Youth Development Framework Research Articles

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ASSETS AND LAW‐ABIDINGNESS AMONG URBAN ADOLESCENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

In this study, we argue that researchers should look to prevention efforts that capitalize on youth’s potential for positive development and law‐abidingness in order to develop interventions that facilitate their successful transition to young adulthood. We draw from the positive youth development framework to assess the association between individual, family, and community assets and law‐abidingness among a sample of adolescents living in Chicago, Illinois, neighborhoods. Data come from the first wave of the Program on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (N = 1,258). We focus on cohorts 12 and 15, since developmental assets have a significant impact on adolescents during these ages. After controlling for a range of individual and demographic variables, we find that greater levels of positive family communication were associated with greater odds of law‐abidingness in our multilevel logistic regression models. The findings of this study are discussed in the context of a sociological perspective on positive youth development.

A critical-positive youth development model for intervening with minority youth at risk for delinquency.

Minority youths who experience adversity in the forms of concentrated poverty, neighborhood violence, and social marginalization are at increased risk for delinquency. Yet, traditional approaches to reducing delinquency do not typically account for these social-structural risk factors. This article proposes a model of intervening that was developed to address this limitation. The current model was informed by the findings of a 9-month ethnography of a leadership development program for African American youths as well as positive youth development and critical theory frameworks. It delineates the roles of key intervention features in enhancing important assets among minority youths that help them to better navigate adverse social-structural conditions, decrease problem behaviors, and increase prosocial behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record

Young People's Creative and Performing Arts Participation and Arts Self‐concept: A Longitudinal Study of Reciprocal Effects

AbstractThis longitudinal study examines the relationship between young people's creative and performing arts participation (e.g., in dance, drama, film, music, visual arts) and their arts self‐concept. Drawing on the positive youth development (PYD) framework and the reciprocal effects model (REM) of self‐concept, a cross‐lagged panel design is implemented to explore the connections between arts self‐concept and each of school (e.g., school‐based arts instruction), home (e.g., parent–child arts interaction), and community (e.g., out‐of‐school arts instruction) creative and performing arts participation. The study drew on an Australian sample of 643 elementary and high school students from 15 schools. Analyses showed that beyond the effects of socio‐demographics and prior achievement, there are longitudinal associations (including reciprocal effects) between numerous forms of creative and performing arts participation and arts self‐concept. Implications are discussed.

Thriving Among African-American Adolescents: Religiosity, Religious Support, and Communalism.

While research has identified some positive factors in the lives of African-American adolescents, there is limited, yet growing, empirical research examining how positive factors foster thriving for these youth. Using a positive youth development framework, we examined naturally occurring factors that promote thriving among African-American adolescents. This cross-sectional study included 152 youth who were surveyed at five Black churches in a large Midwestern city. Using MPlus, the structural regression model results revealed support for a model that demonstrated religiosity, religious support, and communalism are significantly and directly related to thriving among African-American adolescents. Implications for theory, research and practice are discussed. Moving from a deficit lens to a strengths-based approach can facilitate understanding of developmental processes and provide a foundation for supporting and enhancing positive outcomes among African-American adolescents.

Promoting Empowerment Among LGBTQ Youth: A Social Justice Youth Development Approach

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer-identified (LGBTQ) youth are a population with a unique set of service needs. Existing research on effective service methods with LGBTQ youth is limited. Youth empowerment holds potential as an approach that can impact well-being among youth who face discrimination. The current study explores the relationship between the social justice youth development framework (Ginwright and James, New Directions Youth Dev 96:27–46, 2002) and youth empowerment in a sample of LGBTQ youth. Multiple regression analysis of data collected through a community-based youth program identified critical consciousness and community engagement as significant predictors of empowerment. Findings suggest that programs that promote these factors among LGBTQ youth using the social justice youth development framework may enhance empowerment thereby increasing other aspects of well-being.

An alternative application of imagery in youth sport: Promoting the transfer of life skills to other contexts

Significant sport psychology research has been devoted to the positive effects that sport participation can have on youth outcomes, including social, emotional, and physical skills (Gould & Carson, 2008; Petitpas, Cornelius, Van Raalte, & Jones, 2005). Central to this concept is the idea that learning that occurs during sport participation will actually transfer these valuable life skills to other non-sport contexts in a youth's life (Danish & Nellen, 1997). This article proposes imagery as one potential strategy for facilitating this transfer of learning process from a youth development framework. Several practical suggestions for youth coaches on the application of imagery techniques for life skill utilization in and out of sport are discussed.

Entrepreneurship education: A strength-based approach to substance use and suicide prevention for American Indian adolescents.

