Abstract
While we have numerous research-based programs for youth aimed at curbing drug use, violence, suicide, teen pregnancy, and delinquency, we lack a rigorous principle-based psychology of positive youth development. Instead of focusing on fixing what is assumed to be missing or broken in at-risk youth, we need a psychology grounded in fundamental causal principles that reveal clearly how such children and adolescents can become self-motivated, socially competent, compassionate, and psychologically vigorous adults. While the emerging field of positive psychology has attempted to shift the field's emphasis from understanding and treating youthful dysfunction to facilitating well-being and resiliency in young people, it lacks a principle-based foundation and continues to mistakenly endorse external causes of positive affect and prosocial behavior. This paper offers a unique, principle-based psychology of positive youth development commonly known as health realization (HR). The underlying principles of HR are delineated, contemporary research that supports its major assumptions cited, and the results of applied HR research with at-risk youth in clinical, educational, and community empowerment settings described.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
Agnew, R. (1985). Social control theory and delinquency: A longitudinal test. Criminology, 23, 47–61.
Ainsworth, M. D. (1982). Attachment, retrospect, and prospect. In C. M. Parkes & J. Stevenson (Eds.), The place of attachment in human behavior. London: Tavistock.
Antonovsky, A. (1979). Health, stress, and coping. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Arendt, R., Cone, F.L., & Sroufe, A.L. (1979). Continuity of individual adaptation from infancy to kindergarten. A predictive study of ego-resiliency and curiosity of preschoolers. Child Development, 50, 950–959.
Bailey, J. (1990). The serenity principle. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
Bailey, J. (1989). New hope for depression: A study in neo-cognitive therapy. Paper presented at the Eighth Annual Psychology of Mind Conference. St. Petersburg, Florida.
Bailey, J., Blevens, J. K., & Heath, C. (1988). Early results: A six-year post-hoc follow-up study of the long-term effectiveness of neo-cognitive psychotherapy. Paper presented at the Seventh Annual Psychology of Mind Conference. Coral Gables, Florida.
Baltes, P.B., & Staudinger, U.M. (2000). Wisdom: A metaheuristic (pragmatic) to orchestrate mind and virtue toward excellence. American Psychologist, 55, 122–131.
Bandura, A. (1989). Human agency in social cognitive theory. American Psychologist, 44: 1175–1184.
Bandura, A. (1991). Self-regulation of motivation through anticipatory and self-reactive mechanisms. In R. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Perspectives on Motivation. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Banks, S. (1983). Second chance. Tampa, FL: Duval Bibb Publishing Co.
Banks, S. (1989). In quest of the pearl. Tampa, FL: Duval Bibb Publishing Co.
Banks, S. (1998). The missing link. Vancouver, B.C.: Lone Pine Publishing.
Banks, S. (2001). The Enlightened Gardener, Vancouver, B.C.: Lone Pine Publishing.
Beck, A.T. (1991). Cognitive therapy: A 30-year retrospective. American Psychologist, 46, 368–375.
Benard, B. (1996). Musings II: Rethinking how we do prevention. Western Center News, March. Portland, OR: Western Regional Center for Drug-Free Schools and Communities.
Blevens, J., Bailey, J., Olson, P., & Mills, R. C. (1992). Treatment effects of neo-cognitive therapy: A formative evaluation. Paper prepared for the Foundation for the Advancement of Mental Health. Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Block, J.H., & Block, J. (1980). The role of ego-control and ego-resiliency. In W.A. Collins (Ed.), TheMinnesota Symposium on Child Psychology: Vol. 13. Development of cognitive affect and social relations (pp. 39–101). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Borg, M. B. (1997). The impact of training in the health realization model on affective states of psychological distress. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, California School of Professional Psychology. Los Angeles, CA.
Burns, D. (1980). Feeling good: The new mood therapy. New York: Morrow.
Buss, D.M. (2000). The evolution of happiness. American Psychologist, 55, 15–23.
