Positive Youth Development

2021 ◽  
pp. 87-108
Author(s):  
Nora Wiium ◽  
Fitim Uka
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Social Competencies ◽  
Use Of Time ◽  
Positive Identity ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Communist Countries

Consistent with the positive youth development perspective, the experience of internal and external assets is associated with positive development or thriving among young people. This proposal has been developed and tested mainly in the United States but it also appears to be considerably true for Roma youth living in post-communist countries. This chapter examines Roma youth (N = 354) experience of various developmental assets and how these assets are related to thriving. Study results indicated positive relations between the assets and thriving, in general. In addition, the experience of constructive use of time was quite low among Roma youth relative to internal assets, such as commitment to learning, positive values, social competencies, and positive identity, and other external assets such as support, empowerment, and boundaries and expectations. While this low experience of constructive use of time could be a general trend among young people, it could also reflect the discrimination and social exclusion that Roma youth often face. Because Roma youth across Europe form a significant and growing proportion of the school-age population and consequently the future workforce, policies and programs that promote both internal and external assets necessary for thriving are essential because thriving has been associated with the development of self and society.

scholarly journals The 5Cs of Positive Youth Development, Purpose in Life, Hope, and Well-Being Among Emerging Adults in Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nor Ba’yah Abdul Kadir ◽  
Rusyda Helma Mohd
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Purpose In Life ◽  
Emerging Adult ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Positive Development

A substantial body of evidence supports Lerner and colleagues’ 5Cs model of positive youth development (PYD) in the United States (U.S.). Nonetheless, it remains unclear whether the 5Cs can be used to identify positive development in the under-researched Asian contexts, such as Malaysia. Thus, this study examined the 5Cs of PYD (competence, confidence, character, connection, and caring) and their importance to purpose in life, hope, and well-being in a sample of emerging adult undergraduate university students in Malaysia. Data were collected from 400 participants from 15 Malaysian universities (132 males, 268 females; ages ranged from 18 to 26 years old, M = 22). A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that two of the 5Cs of PYD (confidence and connection) as well as hope were important to explaining variation in well-being. The findings imply that there are strong links between PYD, especially confidence and connection, and well-being, while purpose in life and hope were indirectly related to the 2Cs (confidence and connection) of PYD and well-being. Therefore, mental health professionals are encouraged to review and redefine their treatment design to include confidence, connection, purpose in life and hope when working with Malaysian emerging adult university students.

scholarly journals A Roadmap for Youth Thriving: A Commentary on the Arnold and Gagnon Vision for Positive Youth Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 147-161
Author(s):  
Richard M. Lerner
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Developmental Science ◽  
Science Theory ◽  
The Common ◽  
Theory Research ◽  
Development Practice

Youth development researchers and practitioners have the common goal of understanding and enhancing the positive development of all young people. The work of Professors Mary Arnold and Ryan Gagnon on the 4-H Thriving Model provides a creative and richly theoretically and empirically informed vision for promoting positive youth development (PYD) through integrating youth development research and practice. Their vision is an exemplar of how theoretically predicated and cutting-edge developmental science and the enactment of youth programs can be mutually informative. Drawing on the theory, research, and ideas for program design encompassed within the Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) Alliance, which applies developmental scholarship that integrates research from multiple disciplines and underscores the malleability, agency, and specificity of mutually influential coactions between youth and their contexts, Professors Arnold and Gagnon illustrate the features of researchópractice integration that must be enacted for innovative progress in programs aimed at enhancing youth thriving. The compelling roadmap for promoting PYD through the integrations framed by the 4-H Thriving Model will advance youth development practice, developmental science theory and research and, most important, the lives of the diverse young people of our nation.

scholarly journals On the Right Path: Youth Development Amidst Colombia’s Sociocultural Transition

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 310-328
Author(s):  
Holly E. Follmer-Reece ◽  
Paulina Velez-Gomez ◽  
Nadia Semenova Moratto-Vásquez ◽  
Sara L. Dodd
Keyword(s):  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Youth Programs ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Internal Armed Conflict ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
The Right ◽  
Sociocultural Transition

Colombia is amidst a sociocultural transition due to recent political movements towards ending the long-standing internal armed conflict. Development and implementation of youth programs that are responsive to the current societal context can contribute to this transition by investing in younger generations. This study features findings from the exploration phase of a community-based participatory research study to adapt a youth program from the United States for implementation in Colombia. Through focus group interviews, participants representing 4 different microsystems surrounding youth shared perceptions of youth who will be successful in this transitional context. Perceptions coalesced to reveal a process of positive development for use as a framework for responsive and culturally sensitive program adaptations. The emergent process mirrors positive youth development principles and shares similarities with other positive youth development models. The discussion explores considerations for the sociocultural context when designing youth programs for use in Colombia.

The Positive Perspective on Youth Development

2017 ◽  
pp. 543-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret L. Kern ◽  
Nansook Park ◽  
Daniel Romer
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Positive Education ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Positive Perspective ◽  
Mental Well Being

This chapter covers positive youth development, positive psychology, and positive education, which suggest that mental health is more than the absence of mental illness and involves proactively supporting the mental well-being of young people. The assets of youth that protect against problems and allow young people to do well include both individual psychological characteristics and aspects of their social context. Positive approaches aim to maximize the potential of young people by encouraging both personal and environmental assets. Research findings over the past three decades have brought empirical support for key premises of positive youth development and have provided important insights into individual and contextual factors that underlie youth thriving. Future studies will continue to refine measures, improve interventions, and use empirical findings to understand and influence the processes that give rise to positive development.

