Abstract
Research suggests that increasing egalitarian relations between young people and adults is optimal for healthy development; however, the empirical assessment of shared control in youth–adult partnerships is emerging, and the field still requires careful observation, identification, categorization and labeling. Thus, our objective is to offer a conceptual typology that identifies degrees of youth–adult participation while considering the development potential within each type. We use an empowerment framework, rooted in evidence-based findings, to identify five types of youth participation: (1) Vessel, (2) Symbolic, (3) Pluralistic, (4) Independent and (5) Autonomous. The typology is constructed as a heuristic device to provide researchers, practitioners and policy-makers with a common language for articulating degrees of youth participation for optimal child and adolescent health promotion.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arnstein, S. (1969). A ladder of citizen participation. Journal of American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216–224.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Bennett, S., Coggan, C., & Adams, P. (2003). Problematising depression, young people, mental health and suicidal behaviors. Social Science and Medicine, 57(2), 289–299.
Benson, P. L. (1997). All kids are our kids: What communities must do to raise caring and responsible children and adolescents. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Bernstein, E., Wallerstein, N., Braithwaite, R., Gutierrez, L., Labonte, R., & Zimmerman, M. A. (1994). Empowerment forum—A dialog between guest editorial-board members. Health Education Quarterly, 21(3), 281–294.
Breitbart, M. M. (1995). Banners for the street: Reclaiming space and designing change with urban youth. Journal of Planning Education and Research, 15, 35–49.
Brookmeyer, K. A., Henrich, C. C., & Schwab-Stone, M. (2005). Adolescents who witness community violence: Can parent support and prosocial cognitions protect them from committing violence? Child Development, 76(4), 917–929.
Camino, L. A. (2000). Youth–adult partnerships: Entering new territory in community work and research. Applied Developmental Science, 4(Suppl. 1), 11–20.
Camino, L. A. (2005). Pitfalls and promising practices of youth–adult partnerships: An evaluator’s reflections. Journal of Community Psychology, 33(1), 75–85.
Cargo, M., Grams, G. D., Ottoson, J. M., Ward, P., & Green, L. W. (2004). Empowerment as fostering positive youth development and citizenship. American Journal of Health Behavior, 27(Suppl 1), S66–S79.
Checkoway, B., Allison, T., & Montoya, C. (2005). Youth participation in public policy at the municipal level. Children and Youth Services Review, 27(10), 1149–1162.
Checkoway, B. N., & Gutierrez, L. M. (Eds.). (2006). Youth participation and community change. New York: The Hayworth Press.
Chinman, M. J., & Linney, J. A. (1998). Toward a model of adolescent empowerment: Theoretical and empirical evidence. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 18(4), 393–413.
Cornwall, A. (2008). Unpacking ‘participation’: Models, meanings, and practices. Community Development Journal, 43(3), 269–283.
Cornwall, A., & Jewkes, R. (1995). What is participatory research? Social Science and Medicine, 41(12), 1667–1676.
Daiute, C., & Fine, M. (2003). Youth perspectives on violence and injustice. Journal of Social Issues, 59(1), 1–14.
Driskell, D. (2002). Creating better cities with children and youth: A manual for participation. Paris: UNESCO.
Eccles, J. S., & Gootman, J. A. (2002). Community programs to promote youth development. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Fauth, R. C., Roth, J. L., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2007). Does the neighborhood context alter the link between youth’s after-school time activities and developmental outcomes? A multilevel analysis. Developmental Psychology, 43(3), 760–777.
Fields, S. A., & McNamara, J. R. (2003). The prevention of child and adolescent violence. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 8, 61–91.
Fine, M., Freudenberg, N., Payne, Y., Perkins, T., Smith, K., & Wanzer, K. (2003). “Anything can happen with police around”: Urban youth evaluate strategies of surveillance in public places. Journal of Social Issues, 59(1), 141–158.
Finn, J., & Checkoway, B. N. (1998). Young people as competent community builders: A challenge to social work. Social Work, 43(4), 335–345.
Florin, P., & Wandersman, A. (1990). An introduction to citizen participation, voluntary organizations, and community development: Insights for empowerment through research. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18(1), 41–54.
Fogel, S. J. (2004). Risks and opportunities for success: Perceptions of urban youths in a distressed community and lessons for adults. Families in Society, 85(3), 335–344.
Foster-Fishman, P., Deacon, Z., Nievar, M. A., & McCann, P. (2005). Using methods that matter: The impact of reflection, dialogue and voice. American Journal of Community Psychology, 36(3/4), 275–291.
Franzen, S., Morrel-Samuels, S., Reischl, T. M., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2009). Using process evaluation to strengthen intergenerational partnerships in the youth empowerment solutions program. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 37(4), 289–301.
Freire, P. (1970/2003). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th Ed.). New York: Continuum.
Furstenberg, F. F. (2000). The sociology of adolescence and youth in the 1990s: A critical commentary. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 896–910.