Carlson, R., & Bailey, J. (1999). Slowing down to the speed of life. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
Carver, C. S., & Schieir, M. F. (1990). Origins and functions of positive and negative affect: A control-process view. Psychological Review, 97, 19–35.
Cherry, A. (1992). Assessment of effectiveness using the informed families outcome evaluation systems. Miami Shores, FL: Barry University, School of Social Work.
Coombs, J., & Cooley, W. (1986). Dropouts: In high school and after high school. American Educational Research Journal. 5, 343–363.
Crystal, A., & Shuford, R. (1988). The efficacy of a neo-cognitive approach to positive psychological change. Advanced Human Studies Institute, Coral Gables, FL.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow. San Francisco: Harper-Collins.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). If we are so rich, why aren't we happy? American Psychologist, 54, 821–827.
Curtis, B., Smith, R., & Small, F. (1979). Scrutinizing the skipper: A study of leadership behavior in the dugout. Journal of Applied Psychology, 64, 391–400.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Press.
Derogatis, L.R. (1977). SCL-90R: Administration, scoring and procedures manual I. Baltimore: Clinical Psychometrics Research.
Derogatis, L.R. (1983). Description and bibliography for the SCL-90R and other instrument of the psycho-pathology rating scale series. Baltimore: Clinical Psychometric Research.
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–575.
Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being. A science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55, 34–43.
Dodge, K. A., & Frame, C. M. (1982). Social-cognitive biases and deficits in aggressive boys. Child Development, 53: 620–635.
Ekstrom, R.B., Gortz, M.E., Pollack, J.M., & Rock, D.A. (1986). Who drops out of school and why? Findings from a national study. Teacher's College Record, 87, 3, 356–373.
Ellis, A. (1962). Reason and emotion in psychotherapy. Seacaucus: Lyle Stuart.
Foley, E., & Warren, D. (1985). Dropout prevention: A first step: The story of New York City's implementation of education law 3602 (D) relating to attendance improvement and dropout prevention. New York: The Public Education Association.
Gadwa, K., & Griggs, S. A. (1985). The school dropout: Implications for counselors. The School Counselor, 33, 9–17.
Goleman, D. G. (1992). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than I.Q. New York: Bantam Books.
Harter, S. (1988). The construction and conservation of the self: James and Cooley revisited. In D.K. Lapsley & R.C. Power (Eds.), Self, ego and identity: Integrative approaches. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Harter, S. (1990). Developmental differences in the nature of self-representations: Implications for the understanding, assessment, and treatment of maladaptive behavior, Cognitive Therapy and Research.
Heath, S. B. (1991). “It's about winning!”: The language of knowledge in baseball. In L. B. Resnick, J. M. Levine, & S. D. Teasley (Eds.), Perspectives on socially shared cognition (pp. 101–124), Washington D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Heath, S. B. (1994). The project of learning from the inner-city youth perspective. In F. A. Villarruel, & R. M. Lerner (Eds.). Promoting community-based programs for socialization and learning (New Directions for Child Development. Vol. 63, pp. 25–34). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Heath, S. B. (1999). Dimensions of language development: Lessons from older children. In A. S. Masten (Ed.), Cultural processes in child development: TheMinnesota Symposium of Child Psychology (Vol. 29, pp. 59–75). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Heath, C. Emiliano, S.Y., and Usagawa, S.K. (April, 1992). Project Mainstream Hawaii: Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association. San Francisco, CA.
Hirschi, T. (1969). Causes of delinquency. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Iran-Nejad, A. (1990). Active and dynamic self-regulation of learning processes. Review of Educational Research, 60, 573–602.
Jung, C. (1933). Modern man in search of a soul. New York: Harcourt.
Kelley, T. M. (1990). A neo-cognitive model of crime. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 16, 1–26.
Kelley, T. M. (1993a). Neo-cognitive learning theory: Implications for prevention and early intervention strategies with at-risk youth. Adolescence, 23, 439–460.
Kelley, T. M. (1993b). An advanced criminology based on Psychology of Mind. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 15, 173–190.
