Youth Development Programs Research Articles

COVID-19 impacts on youth and young adult workforce development programs: A local perspective

In the United States in 2020, an estimated 12.6% of individuals ages 16 to 24 were disconnected from education and employment – up from 10.7% in 2019. While the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 authorizes several youth-focused workforce development programs that target services toward disconnected youth, COVID-19 and ensuing mitigation measures exposed structural inequities in access to educational systems, workplace environments, and employment opportunities. This qualitative study examines the impact of COVID-19 on five local youth and young adult (YYA) workforce development programs, providers, and YYA participants in an urban county in Texas. Study participants included 12 youth-serving staff representing 5 programs, and 7 YYA representing 1 program. Semi-structured interview protocols guided three focus groups and four individual interviews. Data were analyzed in Dedoose by three researchers using thematic analysis. Impacts on programs included amplified recruitment and retention challenges related to safety protocols, disrupted interagency connections, access to technology, and YYAs competing priorities. Impacts on providers included changes in work-life balance and perceived organizational support, self-efficacy, and job satisfaction. Impacts on YYA included disruptions to education and employment, increases in (a) the need for mental health services, (b) unstable and/or unsafe living situations, (c) availability of resources like food and housing assistance, and a decrease in access to critical resources like transportation and government IDs. Recommendations include planning for flexibility in performance requirements for future crises, building a community coalition to target barriers to participation in these programs, and providing access to YYA mental health services within programs.

Meeting the Needs of Young People During the COVID-19 Pandemic Through Program Adaptations in Creative Youth Development Programs

Creative Youth Development (CYD) is a holistic approach to engaging young people through the arts and creativity to support them in thriving in all aspects of their lives. Young people consistently rank culminating events – performances, exhibitions, youth summits, screenings of their films – as a powerful motivator and key aspect of their involvement in creative youth development programs. This article features insights from a qualitative research study in the United States that explored how CYD programs adapted culminating events to the largely virtual program environments of 2020. Findings include challenges organizations faced in 2020; strategies for adapting culminating events during the COVID-19 pandemic, ranging from centering core principles of youth leadership and prioritizing connection with young people to creative strategies for engaging youth, including positioning new event formats as opportunities for youth to co-create entirely new experiences and events; and implications for the youth development field.

“Time to be free”: Playful agency in LOVE's in‐school programme for at‐risk youth

AbstractResearch increasingly suggests that positive youth development programmes play an important part in preventing youth violence and promoting positive developmental trajectories. We conducted a focussed ethnography of LOVE, a social development programme aimed at supporting youth who have been exposed to violence. Building on a previous study's exploration of this programme's afterschool setting, we examined the programme's social functioning in school settings. Findings underline the role of playfulness—alongside an egalitarian/friendly approach, gentle authority/structure, strengths‐based support and a safe space to express vulnerability—to foster in youth the ability to feel free, confident/empowered, connected/empathic and positive feelings about school and life.

YOUTH GOVERNANCE IN THE SELECTED BARANGAYS OF BAGUIO CITY

The youth are expected to participate in nation-building and youth development programs not just in sports but also in various sectors of society enumerated in the United Nations Agenda 2030 and the Philippine Youth Development Plan. The Philippines have the Sangguniang Kabataan as a venue for the youth to participate in governance and is guided by the Sangguniang Kabataan reform act of 2015. The research focused on studying the youth governance of selected barangays of Baguio City. The study utilized a descriptive qualitative approach, using key participant interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis in data gathering and using thematic analysis. Results show that the Sangguniang Kabataan conducts youth profiling to identify the needs of the youth. Starting from there, they create projects and programs, many under active citizenship. The Sangguniang Kabataan employ different strategies in formulating and implementing projects and programs, such as organizational partnerships, employing intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and having adaptability, resourcefulness, and commitment to serving and empowering the youth. Despite having great strategies, there is still a problem in gaining youth participation due to more availability of other Sangguniang Kabataan leaders, inactive youth participation, challenge on budget, and lack of facilities and training. Several programs were designed by the researchers to address the challenges that transpired during the study, and these were: semestral general assembly, capacity building for Sangguniang Kabataan leaders and Katipunan ng Kabataan members, and the creation of a youth center.

