Facilitating Positive Development in Immigrant Youth

Francisco A. Villaruel, Daniel F. Perkins, Lynne M. Borden. Community Youth Development. Programs, Policies, and Practices/Sage Publications, 2003. 
 

Nearly 80% of all the immigrants in the US come from Latin America, Asia, and the Afro-Caribbean basin. Latino immigrants from Central and South Africa make up the largest group, that is why the majority of the research on difficulties and challenges facing immigrants is focused on this group.

Immigrant parents, many of whom have limited English skills, often find it difficult to monitor their children’s academic progress, keep track of their children’s after-school activities, and understand their children’s experiences. As a result, immigrant youth are vulnerable to emotional difficulties and more likely to be engaged in risky behaviors.

Community organizations working with immigrant youth provide a broad array of services within the framework of youth development. Volunteer mentors and community youth workers can provide support for adolescents growing up in challenging environments which will help the youth to achieve their goals and reach their potential. Most programs for the immigrant youth are targeted at specific ethnic groups to better address the challenges that they are facing.

Some of the programs (targeted at Latino and Caribbean youth) are focused on preventing risky behaviors and negative outcomes, like teen pregnancy, substance use, academic failure, etc. Other organizations (aimed at Asian youth) focus on the development of academic skills and the provision of information regarding college admissions.

Some examples of programs for immigrants

Combining mentoring and the Arts. Bajucol is a community organization that provides Colombian youth living in the Boston area with an opportunity to embrace their roots, culture, and folklore.

Using Arts to cope with the realities of immigrant life. The program was developed to help youth cope with the challenges of immigrant life, realities of growing up in an inner-city area, through music, improvisational acting, and movement.

Intergenerational community problem-solving. It is a peer education and leadership program based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, initiated to respond to the need for HIV/AIDS prevention education among Haitian youth and to provide them with the tools to confront discrimination     and racism.

A Closer Look at Behaviors, Needs, and Circumstances of Adolescents in the United States

Francisco A. Villaruel, Daniel F. Perkins, Lynne M. Borden. Community Youth Development. Programs, Policies, and Practices/Sage Publications, 2003.

Overview
Health and well-being of adolescents across the country is uneven. Some are doing quite well, others are doing very poorly. More youth are graduating from high schools than ever, and a larger number are involved in some form of higher education. Between 40 and 54% of high school students report having participated in a volunteer or a community-based service program at least a few times in the previous year.

Continuing problems

Academic failure

Although the gap between black and white students' achievements has narrowed since 1970s, there are still substantial racial and ethnic group differences in academic performance. The proportion of youth dropping out of high school without completion increases with age and is especially high among Hispanic youth and adolescents living in poor communities. 

Poor physical and mental health 

Some students are still becoming sexually active quite young, 8% of students report having sex before the age of 13. The rates of sexual activity are especially high among black youth living in poor communities. 

Smoking has declined in the last several years, although nearly 63% of adolescents have tried cigarettes by the 12th grade, and 31 are currently frequent smokers. 

The prevalence of obesity among adolescents in the US has almost doubled over the last three decades.

Violent behavior

In 1997, homicide was the second leading cause of death for young people. 

Poor economic and family circumstances

An increasing number of teenagers were living most of their adolescent years in single-parent homes. As for economic circumstances, 18% of young people under 18 lived below the poverty level in the beginning of 2000s.

Use of time

Compared with young people in Europe and Asia, teenagers in the US have more discretionary time - only about 20% of their time is spent in school. Limited time is spent on schoolwork. Most of their discretionary time is spent on 'watching TV' or 'hanging out with friends'. Besides, there were about 8 million children aged 8-14 who spent their free time without adult supervision during nonschool hours. The reason for that are: increased work hours, welfare reform, limited availability of good youth programs. There is evidence that teens left alone in nonschool hours are more likely to be engaged in sexual intercourse, alcohol and drug abuse, smoking, etc. 

My conclusions

These data mean that many teenagers need support. Staying the way they are right now, they are likely to join racial and ethnic minority groups. And community programs could become important tools in dealing with such programs. Participation in voluntary activities during nonschool hours could help increase initiative, improve positive relationships with peers and adults, reduce risk behavior. At the same time, community programs cannot solve all the problems, because there are still poor schools and poor medical care, bad neighborhoods, etc.