Kelley, T.M. (1993c). Crime and Psychology of Mind: A neo-cognitive view of delinquency. In G. Barak (Ed.), Varieties of criminology: Readings from a dynamic discipline (pp. 29–45). Westport, CT: Praeger.
Kelley, T. M. (1996). A critique of social bonding and control theory of delinquency using the principles of Psychology of Mind. Adolescence, 31(122), 321–337.
Kelley, T. M. (1997). Falling in love with life: A guide to EFFORTLESS happiness and inner peace. Rochester, MI: Breakthrough Press.
Kelley, T.M. (2001). The need for a principle-based positive psychology (comment). American Psychologist, 56, 1, 36–37.
Kelley, T. M., & Stack, S. (2000). Thought recognition, locus of control, and adolescent happiness. Adolescence, 35, 531–550.
Klein, H. A. (1977). Towards more effective behavioral programs for juvenile offenders. Federal Probation, 41, 45–56.
Larson, R. W. (2000). Toward a psychology of positive youth development. American Psychologist, 55, 170–183.
Larson, R.W., & Richards, M.H. (1991). Boredom in the middle school years: Blaming schools versus blaming students. American Journal of Education, 99, 418–443.
Maslow, A. (1971). The farthest reaches of human nature. New York: Viking.
McCombs, B.G. (1991). Metacognition and motivation for higher level thinking. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, Illinois.
McCombs, B.G., Bland, C., & Shown, J. (1994). Neighbors making a difference: Community empowerment as a primary prevention strategy and foundation for collaborative partnerships: final report-executive summary, Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory. Aurora, Colorado.
McCombs, B.L., & Marzano, R. J. (1990). Putting the self in self-regulated learning: The self as agent in integrating will and skill. Educational Psychologist, 25, 51–69.
Mills, R.C. (1988). Modello early intervention project: Second quarterly report. Miami, Florida: Metro-Dade Department of Youth and Family Development, Bureau of Criminal Justice Assistance.
Mills, R.C. (Nov. 1989). MMPA Summary Progress Report: The Modello early intervention program. Metro-Miami Action Plan, Health & Human Services Sub-committee.
Mills, R. C. (Jan. 1990a). The Modello-Homestead Gardens intervention program, summary progress report. Paper presented at the National Association of Counties. Miami, Florida.
Mills, R. C. (1990b). Substance abuse, dropout, and delinquency prevention: The Modello / Homestead Gardens public housing project. Paper presented at the 9th Annual Conference on Psychology of Mind, St. Petersburg, FL.
Mills, R. C. (Jan. 1990c). The Modello-Homestead Gardens intervention program, summary progress report. Paper presented at the National Association of Counties. Miami, Florida.
Mills, R. C. (1992). The Psychology of Mind applied to substance abuse, dropout, and delinquency prevention: The Modello / Homestead Gardens intervention project. Paper presented at the Tenth Annual Conference of Psychology of Mind, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Mills, R. C. (1995). Realizing mental health. New York: Sulzburger & Graham.
Mills, R.C. (1997). Psychology of Mind in prevention: Health Realization. In G. Pransky, The renaissance of psychology (pp. 205–229). New York: Sulzburger & Graham Publishing.
Mills, R. C. (2000). The understanding behind health realization, a principle-based psychology: Summary of clinical, prevention and community empowerment applications-documented outcomes. Long Beach, CA: Health Realization Institute.
Mills, R. C., Dunham, R.G., & Alpert, G. (1988a). Working with high-risk youth in prevention and early intervention programs: Toward a comprehensive wellness model. Adolescence, 23, 643–660.
Mills, R. C., & Pransky, G. (1993). Psychology of Mind: The basis for health realization. The founder's monograph. Paper presented at the 12th Annual Conference on Psychology of Mind, Burlington, VT.
Mills, R. C., & Spittle, E. (1998). The health realization community empowerment primer. Long Beach, CA: Health Realization Institute.