Analysis of Mosque Adolescent Life Skills Program

Introduction: Life skills education is needed for adolescents to achieve independence as a foundation for becoming adults in facing real life. Support from various education sectors is needed in life skills guidance programs to anticipate adolescent problems, one of which is mosque-based life skills education.
 Objectives: This study aims to conduct field studies and analyze mosque guidance programs for adolescents, especially related to life skills material. Data collection was carried out on the mosque adolescent development program implemented, problems faced in the field, and explored the needs of mosques about youth development programs.
 Methods: This type of research is field research, using a qualitative approach with descriptive methods. The study was conducted on 5 (five) mosque adolescent organization as research objects, namely Remaja Masjid Sunda Kelapa Mosque Youth (RISKA) Jakarta, YISC Al Azhar Jakarta, Remaja Masjid Bintaro Jaya (Remisya)Tangerang Selatan, Sobat An Nashr (Sonar)Tangerang Selatan, and Remaja Masjid Jogokariyan Yogyakarta.
 Results: Based on the results of the analysis of existing mosque adolescent guidance programs, there has not been found comprehensive and structured life skills material, the content of life skills that have been carried out in mosques in the form of direct organizational practice and social activities. So it is necessary to develop existing mosque adolescent programs, by including life skills materials that are more structured and comprehensive.

The Roles of Youth in Intimate Partner Relationships and the Perceived Risk of HIV Infection in South Africa

Background: Young people in South Africa face multiple developmental challenges, including violence and HIV infection. Objective: This study examines the various roles of youth in violent intimate relationships (IPV) and its association with the perceived risk of HIV infection. Results from this study could assist in youth development programmes to increase HIV testing, as well as inform modifications to the South African Domestic Violence Act (No. 116 of 1998), which addresses all forms of intimate partner violence in the country. Methods: The study uses data from the South African National HIV Prevalence, HIV Incidence, Behaviour and Communication Survey (SABSSM) 2017. The study population is youth (15-24 years old) who responded to a question on their perceived risk of being infected with HIV. A weighted sample (N) of 1,301,550 youth is included. The main independent variable is the 'role in IPV', and the study controls for the demographic, socioeconomic, and HIV knowledge and sexual behaviours of youth. Cross-tabulations and a multivariate binary logistic regression model are used to determine the relationship between controls and the outcome. Results: About 20% of youth perceive themselves at risk of being with HIV. Their reasons for believing this are because they are sexually active, do not use condoms consistently, and do not trust their partners. Only about 4% of IPV perpetrators, compared to 23.71% of victims and 23.16% of bidirectional youth, think it is likely they will get infected with HIV. The odds of perceiving themselves at risk are higher (with p-values<0.05) for victims (OR=1.21), 20-24 years old (OR=1.35), female (OR=1.25), those who responded do not think condoms reduce the risk of HIV (OR=1.49) and those who do not use condoms (OR=1.44) among others. Conclusion: IPV behaviours are associated with perceived HIV risk among young people in South Africa. For perception to change and allow youth to adopt protective behaviours against HIV, there is a need for policy to target the different roles of youth.

Supporting military-connected teens to thrive: a qualitative evaluation of a leadership program from the perspective of teens and adult advisors

For teens growing up in military-connected families, challenges relating to relocation, parental deployment, and reintegration add layers of stress to an already complex time of life. Out-of-school time programs provide military-connected teens opportunities to utilize existing strengths, develop new skills, and build support networks, as exemplified in the Military Teen Ambassador (MTA) program – a positive youth development program developed by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America in collaboration with the US Armed Forces. This study investigates the developmental benefits experienced by the teens serving on the MTA Steering Committee – a youth-adult collaboration designed to plan and deliver the MTA program. Interviews with teen and adult participants were analyzed through the lenses of relational developmental systems theory and a structured evaluation framework. Findings contribute insights into developmental processes and outcomes for programs targeting military-connected youth and provide applied implications that extend to broader youth and adult populations.