American Indian (AI) adolescents suffer the largest disparities in substance use and suicide. Predominating prevention models focus primarily on risk and utilize deficit-based approaches. The fields of substance use and suicide prevention research urge for positive youth development frameworks that are strength based and target change at individual and community levels. Entrepreneurship education is an innovative approach that reflects the gap in available programs. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a youth entrepreneurship education program in partnership with one AI community. We detail the curriculum, process evaluation results, and the randomized controlled trial evaluating its efficacy for increasing protective factors. Lessons learned may be applicable to other AI communities.

Staying Young at Heart: Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Adolescents and Young Adults.

Approaches to the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are often too narrow in scope and initiated too late. While the majority of adolescents are free of CVD, far fewer are free of CVD risk factors, especially lifestyle factors such as poor exercise and dietary habits. Most clinicians are familiar with behavioral and pharmacologic strategies for modifying these and other traditional CVD risk factors such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes. In this review, we highlight those strategies most applicable to teens and also propose fundamental reframing that recognizes the importance of early choices and life experiences to achieving cardiovascular health. Population- and individual-level approaches that support the establishment of positive health behaviors early in life are the foundation of preserving ideal cardiovascular health and promoting positive cardiovascular outcomes. The Positive Youth Development movement supports a frame shift away from seeing young people as merely the sum of their risk factors and instead as developmentally dynamic youth capable of making healthy choices. Informed by the Positive Youth Development framework, our approach to cardiovascular prevention among adolescents is both broad based and proactive, paying heed as early as possible to social, familial, and developmental factors that underlie health behaviors and employing evidence-based behavioral, pharmacologic, and surgical treatments when needed.

Social and emotional learning in middle school curricula: A service learning model based on positive youth development

Service learning is an instructional methodology that may benefit students' social and emotional learning (Zins, Bloodworth, Weissberg, & Walberg, 2007). Though service learning is not a new pedagogy, there are few examples of how to successfully deliver service learning in school curriculum for middle school students (Gestsdottir, Bowers, von Eye, Napolitano, & Lerner, 2010; Mueller et al., 2011). This article discusses the theoretical basis for and practical implementation of a school-based positive youth development model that utilizes service learning to build the social and emotional skills of middle school students. First, this article presents the importance of social and emotional learning during adolescence. Next, utilizing a positive youth development framework, the possible social and emotional outcomes of service learning are outlined. Lastly, a case study of the Wyman Center's Teen Outreach Program® is presented as an example that integrates service learning, built on a positive youth development framework, into middle school curricula. Challenges of this model, future research questions and implications on practice and policy are suggested.

Contextualizing Change Points in Alcohol Use from Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood

Alcohol is the most widely used and abused substance among America’s youths. Understanding patterns of alcohol use over the course of adolescent development, including risk and protective factors related to variation in use, is a central goal of adolescent alcohol research. Authors of this article created a personalized graphic representation of individual drinking, as reported in seven waves of questionnaire data from an ongoing longitudinal study. The graphic served as the basis for a qualitative investigation of 12 young adults’ retrospective explanations for increases and decreases in their alcohol consumption during adolescence. A total of 45 changes were assessed: 26 increases and 19 decreases. Three themes for increased alcohol use emerged: (1) adult role modeling, (2) coping with stress or loss, and (3) desiring social inclusion. Five themes for decreased alcohol use emerged: (1) internal motivation, (2) involvement in meaningful activities, (3) prosocial relationships with nonparental adults, (4) increased use of another substance, and (5) becoming a mother. Positive youth development framework was applied to suggest how these findings may be used to inform strategies to reduce underage alcohol use.

Developmental Experiences and Well-Being in Sport: The Importance of the Coaching Climate

The present study explored the relationships between the coaching climate, youth developmental experiences (personal and social skills, cognitive skills, goal setting, and initiative) and psychological well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and satisfaction with life). In total, 202 youth sport participants (Mage = 13.4, SD = 1.8) completed a survey assessing the main study variables. Findings were consistent with Benson and Saito’s (2001) framework for youth development. In all analyses, the coaching climate was related to personal and social skills, cognitive skills, goal setting, and initiative. Mediational analysis also revealed that the development of personal and social skills mediated the relationships between the coaching climate and all three indices of psychological well-being (self-esteem, positive affect, and satisfaction with life). Interpretation of the results suggests that coaches should display autonomy-supportive coaching behaviors because they are related to the developmental experiences and psychological well-being of youth sport participants.

Systematic review of interventions focusing on Indigenous adolescent mental health and substance use.

