Using Partnerships to Create a Medical Specialty Camp for Youth with Diabetes

Complications associated with a complex chronic illness, specifically, type 1 diabetes, negatively impact youth as they struggle to maintain healthy lifestyles. Type 1 diabetes is the second most common chronic illness affecting youth as well as one of the most psychologically and behaviorally demanding illnesses. Fortunately, organized camps have been shown to positively influence long-term outcomes for youth. Family Diabetes Camp, the only family medical program in the state where this study occurred, was created in collaboration with a local university, a diabetes center at a hospital, and a chapter of the Lions Club. This collaborative camp program aimed to test the effect of active participation in a Family Diabetes Camp upon youth outcomes for campers with type 1 diabetes. Specifically, the purpose was to evaluate the impact of a collaborative medical camp on campers’ resilience and youth developmental outcomes (e.g., independence). Family Diabetes Camp was designed using Outcome-Focused Programming (OFP) to promote positive youth development. The Family Diabetes Camp included 50 campers for the pre-test and post-test (n= 19 males and n= 31 females). While there were no statistically significant differences from pretest (M=4.97, SD= .53) to post-test scores (M=5.01, SD= .46), with t(50) = -.56, p= .57) researchers found a slight increase in resilience from pre to post-test. Using a retrospective measure, campers showed gains in the seven critical youth development outcomes identified by the American Camp Association. Finally, campers learned new knowledge about site injection, carbohydrate counting, and the use of exercise to help manage their diabetes. The impact associated with adapting activities and an environment to encourage, analyze, and challenge resilient behaviors is essential in encouraging independence, shared experiences, and effective disease management for youth living with type 1 diabetes. The camp, solely staffed by volunteers, included physicians, diabetes educators, certified therapeutic recreation specialists, dietitians, nurses, pump specialists, recreation professionals and students, and Lions Club Members. The camp program is unique not only in how it fills a void for youth with type 1 diabetes but how three large organizations work in concert to meet the needs of entire families. These types of data can be instrumental in establishing more camps and other out of school time programming that positively impacts quality of life, health care cost, and mortality among youth with type 1 diabetes.

Reconnecting Youth to Nature: A Camp on Campus Model

Day camps are a powerful context for youth development. The American Camp Association and Leave No Trace have been integral in supporting youth development by identifying outcomes associated with participation in outdoor recreation. Recreation majors in the programming class used the camp as a service-learning component of the class that offered them valuable hands-on experience in program design, program facilitation, working with youth, and program evaluation. Therefore, this study evaluated the impact of camp on identified youth outcomes. The outdoor recreation camp was a partnership from a private school and local university. The Youth Outcomes Battery provided measures that focus on common outcomes (e.g., affinity for nature). Thirty-one of the 32 campers completed the retrospective questionnaire. The sample was 61% female, with an average age of 9 years. On a scale of 1 to 10, campers scored a 9.32 on Level of Enjoyment. Findings show that over 50% of the campers learned “a little” or “a lot” about the desired outcomes (e.g., affinity for nature). This work provides an example of an evidence-based nature camp.

Seen and Heard: Learning from Young People's Experiences Sharing Power in Faith Communities

Faith communities have been shown to provide a sense of belonging and community while also providing a rich environment for youth to engage and grow as leaders. Yet, few current studies have explored faith communities as spaces for sharing power and sustained youth leadership development. Using a thematic analysis approach, this qualitative study of 222 participants across Jewish, Muslim, and Christian faith communities aimed to explore the role of developmental relationships in young people's lives and their faith and spiritual development. Through the analyses, multiple and varied examples of sharing power emerged, leading us to investigate more fully the roles of leadership, engagement, and participation in young people's experiences in their faith communities. Findings demonstrated that faith communities can provide welcoming, engaging spaces for youth to have voice and develop as leaders. Youth across faith communities experienced authentic opportunities to build and apply leadership skills. These experiences led to positive youth outcomes, including increased confidence, building relational skills, feelings of belonging, and greater engagement. Findings from this study can inform youth development programs more broadly by illuminating concrete ways adults and youth can share power, leading to young people’s sense of engagement and belonging.