On Community Programs for Youth and Complexity of Transition to Adulthood

Community Programs to Promote Youth Development/National Academy Press, 2002.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=cIoUoTeBZqwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=youth+developmentots=tKs2ISNPocsig=muXHJ2zm5BM2Uhg180WLPUubEbw#v=onepage&q&f=true

Adolescence is an important period between childhood and adulthood.  It is the time when youth need to acquire attitudes, competencies, values, and social skills that will carry them forward to a successful adulthood. That is why adolescents need a great amount of help, guidance, instruction, and discipline to help them make their way to adulthood.  Community programs for youth provide these sources of supports. They exist in many forms: special clubs, service programs,sport leagues, academic enrichment programs, etc.

Today such programs receive increased funding from diverse federal agencies, and state and local governments.  Private foundations have also expanded their support of community programs for youth. Besides, there is an increased public understanding that organized programs for youth can prevent problem behavior in children and adolescents, as well as promote their health, development, and well-being. 

Youth in 1960s and today

Adolescent development has become increasingly complex. The author gives a very interesting comparison of young people living in the 1960's and today's youth. Back in the early 60s, young people finished high school and either went to college or entered the job market. They usually got married and began families n early 20s. Which means adolescents launched into adulthood in early 20s. Now it is not the case at all. Rapid demographic, sociocultural, and labor-market changes have extended adolescents well into the 20s. The median age for marriage is in the late 20s. The number of youth involved in postsecondary education have increased dramatically. 

Risks confronted by youth 
One of the problems that enhances complexity of transition to adulthood is widespread risks that youth confront.  For example, in the U.S. in the past decade the use and access to alcohol and drugs have increased. Here the author makes some observations which I found especially interesting:

Alcohol 

• Ecstasy has become the most frequently mentioned drug in telephone calls to the Poison Control Center;
• A review of top-selling popular songs found alcohol mentioned in 47% of rap music lyrics;
• In television shows, 9 out of 10 drinkers of alcohol are portrayed as experiencing no negative effect, moreover, positive social and personal outcomes are shown.

Violence

• By age 18, average young person will have viewed an estimated 200,000 acts of violence on television alone;
• The incidence of gangs in schools has almost doubled in the last 10 years, which has been linked with increased gun possession among adolescents. 

Programs to combat these trends may be helpful. The idea of positive youth development programs has emerged other time based on the idea that schools have to be supported and complemented by partners in the local communities. 

The reading is very interesting in general, the only drawback I saw is that most of the data go back to 1990s, so there is no recent data. 

Youth Participation and Myths Related to It

Jennifer L. O'Donogue, Benjamin Kirshner, Milbrey McLaughlin. Moving Youth Participation Forward/Jossey-Bass. San Francisco, 2002, #96. 

In the past several decades, the concept of youth participation has become a hot topic. Today, it is an international phenomenon occurring in multiple settings and on various levels. Youth participation has been linked to organizational sustainability and effectiveness, as long as to national economic and political development. However, there is a lot of confusion about what youth participation means, what it looks like, and what it involves. 

The most common definitions is as follows: "Youth participation is a set of activities that empower adolescents to take part in and influence decision making that affects their lives and to take actions on issues they care about".

The paradox regarding youth participation is that despite its presence on different levels all around the world, young people often have to struggle to convince adults they have rights to engage in organizational and public decision making and action. For that, a clear understanding of youth participation is required, which is often challenged by common myths. 

Myths

1. Youth participation is accomplished by placing one youth on a board or committee
2. Youth participation means that adults surrender their roles as guides and educators
3. Adults are ready for youth participation
4. Youth are ready to participate

My comments on the above myths

The author raises a very interesting topic of preparedness of both the youth and adults to youth participation. Adults need ongoing training on how to support youth and how to serve as adult allies. Youth participation is not an independent process free of a certain level of control. It needs to be guided and directed by adults. Though this at times also seems to be rather challenging, because the role of adults as guides and educators is not well defined.  At the same time, youth also need ongoing training. It does not mean that they need to train now and participate later. Rather, they need domain specific skills. For example, if they want to participate in program evaluation, they need training on research methods. If they want to be engaged in decision making, they need training on public speaking, etc. 


When it comes to involving youth in organizational and public matters, it is very important to avoid two risks: "decoration" and exclusivity. The former means that today many school boards and city councils have created space for youth representatives, but in reality young people might not even have a chance to effect change in the world or to speak up. Thus they become just a "decoration". As for exclusivity, it means that selecting several people to represent a larger community might lead to a risk of choosing only the most privileged and skilled young people. 