Mills, R. C., & Spittle, E. (2000). The understanding behind health realization: A principle-based psychology. Long Beach, CA: Health Realization Institute.
Mills, R. C., & Spittle, E. (2001). The wisdom within. Renton, WA: Lone Pine Publishers.
Myers, D. G. (1992). The pursuit of happiness: Discovering the pathway to fulfillment, well-being, and enduring personal joy. New York: Avon Books.
Myers, D. G. (2000). The funds, friends, and faith of happy people. American Psychologist, 55, 56–57.
O'Conner, O. (1985). Dropout prevention programs that work. Oregon School Study Council Bulletin, 29, 7–13.
Oden, S. (1995). Studying youth programs to assess influences on youth development. New roles for researchers. Journal of Adolescent Research, 10, 173–186.
O.M.G., Inc. (1994). Final annual assessment report: Comprehensive community revitalization program. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Patterson, G. R., Chamberlain, P., & Reid, J. B. (1982). A comparative evaluation of a parent training program. Behavior Therapy, 13, 638–650.
Peck, N., Law, A., & Mills, R. C. (1987). Dropout prevention: What we have learned. Coral Gables, FL: University of Miami, Center for Dropout Prevention.
Phillips, E.L. (1968). Achievement Place: Token reinforcement procedures in a homestyle rehabilitation setting for pre-delinquent boys. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1, 213.
Pransky, G. (1990). The relationship handbook. Blue Ridge Summit, PA: TPB Books.
Pransky, J. (1991). Prevention: the critical need. Springfield, MO: Burrell Foundation.
Pransky, J. (1994). Can prevention be moved to a higher plane? New designs for youth development. Tucson, Arizona: Development Associates.
Pransky, G. (1997). The renaissance of psychology. New York: Sulzburger & Graham Publishing.
Pransky, J. (1998). Modello: An inside-out model of prevention and resiliency in action through health realization. Cabot, Vermont: NEHRI Publications.
Pransky, J. (1999). The experience of participants after health realization training: A one-year follow-up phenomenological study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, The Union Institute, Cabot, VT: NEIHRI Publications.
Pransky, J. & Carpenos, L. (2000). Healthy thinking/feeling/doing from the inside out. Brandon, VT: Safer Society Press.
Reckless, W. (1967). The crime problem. New York: Appleton-Century Crofts.
Ringold, C. (1992). Changing hearts, changing minds: The usefulness of psychology of mind in the treatment of paranoid schizophrenia-two case studies. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Minnesota School of Professional Psychology.
Roe, J., & Bowser, B. (1993). Health Realization/community empowerment project: Evaluation of First Year Activities. Submitted to East Bay Community Recovery Project.
Rutherford, R.B. (1975). Establishing behavioral contracts with delinquent adolescents. Federal Probation, 39, 29.
Salovey, P., Rothman, A.J., Detweiler, J.B., & Steward, W.T. (2000). Emotional states and physical health. American Psychologist, 55, 110–121.
Samenow, S. (1984). Inside the criminal mind. New York: Times Books.
Schieir, M.F., & Carver, C.S. (1987). Dispositional optimism and physical well-being: The influence of generalized outcome expectancies on health. Journal of Personality, 55, 169–210.
Sedgeman, J. (1997). Teaching the Principles: The beauty of simplicity. Paper presented at the 16th Annual Conference on Psychology of Mind, Oahu, Hawaii.
Seeman, J. (1989). Toward a model of positive health. American Psychologist, 44, 1099–1109.
Seligman, M. E. P. (1991). Learned optimism. New York: Random House.
Seligman, M. E. P. (1998a). Positive social science. APA Monitor, 29, April.
Seligman, M. E. P. (1998b). Learned optimism: How to change your mind and your life. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55, 5–14.
Shuford, R. J. (1986). An exploratory study to determine the effectiveness of a neo-cognitive treatment approach when utilized in a clinical setting. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Oregon. Eugene, Oregon.
Shuford, R., & Crystal, A. (1988). The efficacy of a neo-cognitive approach to psychotherapy. Paper presented at the Seventh Annual Conference on Psychology of Mind, Coral Gables, FL.