The impact of Juvenile Drug Treatment Courts (JDTC) implementing Federal Evidence-Based Guidelines on recidivism and substance use: multisite Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) and Regression Discontinuity (RDD) Designs

Background Juvenile drug treatment courts (JDTC) have struggled to define themselves since their inception in 1995. Early courts followed a format similar to adult drug courts, but these did not address the unique needs of juveniles, which led to the creation of 16 Strategies by a consensus panel of practitioners and researchers. But, like the first JDTCs, research with courts following these strategies failed to provide convincing evidence that this “model” was associated with significant reductions in recidivism or drug use. More recently, a new set of evidence-based guidelines were developed through meta-analyses commissioned by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP, 2016). Method OJJDP provided funding for a rigorous multi-site evaluation of the guidelines. This study protocol paper for the Juvenile Drug Treatment Court (JDTC) Guidelines Cross-Site Evaluation presents research designs for the comparison of youth outcomes from 10 JDTCs compared with 10 Traditional Juvenile Courts (TJCs) in the same jurisdictions. Two sites opted into a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and eight sites chose to follow a regression discontinuity design (RDD). Youth data are captured at baseline, and at 6- and 12-month follow-ups using an interview comprised of several standardized assessments. The youths’ official records also are abstracted for recidivism and substance use information. The degree to which the evidence-based guidelines are implemented at each site is assessed via an in-depth court self-assessment collected at baseline and again 2 years later and via structured site visits conducted once during implementation. Discussion As a field-based trial, using both RCT and RDD designs, findings will provide important, policy-relevant information regarding the implementation of the OJJDP evidence-based guidelines, including the degree to which JDTCs adopted and/or modified these practices, their relative impact on recidivism and substance use, as well as the degree to which JDTCs differ from TJCs. Specific inferences may be drawn about whether following or not following specific guidelines differentially impact youth outcomes, yielding recommendations about the translation of this information from research-to-practice for potentiating the broader adoption of these guidelines by JDTCs nationwide. Clinical trials registration This was not an NIH supported trial. The funder, OJJDP/NIJ, instead required publishing the design with even more information at https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/juvenile-drug-treatment-court-jdtc-guidelines-cross-site-evaluation.

Pathways to Positive Development for Muslim Immigration Youth in Western Contexts

<p>Muslim youth growing up in Western contexts face a complex set of issues as a result of meeting the various, and often incongruent, expectations placed upon them by their family, religion, ethnic community and host national society. This group of young people is often thought to face high risks of maladaptation, as they potentially experience the negative effects of acculturation more so than host nationals or other immigrant youth. Recent research, however, has suggested that many Muslim migrant young people are successfully negotiating their experiences of cultural transition in Western societies. Therefore, the major aim of this thesis was to obtain systematic data on young Muslim migrant’s “pathways to positive development”, or how these young people achieve successful adaptation in the face of adversity. To examine the complexities of Muslim migrant youth acculturation fully, it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of their lived experiences within and across contexts. In order to achieve this, four studies were conducted utilising mixed methodologies and drawing on a range of psychological and sociological theories, predominantly focusing on acculturation, development and religiosity. Study 1 qualitatively investigated the indicators and determinants of participation and success for Muslim youth in the New Zealand environment. The results of this study enabled a framework to be developed that illustrates the most salient ecological resources youth access (family, religion and the intercultural environment), the risks they face (discrimination and cultural differences) and outcomes of the acculturation process. In study 2, this framework was refined by drawing upon theories of resilience, and subsequently was tested quantitatively with a sample of Muslim youth in New Zealand. Results from this study indicate that while Muslim youth in New Zealand may be at risk of maladaptative outcomes because of their exposure to discrimination and cultural transition, ecological resources may counteract some of the negative effects of these stressors. Study 3 sought to test whether the results found in study 2 were generalisable to Muslim youth in other contexts by carrying out a comparative analysis of youth outcomes in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. These societies were chosen to be compared because they share a similar historic culture but have taken very different routes to social cohesion and the inclusion of minorities. The major aim of this study was to investigate whether the country of settlement has an impact on the adaptation of Muslim migrant youth. The results demonstrate that the cultural environment of migration plays an important contributing factor to both the experience of stress and the achievement of positive adaptation above and beyond the effects of resources. Finally, study 4 utilised techniques of multilevel modelling to examine the acculturation experiences of Muslim youth cross-culturally. Drawing on the International Comparative Study of Ethnocultural Youth (ICSEY) data, Muslim migrant youth from 9 Western receiving nations were examined. Results indicate that the ideological context (cultural values and host national attitudes towards immigrants) has important effects on individual levels of adaptation and the experience of perceived discrimination. The findings of this thesis contribute novel perspectives to acculturation and development research as well as cross-cultural psychology more generally. Using multiple methods in the study of psychological phenomena enables a move beyond traditional descriptions of acculturation processes as situated predominantly within one cultural setting and advances our understanding of how Muslim youth fare in a global context.</p>

