Participation in a combination of adult-led and peer-led activities appears to lead to favourable outcomes in sport (Côté, Erickson, & Abernethy, 2013). However, very little is known regarding the potential differences in how youth experience these distinct activities. Thus, the purpose of this project was to investigate the subjective and objective experiences of the same individuals across adult-led and peer-led sport activities. Recreational male soccer players (n = 27; Mean Age = 10.11) were examined using direct observation and experience rating scales in an effort to shed light on the impact that adult-led and peer-led sport activities have on the same athletes. The results clearly illustrated that the experiences of youth across these two activities are very different. In the adult-led activities, youth experienced high levels of effort and concentration, and spent more time being physically or mentally engaged. However, antisocial behaviours were also more frequent in the adult-led activities. Meanwhile, youth experienced high rates of prosocial behaviours, sport-related communication, as well as general communication during the peer-led activities. These findings suggest that rather than one approach being comparatively superior to the other, both adult-led and peer-led sport activities have the potential to yield unique benefits towards children’s experiences in sport. The results from the present study may have important practical implications if sport programs can utilize the benefits of both adult-led and peer-led activities to offer youth a sport experience which combines the best of both worlds. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-22 17:29:14.363

Concepts such as positive youth development, leadership self-efficacy, and social intelligence are salient to understanding how transformational leadership behaviors manifest in adolescents. The Youth Transformational Model exhibited in the current study establishes the positive relationship that leadership exposure (leadership experience and/or having a formal leadership role), leadership self-efficacy, and social intelligence have with transformational leadership skills (i.e. inspirational motivation and individualized consideration). High school-aged members of a youth leadership organization (N = 142) completed a survey on leadership factors and social intelligence. Leadership self-efficacy was the central component to the relationship between leadership exposure and behaviors. While having a formal leadership role was positively associated with leadership experience and self-efficacy, only leadership experience was related to leadership self-efficacy, social intelligence, and transformational leadership skills. Leadership self-efficacy and social intelligence partially mediated leadership experience and transformational leadership skills’ relationship. These findings suggest that acquiring formal titles and power do not automatically translate to being a considerate and motivational leader. Female participants possessed more positive leadership experiences and higher transformational leadership skills compared to males, yet the literature does not reflect the current findings. Transformational leadership encourages young people not to lead forcibly or from a distance, but to lead by example, care about others’ needs, be motivational, and bring out the best in people. Results highlight the importance of leadership training programs and opportunities for adolescents.

Thesis advisor: Jacqueline V. Lerner / This dissertation considered character development in adolescence from a relational developmental systems (RDS) perspective through the estimation of trajectories of five character attributes and the associations of these trajectories with the contextual factors of intentional self-regulation (ISR) and prosocial socialization from role models whom adolescents reported knowing personally. Character attributes considered were honesty, humility, diligence, future mindedness, and purpose. Data were taken from the Connecting Adolescents' Beliefs and Behaviors longitudinal study of character development in adolescents from the Northeastern United States. Results demonstrated that multiple trajectories can be estimated for each character attribute, supporting the RDS principles of plasticity and individual differences. Associations were also found among all character attributes considered at every time point. Contextual factors had more nuanced relationships with character attribute trajectories than was expected, with high levels of ISR associated with high start points for all character attributes and for overall character attribute patterns, but not necessarily with sustained high levels of character attributes. Prosocial socialization did not demonstrate a stable association with high levels or increasing levels of any character attribute examined. This pattern of findings suggests that additional contextual aspects should be considered as important aspects of character development. Limitations and future directions are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Jane Regan / This dissertation argues that adults need to develop a potential ecclesiology of youth such that adults envision, anticipate, and empower adolescent contribution to the faith community. A potential ecclesiology begins when adults see adolescents for what he or she may contribute and invite them to join the church's work in the world for the reign of God. Relationships are understood as the primary location for Christ's transforming activity among people and communities. Christianity is an ecclesial faith, and the mark of maturity includes learning to move from being with others to being for others, a shift from me to we. Therefore, belonging to a community where adolescents can learn to live as Christians with others, cultivating both knowledge and competence, is vital to a maturing faith in Christ. In light of this, a potential ecclesiology compels adults to invite adolescents into the unfolding drama as growing contributors to God's redeeming work in the world. A potential ecclesiology is somewhat antithetical to a service-based youth ministry, which is a dominant model among contemporary Protestant churches characterized by adults providing a service (both content and experiences of faith) for adolescents to passively receive. Individual faith formation is the primary objective. Research verifies a disparity between increased efforts and resources allocated to support adolescent faith formation and the high attrition of post-high school participation in faith communities. When reconciled, this assumed problem of retention is actually a problem of integration, revealing that the service-based model resists inviting adolescents to join with a local community of faith as contributors to God's redemptive purposes in the world. Built on a biblical and theological foundation, this dissertation argues that fostering a maturing Christian faith is bound to the vital relationship between the person and the community where maturity is both personal and communal. Positive Youth Development literature affirms the central role of others in adolescent development broadly, which includes changes in knowing who I am (independence) alongside who I am with others (interdependence). Adolescents who are "thriving" are those who contribute to the larger purposes of the community. Additionally, a social theory of learning takes seriously doing the faith with others as a means of learning, which includes exposure to and engagement with the larger purpose of the faith community. Faith communities support a maturing faith by contextually enacting five values: communal memory, responsible mutuality, burgeoning maturity, generative relationships, and imaginative contribution. Attending to the adolescent's experience with the community and creating avenues for authentic contribution should guide a church's vision and practices and thus enact a potential ecclesiology of youth. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2014. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry.

