Abstract
Background
Advances in knowledge of how to promote positive youth development (PYD) have significant potential to enrich intervention science. As part of a broader movement in the direction of a more fully integrated intervention science, PYD intervention research can provide practitioners in youth behavioral and mental health with an updated set of intervention tools beyond problem-focused strategies for reducing or preventing dysfunction.
Objective
The objective of this commentary is to highlight potential contributions of PYD research to the development of more complete models of youth intervention, as well as to identify directions for future PYD intervention research.
Method
This commentary discusses and expands on findings from the present articles that contribute to an empirical foundation for connecting PYD promotion with the science and practice of treatment and prevention.
Results
The findings point to practical advantages that result from understanding the empirical links among PYD, treatment, and prevention on the way to achieving a more fully integrated intervention science, as well as methodological challenges involved in pursuing this agenda.
Conclusions
In this context, the next generation of intervention science will be driven by integrating PYD’s contextual, cultural, relational, global, and participatory values into the science of building and testing youth interventions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, B. G., Wiium, N., & Abubakar, A. (2018). Developmental assets and academic performance of adolescents in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Child & Youth Care Forum. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-018-9480-z.
Benson, P. L. (2007). Developmental assets: an overview of theory, research, and practice. In R. Silbereisen & R. Lerner (Eds.), Approaches to positive youth development (pp. 33–59). London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Bonds, D. D., Wolchik, S. A., Winslow, E., Tein, J., Sandler, I. N., & Millsap, R. E. (2010). Developmental cascade effects of the New Beginnings Program on adolescent adaptation outcomes. Developmental Psychopathology, 22, 771–784. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579410000453.
Catalano, R. F., Berglund, M. L., Ryan, J. A. M., Lonczak, H. S., & Hawkins, J. D. (2004). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 591, 98–124. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716203260102.
Chen, B., Wiium, N., & Dimitrova, R. (2018). A life history approach to understanding developmental assets among Chinese adolescents. Child & Youth Care Forum. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-017-9433-y.
Ciocanel, O., Power, K., Eriksen, A., & Gillings, K. (2017). Effectiveness of positive youth development interventions: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46, 483–504. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0555-6.
Dickson, K., Melendez-Torres, G. J., Fletcher, A., Hinds, K., Thomas, J., Stansfield, C., et al. (2018). How do contextual factors influence implementation and receipt of positive youth development programs addressing substance use and violence? A qualitative meta-synthesis of process evaluations. American Journal of Health Promotion, 32, 1110–1121. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117116670302.
Durlak, J. A., & DuPree, E. P. (2009). Implementation matters: A review of research on the influence of implementation on program outcomes and the factors affecting implementation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 327–350. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-008-9165-0.
Dutra-Thomé, L., DeSousa, D., & Koller, S. H. (2018). Promotive and risk factors for positive youth development among emerging adults in Brazil. Child & Youth Care Forum. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-018-9475-9.
Ferrer-Wreder, L. (2013). Advancing child and adolescent well-being through positive youth development and prevention programs. In A. Ben-Arieh, I. Frones, F. Casas, & J. E. Korbin (Eds.), The handbook of child well-being (pp. 3025–3041). New York: Springer.
Guerra, N. G., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2008). Linking the prevention of problem behaviors and positive youth development: core competencies for positive youth development and risk prevention. In N. G. Guerra & C. P. Bradshaw (Eds.), Core competencies to prevent problem behaviors and promote positive youth development. New directions for child and adolescent development (Vol. 122, pp. 1–17). Hoboken: Jossey-Bass. https://doi.org/10.1002/cd.225.
Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford.
Hayes, S. C., Hofmann, S. G., Stanton, C. E., Carpenter, J. K., Sandfor, B. T., Curtiss, J. E., et al. (2018). The role of the individual in the coming era of process-based therapy. Behaviour Research and Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2018.10.005.
Hofmann, S. G., & Hayes, S. C. (2018). The future of intervention science: Process-based therapy. Clinical Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702618772296.