Transporting an Evidence-based Youth Development Program to a New Country: A Narrative Description and Analysis of Pre-implementation Adaptation.

There is a pressing need to prevent and address youth crime and violence owing to its prevalence, harms and cost to society. Interventions with proven effectiveness in doing this exist. Adopting and adapting them in new contexts is potentially cost-effective. However, more research is needed into how to make adaptations that enhance intervention implementation, effectiveness and maintenance in new settings. This article reports the pre-implementation adaptation work involved in transporting Becoming a Man (BAM) from the US to the UK. BAM is a selective school-based youth development program for 12-18 year-old boys that aims to improve school engagement and reduce interactions with the criminal justice system. We describe the nature of and rationale for adaptations and identify learning for future adaptation efforts. An adaptation team comprising the intervention developers, new providers and the evaluators met weekly for 10 weeks, applying a structured, pragmatic and evidence-informed approach to adapt the BAM curriculum and implementation process. Changes were informed by documentary analysis, group-based discussions and site visits. The group agreed 27 changes to the content of 17/30 lessons, at both surface (e.g., cultural references) and deep (key mechanisms or concepts) levels. Of 28 contextual factors considered, 15 discrepancies between the US and UK were identified and resolved (e.g., differences in staffing arrangements). Strengths of the process were the blend of expertise on the adaptation team in the program and local context, and constant reference to and ongoing refinement of the program theory of change. Limitations included the lack of involvement of school staff or students. Further research is needed into potential conflicts between stakeholder perspectives during adaptation and whose views to prioritise and when.

From Safe Spaces to Sacred Spaces: Chicanx/Latinx After-School Youth Development and Transformational Resistance

This ethnographic case study examines how a social justice-based after-school (AS) youth leadership development program became a space for youth participants to develop a critique of social oppression and motivation for social justice action. Research demonstrates that youth development programs and models that cultivate agency among Youth of Color directly contribute to Positive Youth Developmental (PYD) outcomes (Larson, 2006), and are an effective intervention strategy for youth at high risk of school pushout. However, few studies specifically examine the factors that prompt engaged Chicanx-Latinx AS youth participants to develop a resistance behavior that reflects a critique of social oppression and motivation for social justice—Transformational Resistance (Solórzano & Bernal, 2001). In this article, I explain how youth participants explicitly cited how creating “safe spaces” and chosen-familial bonds through femtoring/mentoring relationships cultivated transformational resistance outcomes. I conclude by discussing how the Black Panther Mentorship Program (BPMP), a social justice-based AS youth program, transcended the traditional notions of safe spaces and transformed into a sacred space because it gave youth participants holistic forms of unconditional acceptance, acknowledgment, and interconnectedness. As a result, BPMP youth’s connection to sacred spaces enabled them to overcome personal and educational barriers.

4-H Archery Leader Guide: Basic and Advanced Levels, Ages 8–18 Years

The purpose of this guide is to provide a resource for archery leaders that includes reflection, application and evaluation with the activities. Written by Julia S. Kelly, and published by the Florida 4-H Youth Development Program, UF/IFAS Extension, June 2023.

Florida 4-H Exploration: Careers in Horticulture

This publication highlights some of the many career pathways in horticulture. 4-H youth and 4-H club leaders can use the document to explore potential career interests. Written by Marguerite Beckford, Sarah Davis, Kristie Popa, and Marnie Ward, and published by the Florida 4-H Youth Development Program, UF/IFAS Extension, September 2023.