Ginsburg, K. R., Alexander, P. M., Hunt, J., Sullivan, M., & Cnaan, A. (2002). Enhancing their likelihood for a positive future: Focus groups reveal the voice of inner-city youth. Pediatrics, 109(6), 95.
Guinier, L., & Torres, G. (2002). Rethinking conventions of zero-sum power. The miner’s canary: Enlisting race, resisting power, transforming democracy (pp. 108–130). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Hart, R. (1992). Children’s participation: From tokenism to citizenship (no. 4). Florence, Italy: UNICEF International Child Development Centre.
Hart, R., Dauite, C., Iltus, S., Kritt, D., Rome, M., & Sabo, K. (1997). Developmental theory and children’s participation in community organizations. Social Justice, 24(3), 33–63.
Hill, M. (1997). Participatory research with children. Child and Family Social Work, 2, 171–183.
Hill, R. F., & Fortenberry, D. J. (1992). Adolescence as a culture bound syndrome. Social Science and Medicine, 35, 73–80.
Hogan, K. (2002). Pitfalls of community-based learning: How power dynamics limit adolescents’ trajectories of growth and participation. Teachers College Record, 104(3), 586–624.
Hudson, D., Zimmerman, M. A., & Morrel-Samuels, S. (2006). Youth violence prevention: Theory and practice. In A. C. Gielen, D. A. Sleet, & R. J. DiClemente (Eds.), Injury and violence prevention: Behavioral science theories, methods, and applications (pp. 368–392). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Jarrett, R. L., Sullivan, P. J., & Watkins, N. D. (2005). Developing social capital through participation in organized youth programs: Qualitative insights from three programs. Journal of Community Psychology, 33(1), 41–55.
Jennings, L. B., Parra-Medina, D. M., Messias, D. K., & McLoughlin, K. (2006). Toward a critical social theory of youth empowerment. Journal of Community Practice, 14(1/2), 31–55.
Kim, S., Crutchfield, C., Williams, C., & Hepler, N. (1998). Toward a new paradigm in substance abuse and other problem behavior prevention for youth: Youth development and empowerment approach. Journal of Drug Education, 28(1), 1–17.
Kreisberg, S. (1992). Transforming power: Domination, empowerment and education. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Larson, R., Walker, K., & Pearce, N. (2005). A comparison of youth-driven and adult-driven youth programs: Balancing inputs from youth and adults. Journal of Community Psychology, 33(1), 57–74.
Lerner, R. M., Almerigi, J. B., Theokas, C., & Lerner, J. V. (2005). Positive youth development—A view of the issues. Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(1), 10–16.
Libby, M., Rosen, M., & Sedonaen, M. (2005). Building youth–adult partnerships for community change: Lessons from the youth leadership institute. Journal of Community Psychology, 33(1), 111–120.
Mahiri, J., & Conner, E. (2003). Black youth violence has a bad rap. Journal of Social Issues, 59(1), 121–140.
Mandel, L. A., & Qazilbash, J. (2005). Youth voices as change agents: Moving beyond the medical model in school-based health center practice. Journal of School Health, 75(7), 239–242.
May, R. (1972). Power and innocence. New York: Norton.
McHale, S. M., Crouther, A. C., & Tucker, C. J. (2001). Free-time activities in middle childhood: Links with adjustment in early adolescence. Child Development, 72(6), 1764–1778.
Meucci, S., & Redmon, J. (1997). Safe spaces: California children enter a policy debate. Social Justice, 24(3), 139–151.
Miller, J. (2003). Never too young: How young people can take responsibility and make decisions. London: Save the Children.
Millstein, S. G., & Litt, I. F. (1993). Adolescent health. In S. Feldman & G. Elliot (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing sdolescent (pp. 431–456). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Millstein, S. G., Petersen, A. C., & Nightingale, E. O. (1993). Adolescent health promotion: Rationale, goals, and objectives. In S. G. Millstein, A. C. Petersen, & E. O. Nightingale (Eds.), Promoting the health of adolescents: New directions for the twenty-first century (pp. 3–10). New York: Oxford University Press.
Minkler, M. (2000). Using participatory action research to build healthy communities. Public Health Reports, 115(2/3), 191–197.
Minkler, M., & Cox, K. (1980). Creating critical consciousness in health: Applications of Freire’s philosophy and methods to the health care setting. International Journal of Health Services, 10(2), 311–322.
Mitra, D. L. (2004). The significance of students: Can increasing “student voice” in schools lead to gains in youth development? Teachers College Record, 106(4), 651–688.
Morrill, C., Yalda, C., Adelman, M., Musheno, M., & Bejarano, C. (2000). Telling tales in school: Youth culture and conflict narratives. Law & Society Review, 34(3), 521–565.
Muuss, R. E. (1962/1996). G. Stanley Hall’s biogenetic psychology of adolescence. Theories of adolescence (6th Ed., pp. 15–17). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Penuel, W., & Freeman, T. (1997). Participatory action research in youth programming: A theory in use. Child & Youth Care Forum, 26(3), 175–185.