Kazdin, A. E. (2009). Understanding how and why psychotherapy leads to change. Psychotherapy Research, 19, 418–428. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503300802448899.
Kozina, A., Wiium, N., Gonzalez, J., & Dimitrova, R. (2018). Positive youth development and academic achievement in Slovenia. Child & Youth Care Forum. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-018-9457-y.
Lerner, R. M. (2004). Liberty: thriving and civic engagement among America’s youth. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Lerner, R. M., Lerner, J. V., Bowers, E. P., & Geldhof, G. J. (2015). Positive youth development and relational-developmental-systems. In W. F. Overton & P. C. M. Molenaar (eds.), Theory and method (Chapter 16, pp. 607–651), (Volume 1: handbook of child psychology and developmental science, 7th edition). R. M. Lerner, series editor. New York: Wiley.
Lerner, R. M., & Overton, W. F. (2008). Exemplifying the integrations of the relational developmental system: Synthesizing theory, research, and application to promote positive development and social justice. Journal of Adolescent Research, 23(3), 245–255. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558408314385.
Llewelyn, S., MacDonald, J., & Doorn, Aafjes-van. (2016). Process-outcome studies. In J. Norcross (Ed.), Handbook of clinical psychology (pp. 451–463). Worcester: American Psychological Association.
Masten, A. S., & Cicchetti, D. (2010). Developmental cascades. Developmental Psychopathology, 22, 491–495. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579410000222.
Mejia, A., Leijten, P., Lachman, J. M., & Parra-Cardona, J. (2017). Different strokes for different folks? Contrasting approaches to cultural adaptation of parenting interventions. Prevention Science, 18(6), 630–639. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-016-0671-2.
Overton, W. F. (2010). Life-span development: Concepts and issues. In R. M. Lerner (Ed.), The handbook of lifespan development. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Roth, J. L., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2003). What exactly is a youth development program? Answers from research and practice. Applied Developmental Science, 7, 94–111. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532480XADS0702_6.
Roth, J. L., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2016). Evaluating youth development programs: Progress and promise. Applied Developmental Science, 20, 188–202. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2015.1113879.
Scales, P. C., Benson, P. L., & Roehlkepartain, E. C. (2011). Adolescent thriving: The role of sparks, relationships, and empowerment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40, 263–277.
Taylor, R. D., Oberle, E., Durlak, J. A., & Weissberg, R. P. (2017). Promoting positive youth development through school-based social and emotional learning interventions: A meta-analysis of follow-up effects. Child Development, 88, 1156–1171. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.1286.
Tirrell, J. M., Geldhof, G. J., King, P. E., Dowling, E. M., Sim, A. T. R., Williams, K., et al. (2018). Measuring spirituality, hope, and thriving among Salvadoran youth: Initial findings from the compassion international study of positive youth development. Child & Youth Care Forum. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-018-9454-1.
Tolan, P. (2014). Future directions for positive development intervention research. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 43, 686–694. https://doi.org/10.1080/15374416.2014.936604.
Tolan, P. (2016). Positive youth development interventions: advancing evaluation theory and practice. Applied Developmental Science, 20, 147–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2015.1014485.
Tolan, P., Ross, K., Arkin, N., Godine, N., & Clark, E. (2016). Toward an integrated approach to positive development: Implications for intervention. Applied Developmental Science, 20(3), 214–236. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2016.1146080.
Weisz, J. R., Sandler, I. N., Durlak, J. A., & Anton, B. S. (2005). Promoting and protecting youth mental health through evidence-based prevention and treatment. American Psychologist, 60, 628–648. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.60.6.628.
Wiium, N., Dost-Gözkan, A., & Kosic, M. (2018). Developmental assets among young people in three European contexts: Italy. Norway: Child & Youth Care Forum. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-018-9446-1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Eichas, K., Ferrer-Wreder, L. & Olsson, T.M. Contributions of Positive Youth Development to Intervention Science. Child Youth Care Forum 48, 279–287 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-018-09486-1
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-018-09486-1