The above myths represent key barriers to youth participation and raise a number of questions: Are adults fully prepared for youth participation? Are youth ready to take on roles as decision makers? Are adults ready to perceive youth as "actual people" ready to effect change in the world? 

Positive Youth Development in the United States: A Report

http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/positiveyouthdev99/

This report contains research findings on evaluation of positive youth development (PYD) programs.  It identifies 25 well-evaluated programs (and their results) which address elements of PYD. It covers such topics as the origins of the positive youth development approach, definitions of PYD, standards for selecting program evaluations, and standards, constructs, and social domains of PYD programs.

How Can Friendship Facilitate the Sense of School Belonging?

Jill V. Hamm, Beverly S. Faircloth. The Role of Friendship in the Adolescents' Sense of School Belonging//Jossey-Bass. San Fransisco, 2005, #107.

This article explores friendship in the school context, and determines its role in the development of students' sense of school belonging. It is based on the results of a survey carried out among 24 males and females (high school students) of different ethnic background. Though the survey sample seems rather limited and does not include college students,the article still gives a pretty good understanding of how friendship helps develop adaptive behaviors and adjust to school. It was especially interesting for me because I am a first-year grad student in a new school, and some ideas expressed in the article are quite relevant. 

What is School Belonging? 

A sense of school belonging is not just fitting in. There is emotional attachment, that comes from being valued by, and evaluating of others. It derives from interpersonal relationships with members of school community, and is critical for adolescents because it meets their need for relatedness.  For example, teens increase the level of school engagement when they have a sense of school belonging.  Positive sense of school belonging can protect against nonacademic risk behaviors like suicide, pregnancy, and violence. 

Challenges to a Sense of School Belonging 

Many adolescents experience school as an alienating setting, both socially and academically. 

The main factors of alienation are:

• cliquishness
• lack of acceptance from the school body as a whole
• academic success 

If the first two factors are quite understandable, the third one came as quite a surprise.  The survey showed that high-achieving students experience lack of peer acceptance resulting in the development of vulnerability. In the surveyed school, academic efforts were denigrated b the larger student community. Which for me raises a pretty interesting question: If I were a student at that school, would I rather have many friends and totally 'fit-in', which for me is equal to social development, or concentrate on studies and become a brilliant student, which would probably cross me out from social life, but promote my academic development. 

Friendship and Belonging 

Friendship is what makes school comfortable. Difficult assignments, academic failure, and lack of motivation can make students question their competence and the vale of what they are doing. In this perspective, friends help a lot both with academic and nonacademic issues, and serve as a perfect mechanism to cope with stress. Thus having friends appears to be a good means of finding a place in the school and gaining a sense of school belonging.

Multiple provisions of friendship form a foundation for the development of the sense of school belonging: companionship, tangible and emotional support, helpfulness, trust, intimacy, and enhancement of self worth.


Being with friends and participating in joint activities, according to the survey, decreases the sense of boredom and develops a sense of pleasure from the time spent in a classroom. Many students identify that having friends in class means not only great enjoyment, but also meaningful shared experience which develops further on through extra-curricular activities. 

Conclusion 

The authors go deeper into detail describing how different provisions of friendship promote the sense of school belonging, but the main idea is as follows: Having many friends makes school experience far easier and more enjoyable. Friendship can buffer against the negative effects of peer group acceptance, can help cope with stress, peer and family problems.  And although peer acceptance is important to the sense of school belonging, a close and intimate friendship can protect from the feeling of exclusion and alienation caused by the lack of acceptance. Close friendships are a context for developing adapting behaviors among individuals. Thus, the role of close friendship is crucial in the high school students' sense of belonging.

Development of Friendship Between Men Throughout History

The History and Nature of Man Friendship. http://artofmanliness.com/2008/08/24/the-history-and-nature-of-man-friendships/

This is just a little fun article on the history of man friendship I came across when browsing the web.  It describes the development of the principles of friendship between guys throughout different historical periods, from the ancient times till nowadays. Why did male friendship use to be seen more noble than marital love?  When did man friendship reach the peak of sentimentality? When did man hug appear? The answers to these and other questions you'll find in this article. You will also see some good pictures from the past which give a better understanding of what friendship was like back then.