Shure, M. D., & Spivak, G. (1982). Interpersonal problem solving in young children: Cognitive approach to prevention. American Journal of Community Psychology, 10, 42–59.
Skinner, B.F. (1971). Beyond freedom and dignity. New York: Knopf.
Small, F.L., Smith, R. E. Barnett, N. P., & Everett, J. J. (1993). Enhancement of children's self-esteem through social support training and youth sport coaches. Journal of Applied Psychology.
Smith, R. E., & Small, F. L. (1990). Self-esteem and children's reactions to youth sport coaching behaviors: A field study of self-enhancement processes. Developmental Psychology, 26, 937–993.
Smith, R. E., & Small, F. L. (1997).Coaching the coaches: Youth sports as a scientific and applied behavioral setting. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 6, 16–21.
Smith, R. & Walters, J. (1978). Delinquent and non-delinquent males' perceptions of their fathers. Adolescence, 13, 21–28.
Sroufe, A., Egeland, B., & Erickson, M. (1983). The development consequence of different patterns of maltreatment. International Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect, 1, 459–469.
Sroufe, L.A. (1979). The coherence of individual development: early care, attachment, and subsequent development issues. American Psychologist, 34, 834–841.
Stern, D., Catterall, J., Ahadeff, D., & Ash, M. (eds.) (1985). Report to the California Policy Seminar on reducing the dropout rate in California. Berkeley: University of California, School of Education.
Stewart, C. (1987). The efficacy of a neo-cognitive psychology with DUI clients. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Florida Alcohol & Drug Abuse Association. Miami, Florida.
Stewart, D. (1985). Affective states as the key variable in determining student mastery of basic reading skills. Paper presented at the Fourth Annual Conference on Psychology of Mind, Kahuku, HI.
Suarez, E., Mills, R. C., & Stewart, D. (1987). Sanity, insanity, and common sense. New York: Ballantine Books.
Sutherland, E. (1939). Principles of criminology. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott.
Sykes, F., & Matza, D. (1957). Techniques of neutralization: A theory of delinquency. American Sociological Review, 22, 664–670.
Taylor, S.E., Kemeny, M.E., Reed, G.M., Bower, J.E., & Gruenewald, T.L. (2000). Psychological resources, positive illusions, and health. American Psychologist, 55, 99–109.
Terman, C.M. (1939). The gifted student and his academic environment. School and Society, 49, 65–73.
Thomas, R. (1993). Toward a seamless approach to human problems. Unpublished master's thesis. Goddard University, Plainfield, VT.
Vaillant, G.E. (2000). Adoptive mental mechanisms: Their role in a positive psychology. American Psychologist, 55, 89–98.
Walters, G.D., & White, T.W. (1989). The thinking criminal: A cognitive model of lifestyle criminality. Criminal Justice Research Bulletin, 4 (4), 1–9.
Watson, J. (1928). Psychological care of infant and child. New York: Norton.
Weiner, B. (1990). History of motivational research in education. Journal of Educational Psychology. 82, 4, 616–622.
Weisman, M.M., & Bothwell, S. (1976). Assessment of social adjustment by patient selfreport. Archives of General Psychiatry, 33, 1111–1115.
Weisman, M.M., Bridgette, A., Prysoff, M.P., Thompson, W.D., Harding, P.S., & Myers, J.K. (1978). Social adjustment by self-report in a community sample and in psychiatric outpatients. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 166, 317–326.
Werner, E.E. (1989). High risk children in youth adulthood: A longitudinal study from birth to 32 years. American Journal of Orthopyschiatry.
Wilson, J. Q., & Herrnstein, R. (1985). Crime and human nature. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Author information
Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kelley, T.M. Health Realization: A Principle-Based Psychology of Positive Youth Development. Child & Youth Care Forum 32, 47–72 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022257625454
Issue Date:
- health realization
- positive youth development
- positive psychology
- psychology of mind