Pathways to Positive Development for Muslim Immigration Youth in Western Contexts

<p>Muslim youth growing up in Western contexts face a complex set of issues as a result of meeting the various, and often incongruent, expectations placed upon them by their family, religion, ethnic community and host national society. This group of young people is often thought to face high risks of maladaptation, as they potentially experience the negative effects of acculturation more so than host nationals or other immigrant youth. Recent research, however, has suggested that many Muslim migrant young people are successfully negotiating their experiences of cultural transition in Western societies. Therefore, the major aim of this thesis was to obtain systematic data on young Muslim migrant’s “pathways to positive development”, or how these young people achieve successful adaptation in the face of adversity. To examine the complexities of Muslim migrant youth acculturation fully, it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of their lived experiences within and across contexts. In order to achieve this, four studies were conducted utilising mixed methodologies and drawing on a range of psychological and sociological theories, predominantly focusing on acculturation, development and religiosity. Study 1 qualitatively investigated the indicators and determinants of participation and success for Muslim youth in the New Zealand environment. The results of this study enabled a framework to be developed that illustrates the most salient ecological resources youth access (family, religion and the intercultural environment), the risks they face (discrimination and cultural differences) and outcomes of the acculturation process. In study 2, this framework was refined by drawing upon theories of resilience, and subsequently was tested quantitatively with a sample of Muslim youth in New Zealand. Results from this study indicate that while Muslim youth in New Zealand may be at risk of maladaptative outcomes because of their exposure to discrimination and cultural transition, ecological resources may counteract some of the negative effects of these stressors. Study 3 sought to test whether the results found in study 2 were generalisable to Muslim youth in other contexts by carrying out a comparative analysis of youth outcomes in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. These societies were chosen to be compared because they share a similar historic culture but have taken very different routes to social cohesion and the inclusion of minorities. The major aim of this study was to investigate whether the country of settlement has an impact on the adaptation of Muslim migrant youth. The results demonstrate that the cultural environment of migration plays an important contributing factor to both the experience of stress and the achievement of positive adaptation above and beyond the effects of resources. Finally, study 4 utilised techniques of multilevel modelling to examine the acculturation experiences of Muslim youth cross-culturally. Drawing on the International Comparative Study of Ethnocultural Youth (ICSEY) data, Muslim migrant youth from 9 Western receiving nations were examined. Results indicate that the ideological context (cultural values and host national attitudes towards immigrants) has important effects on individual levels of adaptation and the experience of perceived discrimination. The findings of this thesis contribute novel perspectives to acculturation and development research as well as cross-cultural psychology more generally. Using multiple methods in the study of psychological phenomena enables a move beyond traditional descriptions of acculturation processes as situated predominantly within one cultural setting and advances our understanding of how Muslim youth fare in a global context.</p>