Phelan, P., Locke, A., & Cao, H. T. (1992). Speaking up: Students’ perspectives on school. Phi Delta Kappan, 73(9), 695–704.
Pretty, J. N. (1995). Participatory learning for sustainable agriculture. World Development, 23(8), 1247–1263.
Price, R. H. (1990). Wither participation and empowerment? American Journal of Community Psychology, 18(1), 163–167.
Punch, S. (2002). Research with children: The same or different from research with adults? Childhood, 9, 321–341.
Rappaport, J. (1995). Empowerment meets narrative: Listening to stories and creating settings. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23(5), 795.
Richardson, R. A. (2004). Early adolescence talking points: Questions that middle school students want to ask their parents. Family Relations, 53(1), 87–94.
Rocha, E. M. (1997). A ladder of empowerment. Journal of Planning Research, 17, 31–44.
Roth, J. L., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2003). Youth development programs: Risk, prevention and policy. Journal of Adolescent Health, 32(3), 170–182.
Schulz, A. J., Israel, B. A., Zimmerman, M. A., & Checkoway, B. N. (1995). Empowerment as a multi-level construct: Perceived control at the individual, organizational and community levels. Health Education Research, 10(3), 309–327.
Shier, H. (2001). Pathways to participation: Openings, opportunities, and obligations. Children and Society, 15, 107–117.
Tarver, D. T., Wong, N. T., Neighbors, H. W., & Zimmerman, M. A. (2004). The role of father support in the prediction of suicidal ideation among black adolescent males. In N. Way & J. Y. Chu (Eds.), Adolescent boys: Exploring diverse cultures of boyhood (144 pp.). New York: New York University Press.
Towns, D. P. (1996). “Rewind the world!”: An ethnographic study of inner-city African-American children's perceptions of violence. The Journal of Negro Education, 65(3), 375–389.
Treseder, P. (1997). Empowering children & young people: Promoting involvement in decision-making. London: Save the Children.
Wallerstein, N. (1992). Powerlessness, empowerment, and health: Implications for health promotion programs. American Journal of Health Promotion, 6(3), 197–205.
Wallerstein, N., & Bernstein, E. (1988). Empowerment education—Freire’s ideas adapted to health-education. Health Education Quarterly, 15(4), 379–394.
Wallerstein, N., Sanchez-Merki, V., & Dow, L. (2002). Freirian praxis in health education and community organizing. In M. Minkler (Ed.), Community organizing and community building for health (pp. 195–211). New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Wang, C., & Burris, M. A. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health Education and Behavior, 24(3), 369.
White, S. (1996). Depoliticizing development: The uses and abuses of participation. Development in Practice, 6(1), 6–15.
Whitlock, J. (2007). The role of adults, public space and power in adolescent community connectedness. Journal of Community Psychology, 35, 499–518.
Willis, P. (1990). Common culture: Symbolic work at play in the everyday cultures of the young. London: Open University Press.
Wilson, N., Minkler, M., Dasho, S., Carrillo, R., Wallerstein, N., & Garcia, D. (2006). Student facilitators and collaborative teams for participation: Training students as facilitators in the youth empowerment strategies (YES!) project. Journal of Community Practice, 14(1/2), 201–217.
Zeldin, S. (2004). Youth as agents of adult and community development: Mapping the process and outcomes of youth engaged in organizational governance. Applied Developmental Science, 8(2), 75–90.
Zeldin, S., Camino, L., & Mook, C. (2005a). The adoption of innovation in youth organizations: Creating the conditions for youth–adult partnerships. Journal of Community Psychology, 33(1), 121–135.
Zeldin, S., Larson, R., Camino, L., & O’Connor, C. (2005b). Intergenerational relationships and partnerships in community programs: Purpose, practice, and directions for research. Journal of Community Psychology, 33(1), 1–10.
Zimmerman, M. A. (1995). Psychological empowerment: Issues and illustrations. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23(5), 581–599.
Zimmerman, M. A. (2000). Empowerment theory: Psychological, organizational and community levels of analysis. In J. Rappaport & E. Seidman (Eds.), Handbook of community psychology (pp. 43–63). New York, NY: Plenum Press.
Zimmerman, M. A., Morrel-Samuels, S., Wong, N., Tarver, D., Rabiah, D., & White, S. (2004). Guns, gangs, and gossip: An analysis of student essays on youth violence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 24(4), 385–411.
Zimmerman, M. A., & Warschausky, S. (1998). Empowerment theory for rehabilitation research: Conceptual and methodological issues. Rehabilitation Psychology, 43(1), 3–16.
Acknowledgments
This paper was supported by the CDC/ASPH/PRC Minority Fellowship, the W. K. Kellogg Fellowship in Health Policy Research, the Center for Research on Ethnicity, Culture and Health and the Rackham Merit Fellowship. The paper does not necessarily reflect the views of the aforementioned funding sources.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wong, N.T., Zimmerman, M.A. & Parker, E.A. A Typology of Youth Participation and Empowerment for Child and Adolescent Health Promotion. Am J Community Psychol 46, 100–114 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9330-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9330-0