 Ancient Times

During this period of time, male friendship was seen as the most fulfilling relationship a man could ever have. It was more noble than marital love because women were viewed as inferior. Platonic relationships characterized by emotional connection without sexual intimacy were considered ideal and were greatly extolled by philosophers.  At this time, the idea of heroic friendship based on emotional and intellectual maturity developed.  Historic examples:  Achilles and Patroclus,  

19th Century America

Male relationships at this period of time with filled with deeply held feeling and sentimentality, and endearing language in daily interaction was often part of them. In addition to that, men were not afraid to be physically affectionate, i.e. to hold hands. At times, they even shared the same bed - in order to save money. There was no concept of homosexuality back then as we know it now. One of the reasons for such level of intimacy in male relationships was lack of interaction between sexes prior to marriage. Due to all these, male friendships were very similar to romantic relationships between men and women. 

20th Century America

Man friendship underwent a big transformation from being intimate and sensual to being almost free of emotional bonding and physical affection of any sort. Such transformation was driven by the fear of being called 'gay'. Later on, man friendship experienced a great influence from market economics, when men started seeing each other as competitors. With increased mobility, it became harder to make true friends. And with the development of leisure and sports infrastructures, men started building their friendships around shared activities rather than basing them on an emotional bond. 

Close Male Friendships: Myth or Reality?

Judy Y. Chu. Adolescent Boys' Friendships and Peer Group Culture//Jossey Bass, San Franscisco, 2005, #107.

Overview

This is a very interesting article that helps to develop a comprehensive understanding of boys' friendship experiences.  It is a well-known fact that boys have fewer close friendships and develop less intimacy within these relationships as compared to girls. The author suggests that incapability or lack of interest of boys to develop close same-sex relationships is closely connected with the male peer group pressure.  The article is based on the data collected over the course of 2 years with 65 adolescent boys attending a private boys secondary school. Since the data is so limited it is not clear how reasonable it would be to generalize it, but still the article is worth reading at least because it gives an insight on the guys' world, and helps understand a little better why guys sometimes act the way the do.

Some smart thoughts and interesting conclusions

All individuals are born with a fundamental capacity and desire for close, mutual relationships. Children and adolescents seek the following social provisions in their friendships:

• intimacy (sharing secrets);
• affection (showing warmth and care);
• companionship (spending time together);
• alliance (feeling joined)
• satisfaction (being happy with the relationship)

Most of the boys perceive their peer group culture to present certain obstacles to their development of close friendships.Such obstacles include the need to protect vulnerability, prove masculinity, and preserve integrity while among male peers. 

The peer group culture makes it unsafe for boys to express themselves and relate to others in the ways that support development of close friendships. Although the boys seem not to care about what other people think, they modify their behavior and styles of relating to avoid being ridiculed, criticized, and rejected by other peers. However the decision to be selective in their self-expression and guarded in their interactions, inhibits their chances to be truly known by others and thus interferes with the boys' efforts to develop close friendships.

In order to fit in among other peers and not to stand out in ways that might have undesirable repercussions, boys need to sustain a certain image of masculinity. Within a peer group, it means that the boys need to differentiate themselves from femininity and, in general, anything that could be associated with grils' or womens' behavior.  They boys constantly need to prove that they are self-sufficient, tough, and capable of emotional stoicism. That is why the boys learn to exaggerate masculine qualities, and to suppress feminine qualities. 

The threat of being called 'gay' appears to be a primary motivation for conforming to masculine norms of behavior. Thus, through constraining the boys' self-expression and interpersonal engagement, it becomes difficult for others to know what they are really like, and as a result, this threat inhibits the boys' development of close friendships.

Those boys who do manage to develop a close same-sex friendship, despite, the peer group pressure, acknowledge its protective role by making it possible for boys not only to survive, but to thrive under the circumstances of peer pressure. A close friendship creates an environment in which the boys can be truly honest and open to one another. It enables them to trust and be trusted,  to confide in, be vulnerable, and really take good care of each other. This experience of trust and intimacy in their close relationships could be carried over to other relationships and interactions.

Conclusion

Boys are faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, they show a clear capacity for and interest in close friendships, on the other hand, they actively read and respond to their peer group culture, which reinforces masculine norms of behavior. Given that the male peers in general tend to be judgmental, the boys decide to be guarded in their social interactions  and demonstrate exaggerated masculine behavioral patterns.

Further discussion

• There might be some male peer groups which present less challenges to development of close relationships. What kind of groups could those be?
• Boys may respond differently to the challenges they face. What determines their response?
• What helps boys succeed in developing close same-sex relationships?