Evaluating curricula and resources used by extension professionals and 4-H volunteers to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in Utah is critical to keeping with the 4-H standard of excellence for promoting positive youth development. This study aimed to determine if the Utah 4-H STEM curricula used to promote STEM in 4-H programs across Utah aligned with the 4-H STEM logic model.

Previous research suggests that parents can benefit from youth participation in after-school programs. However, little research has explored parent involvement in after-school programs as an important program characteristic leading to youth development. Bioecological Systems Theory suggests that individuals are influenced by the interactions of others within their environment. Building from this theory, it was posited that parent benefits resulting from involvement in after-school programs can facilitate positive youth development. Surveys were completed by 117 parents whose daughters participated in the Cool Girls, Inc. after-school program, a program serving primarily low-income, African American, urban youth. Using Exploratory Factor Analysis, a three factor structure of parent benefits was identified. Parent benefits include increased (1) parent-child communication, (2) parent social capital, and (3) parent-school involvement. A fourth parent benefit of help for working parents was identified in subsequent analyses using a smaller sample of only working parents (n = 86). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that more parent after-school program involvement was associated with increases in each of the four parent benefits. As predicted, each of the four parent benefits mediated the association between parent involvement in after-school programs and parent reported changes in positive youth development outcomes due to participation in Cool Girls, Inc. These results suggest the importance of further research into ways parents benefit from their child’s participation in after-school programs and how those benefits can influence youth developmental trajectories. These findings also demonstrate the importance of involving parents in after-school programs.

A 4-H impact evaluation study, conducted in Montana, Idaho, Colorado, and Utah, was replicated in the Nevada public schools. The purpose was to measure the impact of the 4-H experience on the lives of Nevada youth, and to provide impact data for accountability and improvement for University of Nevada Cooperative Extension 4- H Programs. The 1,492 respondents were; 47.6% male and 52.4% female; 34.6% 5th grade, 28.1% 7th grade, and 37.3% 9th grade; 63.1% urban and 36.9% rural; and 11.7% 4-H and 88.3% non 4-H youth. Eight youth development constructs were measured including; extracurricular activity involvement; school leadership positions held; close relationship with adults; caring for others; amount of negative behavior; personal identity; positive identity; and self-confidence, character and empowerment. ANOVA for constructs by independent variables, age groups gender, 4-H participation, and population density revealed that 4-H participation significantly contributed to the variance in extracurricular activity involvement (p = .000), school leadership positions held (p = .025), caring for others (p = .000), and self-confidence, character and empowerment (p = .004).

A 4-H impact evaluation study, conducted in Montana, Idaho, Colorado, and Utah, was replicated in the Nevada public schools. The purpose was to measure the impact of the 4-H experience on the lives of Nevada youth, and to provide impact data for accountability and improvement for University of Nevada Cooperative Extension 4- H Programs. The 1,492 respondents were; 47.6% male and 52.4% female; 34.6% 5th grade, 28.1% 7th grade, and 37.3% 9th grade; 63.1% urban and 36.9% rural; and 11.7% 4-H and 88.3% non 4-H youth. Eight youth development constructs were measured including; extracurricular activity involvement; school leadership positions held; close relationship with adults; caring for others; amount of negative behavior; personal identity; positive identity; and self-confidence, character and empowerment. ANOVA for constructs by independent variables, age groups gender, 4-H participation, and population density revealed that 4-H participation significantly contributed to the variance in extracurricular activity involvement (p = .000), school leadership positions held (p = .025), caring for others (p = .000), and self-confidence, character and empowerment (p = .004).

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of social support as a moderator between dating abuse and student engagement. Informed by the positive youth development perspective and the stress-buffering model, this study will examine the effects of dating abuse victimization on student engagement and the buffering role of social support in that relationship. Specifically, this study will use self-report measures from a rural/semi-rural, high school sample and multiple regression analysis to determine the effect of dating abuse on student engagement. If a significant relationship is found between dating abuse and student engagement, this study will then use multiple regression analysis to determine the moderating effect of social support on the relationship between dating abuse and student engagement. Research on the protective effects of social support on student engagement is critical to the design and implementation of interventions which have the potential to significantly improve the health, mental health, social, and education outcomes for adolescents who have experienced dating abuse. / text

This case study investigates how a situated learning model can contribute to positive youth development as seen through a youth focused, community-based arts program, Creative Teen. Creative Teen is a seven-month collaborative mentorship program, which pairs twelve professional artists with twelve high school students. The partnerships work together one-on-one over the course of the program to become more knowledgeable on a given art medium and to ultimately collaborate on an artwork for the culminating Creative Teen exhibition. I sought to determine how this mentorship model would not only foster artistic development amongst youth, but how participation in the Creative Teen program would contribute to the overall development of the young adults involved. I accomplished this by limiting observational research and supplemental interviews to the interactions of one mentor partnership, Jessica and Carly. Over the course of the program, I attended their weekly meetings and watched them as they worked together to develop a large-scale installation, Lydia the Tattooed Ladies, for the culminating exhibition. Initially it was unclear to me the extent to which involvement in the Creative Teen program would have on the development of youth participants. However, through conducting this case study, I was able to identify various developmental characteristics that were cultivated through participation, which include artistic, social, and professional development. In addition to personal developmental characteristics, many practical skills were developed and exercised during the course of the Creative Teen program, which include time management, communication, financial management, public speaking, commitment to a long term project, and working with others. / text