Mental health and substance use are pressing public health concerns among Indigenous adolescent populations. This systematic review analyzed interventions focusing on mental health and substance use that utilize the Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework, incorporate culturally tailored programs, and are geared toward Indigenous adolescents. In total, 474 articles were retrieved from PSYCInfo and PubMed databases. Eight articles were eligible for analysis, with six focusing on AI/AN populations in the U.S. Most programs reported positive or expected outcomes. All the programs incorporated PYD variables, while all but one were culturally grounded or included deep structure adaptations. Implications are further discussed.

Implementation of a Positive Development, Evidence-Supported Practice for Emerging Adults with Serious Mental Health Conditions: The Transition to Independence Process (TIP) Model.

Transition into adulthood represents a particularly challenging period for youth and young adults with serious mental health conditions and related needs. The Transition to Independence Process (TIP) model is based on a positive development approach and has been demonstrated to be an evidence-supported practice for preparing emerging adults in their movement into employment/career, education, living situation, personal effectiveness/well-being, and community-life functioning--and to be responsive to their families. This article describes the TIP model from a positive youth development framework, its empirical underpinnings, and the fidelity and outcome tracking tools that have been developed for use with transition sites for implementation and sustainability. A research study on the fidelity tools showed their reliability and validity and a second study presents progress and outcome findings for youth and young adults at a new TIP model site. The implications of the TIP model and these findings are discussed.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun: a process evaluation of a female youth-driven physical activity-based life skills program.

IntroductionIntegrating a positive youth development framework into physical activity programming has become popular as it is believed that this integration can create the development of both physical and psychosocial skills. However, there has been a lack of intervention fidelity research within the field of positive youth development.Case descriptionThe Girls Just Wanna Have Fun program was designed in response to increased calls for physical activity programs for female youth and is a theoretically-grounded physical activity-based life skills program that aims to empower female youth. The purpose of this paper was to provide a detailed description of the program and a process evaluation of the first year of program implementation. From interviews with youth and leaders, as well as documentation from the leaders’ weekly online log of each implemented session, themes emerged regarding the successes.Discussion and evaluationFindings from this study indicated that program goals were attained and it appears that the program was implemented, for the most part, as designed. The themes related to successes included using activities to facilitate relational time, providing intentional opportunities for leadership, having communicative program leaders who supported one another, and engaging youth in different types of physical activity. The themes related to challenges included difficulties with facility and transportation, some activities being too much like schoolwork, and social distractions and cliques. Included in the paper is a discussion of practical implications and recommendations for community programmers, as well as future directions for the program.ConclusionsOverall, this process evaluation represents an important step in responding to calls for increased evaluation in community-based programs and aids in understanding the process in which positive youth development programs can be effectively implemented.

Just Spaces

Using a social justice youth development (SJYD) framework, this paper explored how urban recreation centers function as “just spaces” for youth and their communities. Utilizing evidence from a photovoice project, a method in which photographs were taken to visually depict the performance of hope, this article examined the experiences of a single case, Sara. Drawing upon Sara's experiences, we examined the importance of recreational spaces in facilitating critical components of SJYD. Findings suggest centers, such as the YMCA, become important islands of hope for marginalized youth and it is imperative leisure scholars and policymakers recognize this critical link. Additional research is needed to understand how these spaces assist youth in responding to larger political and economic forces in their communities.

Finding a Voice

This article uses a Positive Youth Development framework to explore the experiences of six experiential youth coresearchers (YCs) in the Youth Injection Prevention (YIP) participatory research project, and the parallel track process of empowerment and capacity building that developed. The YIP project was conducted in Metro Vancouver at the BC Centre for Disease Control and community organizations serving street-involved youth. A process evaluation was conducted to explore themes in the YCs experience in the project, as well as process strengths and challenges. Semistructured interviews with the YCs, researcher field notes, and team meeting and debrief session minutes were analyzed. The YIP project appears to have exerted a positive influence on the YCs. Positive self-identities, sense of purpose, reconceptualization of intellectual ability, new knowledge and skills, supportive relationships, finding a voice, and social and self-awareness were among the positive impacts. Process strengths included team-building activities, team check-in and checkout sessions, and professional networking opportunities. Process challenges included the time required to help YCs overcome personal barriers to participation. The YIP project demonstrates that participatory research with street-involved youth is a viable research option that contributes to positive youth development and empowerment.

Prime Time: long-term sexual health outcomes of a clinic-linked intervention.