Deepening Resilience in Youth: Learning from an Impact Evaluation of a South African Youth Development Programme

Positive youth development programmes seek to actively develop positive qualities in young people through life skills training, leadership training, recreational or wilderness activities, community service, mentoring, counselling and job placement training. We evaluated a positive youth development programme implemented in the Western Cape, South Africa, by following up with graduates who had completed the programme between one and five years prior. Using an ex-post facto, quasi-experimental design, propensity scores were used to identify a sample of successful graduates who has completed the programme (N Treatment = 32) and a sample of people who had applied to the programme but were not selected into the programme (N Control = 33). Quantitative data from the impact evaluation were combined with qualitative interviews with past beneficiaries. The evaluation found no significant difference between past participants and non-participants in terms of resilience, education attainment, employment, self-reported drug use, gang involvement, community integration, family relationships, and involvement in community service. The qualitative findings suggest that while such programmes may be capable of producing short-term benefits for participants, the sustainability of the short-term benefits and their translation into long-term positive outcomes was not evidenced by this evaluation. We make recommendations for improving programme design aspects, such as an emphasis on post-programme services and contextual factors such as socioeconomic climate, and emphasise how these factors need to be addressed in order to strengthen the plausibility of the causal mechanism of these programmes.

Long-Term Outcomes of Early Adult 4-H Alumni

Very little has been published reporting on long-term outcomes experienced by young adults (aged 19 to 34 years old) who participated in 4-H youth development programs. We adopted Gambone et al.’s (2002) framework advancing three long-term outcomes for early adulthood: economic stability, health and well-being, and community involvement. With cross-sectional survey methods, we compared long-term impacts between 693 California 4-H young adult alumni and 373 young adults in a U.S. general population sample who had not participated in 4-H. The results demonstrated that 4-H alumni report more positive long-term outcomes than the U.S. general population sample. The study contributes to the dearth of research around long-term outcomes, may be useful for marketing and funding, and will help better understanding the public value of Extension.

A scoping review of positive youth development programming for vulnerable and marginalized youth in low- and middle-income countries

This scoping review aims to describe the state of Positive Youth Development (PYD) programming for vulnerable and marginalized youth in LMICs and to assess the quality of available evidence on process evaluation and program effectiveness. We systematically searched academic and grey literature to appraise existing literature on PYD as applied to research studies and programming with vulnerable and marginalized youth in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Our scoping review followed the four general phases of a systematic search: preparation, retrieval, screening and appraisal, and synthesis. Our search yielded 42 publications that met the inclusion criteria. We identified 38 programs across 27 countries. Most programs included in this review did not explicitly identify PYD as their underlying behavioral change approach and did not differentiate programming based on youth's levels of vulnerability and marginalization. Youth-focused programs were comparably distributed across three development sectors—health, democracy, governance, economic development, and education. Poverty, stigma, discrimination, and cultural and social norms, including gender inequities create barriers to accessing youth-focused programs. Our review also found enabling factors, such as youth-friendly policies, community involvement, congruence with cultural and social norms, and creative media use, that support vulnerable and marginalized youth’s access to programs. We conclude that there remain gaps in using PYD as a conceptual framework to inform programming and as a methodological tool to standardize evaluation and impact assessment of PYD or PYD-informed programming for vulnerable and marginalized youth in LMICs.

Food Demonstration Guide

This guide will help you plan and deliver a well-organized presentation that is entertaining and educational for your audience. A 4-H demonstration is a great way for you to share your passion and teach others about your 4-H food-related project work. Written by Geralyn Sachs, and published by the UF/IFAS Extension Florida 4-H Youth Development Program, June 2023.

Effectiveness of the Positive Youth Development (PYD) Program on reducing aggression among high school female students