One good thing leads to another: Cascades of positive youth development among American adolescents

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 759-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Selva Lewin-Bizan ◽  
Edmond P. Bowers ◽  
Richard M. Lerner
Keyword(s):  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Developmental Systems ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Ecological Resources ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Individual Self ◽  
Youth Community

AbstractDevelopmental cascades are links across the life span among heterotypic (qualitatively distinct) variables associated with one or more levels of organization within the ecology of human development. Using data from the longitudinal, 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (PYD), we illustrate a developmental systems theory predicated model of cascades in the relations between individuals and contexts that promote positive development among adolescents. Consistent with expectations about the bases of PYD and the role in such development on person and context, ecological resources associated with parenting are linked to individual self-regulatory behaviors that in turn impact PYD, which is then associated with youth community contributions. We discuss the limitations and future directions of this research and the implications of developmental cascades for applications to policies and programs.

Flourishing in Emerging Adulthood

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura M. Padilla-Walker ◽  
Larry J. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Moral Development ◽  
Emerging Adulthood ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Developmental Time ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Broad Definition ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Definition Of

This opening chapter of the volume provides a broad definition of flourishing and argues that there are a variety of ways to flourish during emerging adulthood. It urges researchers to consider both the positive and negative sides of this time period. Emerging adulthood has been referred to as a time of arrested development, during which young people avoid responsibilities that are thought to be typical of adulthood. Yet this is also a unique developmental time period in which positive development is fostered. There are many opportunities available for positive development, civic engagement, and moral development. There has also been a surge in the study of positive youth development. This chapter reviews this research, and also highlights how the following chapters meet the goals of the volume.

The five Cs of positive youth development in Norway

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 559-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Holsen ◽  
John Geldhof ◽  
Torill Larsen ◽  
Elisabeth Aardal
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
School Students ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
The Us ◽  
Five Cs ◽  
Using Data

As the field of positive youth development (PYD) emerges internationally, models of PYD designed for use in the US must be extended to diverse contexts. For instance, a robust body of evidence supports Lerner and colleagues’ Five Cs Model of PYD in the US, but it remains unclear whether the Five Cs Model can validly capture positive development in other contexts. In this article we examined the Five Cs of PYD using data from 1195 upper secondary school students (ages 16 to 19) in Norway and 839 participants who took part in the 4-H Study of PYD in the United States. Despite some differences, the tests of weak and strong measurement invariance do suggest that the overarching PYD factor as well as a majority of the Cs, retain their qualitative interpretation between the two samples. We next examined correlations between the full battery of PYD items administered to the Norwegian sample and three relevant criterion measures: Anxiety and Depressive symptoms; Life Satisfaction; and Empowerment. The residual Cs tended to correlate positively with indicators of adaptive development and negatively with maladaptive outcomes. The one exception was a positive correlation between Caring and Anxiety and Depressive symptoms. These findings are discussed. Measuring the same constructs in the same way across countries is a prerequisite for studying cultural differences and similarities in development. This study thus represents a step forward in the application of PYD research among diverse youth.

scholarly journals Positive Youth Development Attributes and Parenting as Protective Factors Against Adolescent Social Networking Addiction in Hong Kong

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Yu ◽  
Daniel Tan Lei Shek
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Protective Factors ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Parenting Behavior ◽  
Positive Identity ◽  
Hong Kong Adolescents ◽  
Hong Kong Students

This study examined the predictive effects of 15 positive youth development (PYD) attributes and parenting behavior on adolescent social networking addiction (SNA) in a representative sample of Hong Kong students. In total, 1,896 Hong Kong Secondary 1 students from 20 randomly selected schools (age = 13.19 ± 0.52 years) completed the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), the Chinese Positive Youth Development Scale, and the Chinese Parenting Behavior Scale. Of the participants, 11.4% could be classified as being addicted to Social Networking Sites (SNSs). Regression analyses showed that students' emotional competence (β = −0.09; p < 0.01), behavioral competence (β = −0.12; p < 0.001), beliefs in the future (β = −0.10; p < 0.01), and spirituality (β = −0.08; p < 0.01) were negatively associated with SNA, while social competence (β = 0.07; p < 0.05) and positive identity (β = 0.13; p < 0.001) were positively related to SNA. Paternal and maternal responsiveness showed indirect effects on students' SNA through the full mediation of PYD attributes. Specific PYD attributes and positive parenting behavior may serve as important protective factors against the development of SNA among Hong Kong adolescents.

scholarly journals Positive Youth Development in the 21st Century: Exploring Online Environments

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-26
Author(s):  
Mark Light ◽  
Jessica Falkenthal
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Youth Development ◽  
Positive Youth Development ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Target Audience ◽  
Youth Organizations ◽  
Mobile Media ◽  
Target Populations ◽  
Online Environments ◽  
New Strategies

The manner that young people and adults are communicating with each other is rapidly changing in society that is, in part, driven by the latest technology. As a youth-driven program, we must engage in new strategies and methods by which we communicate with youth members, volunteers, families, and the community at large. Social and mobile media are a growing and popular venue for much of our target audience and youth development practitioners must learn how to leverage these networks to create positive youth development in online environments. If we ignore and don’t engage in the opportunity to be connected to youth online, then youth are left to make their own paths online and set the online norms. As youth organizations, we also must seize the opportunity to be online mentors and use the resources that are available and being used by our target populations.

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