Evidence about long-term effects of preventive health services for youth with complex needs is lacking. Prime Time, a youth development intervention, aims to reduce pregnancy risk among vulnerable adolescent females seeking clinic services. In a randomized trial, 253 sexually active females aged 13-17 who were at high risk for pregnancy were assigned to the Prime Time intervention or usual clinic services. The 18-month intervention, initiated in 2007-2008, comprised regular meetings with case managers and participation in youth leadership groups. Trial participants completed surveys at baseline and 30 months. Regression analyses were used to evaluate differences between groups in sexual and psychosocial outcomes at follow-up. At 30 months, the intervention group reported more months of consistent condom use (adjusted means, 1.8 vs. 1.1) and dual contraceptive use (0.9 vs. 0.3) in the past seven months than did controls. The intervention was most effective in promoting consistent use among participants with relatively high levels of connectedness to family or school. Fifteen percent of intervention participants, but only 6% of controls, reported having abstained from sex in the past six months (adjusted odds ratio, 2.9). Moreover, among high school graduates, those in the intervention group were more likely than those in the control group to have enrolled in college or technical school (72% vs. 37%; odds ratio, 4.5). Health services grounded in a youth development framework can lead to reductions in sexual risk among vulnerable youth that are evident one year following conclusion of services.

Health Promotion Behaviors in Adolescents: Prevalence and Association with Mental Health Status in a Statewide Sample

The purpose of this study is to estimate the proportion of adolescents meeting Healthy People 2020 health behavior recommendations for the prevention of chronic disease and to determine the association between mental health status (depression and/or conduct problems) and the likelihood of meeting these recommendations. The data used for this study are from the 2010 Washington State Healthy Youth Survey. Descriptive statistics and linear regression were utilized to estimate the proportion of adolescents meeting recommendations and associations between youth mental health status indicators and health-promoting behaviors. A small minority (5.8%) of youth met all six recommendations in domains of tobacco abstinence, substance use abstinence, daily physical activity, breakfast consumption, weight below obese levels, and adequate sleep, though most (84.3%) met at least three. At the aggregate level, the proportion of Washington State youth who met Healthy People 2020 guidelines exceeded targets, with the exception of substance use abstinence. A minority of youth reported guideline levels of daily physical activity (23.3%) and sleep (39.8%). Mental health status was strongly associated with the number of health-promoting behaviors adolescents endorsed. Interventions to increase the adoption of sleep hygiene and exercise habits should be added to an integrative positive youth development framework within school-, community-, and primary care-based adolescent health initiatives. Attention to adolescent mental health and shared risk factors may be critical for reducing barriers to healthy behavior.

The role of arts participation in students’ academic and nonacademic outcomes: A longitudinal study of school, home, and community factors.

This longitudinal study draws on positive youth development frameworks and ecological models to examine the role of school-, home- and community-based arts participation in students’ academic (e.g., motivation, engagement) and nonacademic (e.g., self-esteem, life satisfaction) outcomes. The study is based on 643 elementary and high school students from 15 schools conducted over the course of 2 academic years. Structural equation modeling showed that beyond sociodemographics, prior achievement, and prior variance in outcome measures, school predictors of academic and nonacademic outcomes were arts engagement and in-school arts participation; home predictors were parent–child arts interaction and home-based arts resources; and community arts predictors were participation in and attendance at arts events and external arts tuition (the latter, a negative effect). Implications for theory, policy, funding, and practice are discussed.

Systematic Review of Positive Youth Development Programs for Adolescents With Chronic Illness

The Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework has been successfully used to support at-risk youth. However, its effectiveness in fostering positive outcomes for adolescents with chronic illness has not been established. We performed a systematic review of PYD-consistent programs for adolescents with chronic illness. Data sources included PubMed, CINAHL, and PsychINFO. Guided by an analytic framework, we searched for studies of PYD-consistent programs serving adolescents and young adults aged 13 through 24 with chronic illness. References were screened iteratively with increasing depth until a focused cohort was obtained and reviewed in full. The authors separately reviewed the studies using structured analysis forms. Relevant study details were abstracted during the review process. Fifteen studies describing 14 programs were included in the analysis. Three comprehensive programs included all 3 core components of a PYD program, including opportunities for youth leadership, skill building, and sustained connections between youth and adults. Four programs were primarily mentoring programs, and 7 others focused on youth leadership. Programs served youth with a variety of chronic illnesses. The quality and type of evaluation varied considerably, with most reporting psychosocial outcomes but only a few including medical outcomes. The PYD-consistent programs identified in this review can serve as models for the development of youth development programs for adolescents with chronic illness. Additional study is needed to evaluate such programs rigorously with respect to both psychosocial and health-related outcomes. PYD-consistent programs have the potential to reach youth with chronic illness and promote positive adult outcomes broadly.