BackgroundThe positive youth development program highlights the abilities of adolescents and young people. This concept emphasizes that teenagers are capable of making positive changes (such as: flexibility, Responsibility, Identify abilities). This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of the Positive Youth Development (PYD) program on reducing aggression among high school female students in Yazd city. Iran.MethodsThis was a quasi-experimental study, using pretest-posttest design with a control group. In the 2019–2020 academic year, the statistical population comprised all female students in high school first and second years in the city of Yazd, Iran. Using purposive sampling and based on include and exclude criteria (high risk of aggression due to their scores on a screening test and Parental consent to participate in the class) 30 female students were selected. Randomly, they were assigned to an experimental(n = 15) and control groups(n-15). The Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire was conducted on students. The experimental group had 8 intervention sessions, whereas the control group received no intervention. The data were subsequently examined using Analysis of Covariance(ANCOVA).ResultsThe dependent t-test revealed a significant difference between the pretest-posttest aggression scores in the experimental group, but there was no significant difference in the control group. There was no significant difference in the mean scores of physical aggression, anger, and hostility in the experimental and control groups, but a significant difference was found between the experimental and control groups in the mean verbal aggression scores.Conclusiontraining of positive youth development did not affect on aggression and its three dimensions (physical aggression, anger, and hostility) and only affected adolescent verbal aggression.

4-H Youth Development Programming in Underrepresented Communities

This is part of a series of guides that have been updated with permission from 4-H National Council. This resource guide is designed to be used by Extension professionals and after-school providers to deliver positive youth development programs in underrepresented areas or with underrepresented populations. It includes information on identifying underserved or underrepresented audiences and potential challenges to their participation in 4-H programming. Written by Vanessa Starr Spero, and published by the 4-H Youth Development Department, UF/IFAS Extension, May 2023.

The clinical effects of modified tinnitus relieving sound (MTRS) for chronic tinnitus: protocol for a randomized controlled trial

IntroductionChronic subjective tinnitus has become an increasingly serious hazard that affects the health-related quality of life for millions of people. Due to the lack of curative treatment strategies, this study aims to introduce a novel acoustic therapy named the modified tinnitus relieving sound (MTRS) for tinnitus and to evaluate the efficacy of MTRS in comparison with unmodified music (UM) which served as a control.Methods and analysisA randomized, double-blinded, controlled, clinical trial will be carried out. Sixty-eight patients with subjective tinnitus will be recruited and randomly allocated into two groups in 1:1 ratio. The primary outcome is Tinnitus Handicapped Inventory (THI); the secondary outcomes are the Hospital Anxiety and Distress Scale (HADS; HADS subscales for Anxiety (HADS-A) and Depression (HADS-D)), Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), the visual analog scale (VAS) for tinnitus, and tinnitus loudness matched by sensation level (SL). Assessment will be performed at baseline and at 1, 3, 9, and 12 months post-randomization. The sound stimulus will be persistent until 9 months after randomization, and be interdictory in the last three months. Data collected during the intervention process will be analyzed and compared to baseline.Ethics and disseminationThis trial received ethical approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University (No. 2017048). The study results will be disseminated via academic journals and conferences.FundingThis study is supported by the Shanghai Shenkang Development Program (SHDC12019119), the Excellent Doctors-Excellent Clinical Researchers Program (SYB202008), the Shanghai Rising-Star Program (23QC1401200), the Shanghai Rising Stars of Medical Talent Youth Development Program (2021–99), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81800912), and the National Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (21ZR1411800).Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04026932. Registered on 18 July 2019.

Anti-Racist Research Methods in Sport-Based Youth Development

In this article, we examine the process of conducting anti-racist research in Sport for Development, specifically Sport-Based Youth Development programs in the United States. We acknowledge that participatory methods have been both identified and problematized as approaches to challenge the racialized experiences of youth. We share examples of attempts at Youth Participatory Action Research utilized across six previously unpublished projects. Through sharing our efforts to co-create environments with youth to produce changes impacting their development, we provide insight on our experiences and shortcomings. Finally, we conclude with implications for the field of Sport for Development, and youth-focused scholars, on deconstructing contexts that preserve and privilege whiteness.

4-H Marine Aquarium Adult Partner Guide

This guide is designed to assist the adult partner with a better understanding of the Marine Aquarium Project Book, as well as enhancing youths’ learning experiences. Written by Prudence Caskey, and published by the Florida 4-H Youth Development Program, UF/IFAS Extension, May 2023.