Reasons for Premature Closure of a Mentoring Relationship: A Qualitative Study of Mentoring Youth With a Visual Impairment

Preventing mentor-mentee relationships from ending prematurely is important because an early or unanticipated closure could lead to negative youth outcomes. In this study, the reasons for premature closure of a community-based mentoring program for youth with a visual impairment (VI) are studied. Data from 44 prematurely ended mentor-mentee pairs were analyzed; all mentees (mean age = 18.5, SD = 1.92) and 23 of the mentors had VI. Logbook data with two types of transcribed semi-structured interviews were thematically coded line-by-line. Frequencies of coded responses provided insight into the most frequently reported reasons and the most frequently reported problems. Chi-square analyses were conducted to study differences between matches in the two conditions (i.e., matches containing mentors with or without VI). Regardless of the condition, premature closure was primarily initiated by mentees, and the most common cause was reported to be due to deficiencies in mentors’ relationship skills. Matches with a mentor with VI experienced more problems within one domain of the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) model. These results show that additional pre-match mentor and supplementary mentee training are needed to increase relationship success in mentoring programs serving youth with VI.

Paternal Borderline Symptoms and Offspring Outcomes in Young Adulthood

Borderline personality disorder symptoms (BPDsx) in mothers have been linked to psychopathology in their offspring. However, it is still unclear whether BPDsx in fathers influences offspring psychopathology and, if so, how this risk transmission may occur. A total of 448 father-mother-offspring triads completed a longitudinal study following children from birth until age 20 and included self-report questionnaires and clinical interviews when children were 15 and 20 years old. Results revealed that paternal BPDsx were predictive of youth BPDsx and internalizing symptoms, even after controlling for maternal BPDsx. Chronic family stress was a significant mediator of the relationship between paternal BPDsx and offspring BPDsx, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing symptoms. Fathers' expressed emotion and child temperament were not significant mediators. Although offspring sex predicted youth outcomes, it was not a significant moderator of the association between paternal BPDsx and offspring symptoms. Finally, controlling for comorbid paternal disorders weakened the association between paternal BPDsx and youth psychopathology.

Integrating Positive Youth Development: Insights From International Youth Development Programming

Effective international youth development programs go beyond single-issue interventions—they leverage the entire organization and project life cycle to advance positive youth outcomes. This paper illustrates how positive youth development (PYD) approaches can be adapted for and applied by organizations to promote positive outcomes for young people and communities globally. The article provides 6 insights from the International Youth Foundation’s (IYF) application of PYD principles across diverse youth development programs. Moreover, the authors present practical insights into what is required by practitioners, regardless of geographic boundaries, to effectively engage with, support, and meet the needs of youth and young adults whom they serve. Finally, the article argues that practitioners and funders need to find new ways to measure and value PYD investments and that funders need to make PYD integral across their funding streams.

Violence Exposure, Aggressive Cognitions & Externalizing Behaviors among Colombian Youth: The Moderating Role of Community Belongingness

Limited work has focused on understanding mechanisms through which violence negatively impacts youth outcomes. The present study investigates how three different facets of violence exposure (witnessing violence, victimization and armed conflict) relate to Colombian youth externalizing behaviors via the indirect influence of aggressive cognitions and the moderating role of community belongingness. Data were from a sample of students ( N = 3,483) in public high schools in Colombia. Findings indicated all three facets of violence were positively associated with youth externalizing behaviors. Armed conflict and witnessing community violence positively predicted externalizing behaviors via the indirect effect of aggressive cognitions. Community belongingness moderated the association between armed conflict and witnessing on aggressive cognitions. Results highlight the need for understanding risk and protective factors from a contextual lens. The role of community belongingness as a resilience factor is discussed, as such it has implications for intervention programs targeting youth at greater risk to violence exposure.