, but there is a paucity of research that examines quality within the "black box" of programs at the point of service. Grounded in current theory, this research examined hypothesized pathways between the experience of youth-adult partnership (youth voice in decision-making; supportive adult relationships), the mediators of program safety and engagement, and the developmental outcomes of youth empowerment (leadership competence, policy control) and community connectedness (community connections, school attachment). Surveys were administered to 207 ethnically diverse (47.3% female; 63.3% Malay) youth, age 15-16, attending after-school co-curricular programs in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Results showed that youth voice in program decision-making predicted both indicators of youth empowerment. Neither youth voice nor supportive adult relationships was directly associated with community connectedness, however. Program engagement mediated the associations between youth-adult partnership and empowerment. In contrast, program safety mediated the associations between youth-adult partnership and community connectedness. The findings indicate that the two core components of youth-adult partnership-youth voice and supportive adult relationships-may operate through different, yet complementary, pathways of program quality to predict developmental outcomes. Implications for future research are highlighted. For reasons of youth development and youth rights, the immediate challenge is to create opportunities for youth to speak on issues of program concern and to elevate those adults who are able and willing to help youth exercise their voice.

Igniting the Fire Within Marginalized Youth: The Role of Critical Civic Inquiry in Fostering Ethnic Identity and Civic Self-Efficacy

Critical Civic Inquiry (CCI) is a transformative student voice initiative that engages students in critical conversations about educational equity and inquiry-based learning to increase student voice and promote civic action. A quasi-experimental study was conducted to assess if participation in CCI increased the psychological empowerment (as measured through ethnic identity and civic self-efficacy) of high school students. Students who participated in CCI pedagogy reported increases in ethnic identity and civic self-efficacy. These findings indicate the importance of supportive adult relationships, inquiry-based learning, and critical conversations about social and educational inequities in promoting the psychological empowerment of marginalized students.

Conceptualizing and measuring youth-adult partnership in community programs: a cross national study.

Youth participation in program and community decision making is framed by scholars as an issue of social justice, a platform for positive youth development and effective citizenry, and a strategy for nation building. Recent literature reviews have consistently identified youth-adult partnership (Y-AP) as an effective type of youth participation across highly diverse contexts. These same reviews, however, note that indicators of Y-AP have not been conceptualized and validated for measurement purposes. The present study addresses this limitation by developing a brief measure of Y-AP that is explicitly grounded in current theory, research, and community practice. The measure was administered to youth in the United States, Malaysia, and Portugal (N = 610). Validation was assessed through factor analysis and tests of factorial, discriminant, and concurrent validity. Results confirmed the two predicted dimensions of the Y-AP measure: youth voice in decision making and supportive adult relationships. These two dimensions were also found to be distinct from other measures of program quality: safety and engagement. As predicted, they also significantly correlated with measures of agency and empowerment. It is concluded that the measure has the potential to support community efforts to maximize the quality of youth programs.

Smoothing the transition to adulthood: Creating ongoing supportive relationships among foster youth

This paper assesses the utility and effectiveness of a foster care model designed to improve youth transitions to adulthood. The model engages the youth's social network, helps youth to develop supportive, ongoing relationships with adults, and is heavily focused on youth empowerment. A three-year evaluation of 88 foster youth revealed that youth exposed to the model felt they had more power over their lives, had a wider variety of supportive adults in their lives, and could better regulate their emotions than those in a comparison group. • The CORE model revealed better relationship competency among youth than others. • CORE was linked to improvements in relationship-building skills. • CORE youth were more likely to find a lasting supportive relationship. • CORE had a wider range of supportive adult relationships than others.

Youth–Adult Partnership: Exploring Contributions to Empowerment, Agency and Community Connections in Malaysian Youth Programs

Youth–adult partnership (Y–AP) has emerged as a key practice for enacting two features of effective developmental settings: supportive adult relationships and support for efficacy and mattering. Previous studies have shown that when youth, supported by adults, actively participate in organizational and community decision making they are likely to show greater confidence and agency, empowerment and critical consciousness, and community connections. Most of the extant research on Y–AP is limited to qualitative studies and the identification of organizational best practices. Almost all research focuses on Western sociocultural settings. To address these gaps, 299 youth, age 15 to 24, were sampled from established afterschool and community programs in Malaysia to explore the contribution of Y–AP (operationalized as having two components: youth voice in decision-making and supportive adult relationships) to empowerment, agency and community connections. As hypothesized, hierarchical regressions indicated that program quality (Y–AP, safe environment and program engagement) contributed to agency, empowerment and community connections beyond the contribution of family, school and religion. Additionally, the Y–AP measures contributed substantially more variance than the other measures of program quality on each outcome. Interaction effects indicated differences by age for empowerment and agency but not for community connections. The primary findings in this inquiry replicate those found in previous interview and observational-oriented studies. The data suggests fertile ground for future research while demonstrating that Y–AP may be an effective practice for positive youth development outside of Western settings.

Troubled lives: chaos and trauma in the accounts of young people considered ‘at risk’ of diagnosis of personality disorder

This study explores accounts provided by 27 young people who had contact with an early intervention service for young people considered to be 'at risk' of diagnosis of personality disorder. These accounts, developed from semi-structured interviews, focussed on their experiences prior to and since referral, which normally followed an episode of extremely risky behaviour such as self-harm or a suicide attempt. Analysis provided three themes. These focussed on the chaotic lifestyles of the young people, which were punctuated by episodes of self-harm and other risky behaviours; the unsupportive or traumatic relationships with parents and partners, which culminated in a toxic mix of isolation and self-blame and the role of case coordinators. The lack of stable adult relationships is evident. Findings suggest the establishment of stable, supportive adult relationships with a view to providing a problem-solving approach with the aim of guiding young people away from risky acts and their traumatic consequences may be fruitful. The challenge is to find a sustainable way of establishing such a model outside of paid relationships. The other challenge is to develop research approaches with similarly placed young people, which enable ongoing contact.