Ways to Promote Positive Youth Development

Jacquelynne S. Eccles, Jennifer Appleton Gootman, Community Programs to Promote Youth Development. National Academy Press, 2002.

Participants of a local community program are usually a diverse group of American adolescents. It is very important to make sure that the program provides daily settings and experiences that engage all the youth and support their development.

Features of daily settings that promote positive youth development include the following:

1. Physical and psychological safety

Positive settings have to be free from violence and unsafe health conditions because of their direct impact on physical health and survival.  Experiencing or witnessing violence can have a severe and long-lasting effect on a child’s psychological condition.  They can also lead to skipping school, lower academic achievement, more negative attitudes towards school, etc. Moreover, childhood sexual abuse appears a cause of numerous adult psychological disorders.

2. Clear structure and adult supervision

Positive development requires that a child experiences a stable, predictable reality.  Similarly, adolescents benefit from experiencing clear rules and discipline. Maintenance of control and organization in the classroom setting (by a teacher) is related to student satisfaction, growth, and achievement. But as they grow older, adolescents need to have an increasing opportunity to have input in classroom and school governance and rules.

3. Supportive relationships

Researchers speak of warmth, connectedness, good communication, and support as of a critical feature of any developmental setting. Adult support is associated with positive school motivation, better mental health, lower rates of drinking and drug use, etc. Besides, parental support strengthens a child’s ability to take on challenge, and provides protection against negative cultural stereotypes.

4. Opportunities to belong

How can we provide inclusiveness? Interactions between adolescents must be on the level of equal status; activities must be cooperative rather than competitive; adults must serve as role models and mentors; there must be individualized contact between members of groups. 

5. Positive social norms

Every group of people that has sustained interaction develops a set of habits, norms, and expectations that govern their behavior. Research shows that adolescents’ perceptions of social norms have immediate and lasting effects on their behavior.   

    

6. Opportunities for skill building

Good settings must provide opportunities for acquiring knowledge and learning new physical, psychological, social, and cultural skills. And although some programs may specialize in the development of some skills (athletic, for example), good programs must learning in other areas as well.  

7. Integration of family, school, and community efforts

Although we need to remember that no single program can succeed in helping every participant. Adolescents have other, often more powerful influences in their lives. Some will be more ready for change and growth than others. In addition, any given program will work better for some teens than for others. More research is needed to specify programs which promote development and to tailor programs to the needs of individual adolescents