This dissertation examines the longitudinal influences of parental relationships – romantic, co-parenting, and parent-child – on positive adolescent functioning. Utilizing data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study investigates how various dimensions of parental relationships impact adolescent well-being at age 15, as measured by the EPOCH scale. Grounded in Attachment Theory and the Life Course Perspective, this research highlights the interconnectedness of early parental interactions and their long-term effects on adolescents’ emotional and social development. Key findings indicate that supportive and stable parental relationships significantly enhance adolescents’ engagement, perseverance, optimism, connectedness, and happiness. The study emphasizes the critical role of early family dynamics in shaping positive developmental trajectories and offers insights for interventions aimed at fostering resilient and well-adjusted adolescents. These findings underscore the importance of promoting healthy parental relationships to support adolescents’ overall well-being and successful transition into adulthood.

The purpose of this study was to identify the youth who do not participate in Independent Living Program (ILP) services and, if possible, to ascertain if any characteristics or factors appear to affect participation in ILP services. The study utilized a quantitative research method to assess ILP participation by extracting data from existing case records via a data extraction form created in conjunction with the San Bernardino County Legislation, Research and Quality Support Services Unit.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [1], ix, 137 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 108-113).

The context for this study is a community based organization known as the National Youth Development Outreach (YDO) in Eersterust, Pretoria. This organization caters primarily for adolescents who are in conflict with the law who have been referred to YDO by the courts. YDO offers what is known as the Adolescent Development Programme as a means of social rehabilitation. This programme is based on what is known as the Circle of Courage which has its origins in the Native American approach to child rearing. This Circle of Courage has four components, namely, Belonging, Mastery, Independence and Generosity. Music therapy was introduced at the National Youth development Outreach in January 2003. My interest in the work of music therapy within this context gave rise to this dissertation. My aim in this study is to explore how music therapy can contribute to the Adolescent Development Programme and, in particular, how the Circle of Courage can inform the goals and practice of music therapy. In addition I wish to explore how music therapy practice needs to adapt in order to be relevant within such a context. The study is conducted within the qualitative research paradigm and thus seeks not to prove one single truth. This explorative study is conducted in a naturalistic setting. Data collection is in the form of a semi structured interview with 3 personnel members from the organization, clinical session notes and video recorded excerpts from two music therapy sessions. The clinical session notes form the basis of a description of the music therapy process at YDO from January to June 2003 and work with an individual client. These descriptions serve to contextualize the semi structured interview and video excerpts. The data are coded categorized and organized into themes. These themes highlight the social context in which YDO is situated which includes the individual, the organization and the community. The data highlights the primacy of the Circle of Courage within this specific context. Music as a tool for communication as well as a barometer of relationship is also discussed. This forms the basis for addressing the two research questions. This discussion focuses on the role of the Circle of Courage in informing the goals of music therapy through considering this at a conceptual level as well as viewing clinical improvisation through the lens of the Circle of Courage. The response to the second research question is from the premise of community therapy and considers the possibility of a wider application of music therapy in such a context. Music therapy is in its infancy in South Africa, especially with this client group. I am unaware of any published literature of music therapy work with adolescents in conflict with the law. Whilst this study has focused on a very small part of the whole, my hope is that it will stimulate further thinking and research about music therapy with this client group and will contribute to a broader body of knowledge. / Dissertation (MMus (Music Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Music / unrestricted

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<p dir="ltr">Higher education is vital for fostering new knowledge and applying existing knowledge for societal and economic advancement. Despite the private and public benefits, college enrollment rates are declining in the United States. Colleges and universities also face a significant demographic cliff in the next decade. Identifying new students for higher education in the United States will be essential for the vitality of higher education institutions and for meeting societal educational needs. Youth-serving organizations often introduce youths to pre-collegiate experiences to advance interest in higher education through a positive youth development framework. Youth-serving organizations must demonstrate impact during a tumultuous time for adolescents. They may rely on short-term impacts to justify resource investment, but youth-serving organizations struggle to capture long-term outcomes due to methodological challenges. Secondary data sources like the National Student Clearinghouse can provide youth-serving organizations an opportunity to examine long-term programmatic outcomes such as college readiness. This study provides the most comprehensive examination of Indiana 4-H and its contribution to college readiness to date. Major findings include that Indiana 4-H high school graduates enroll in postsecondary institutions at a higher rate than the state population across all observed demographics. Recommendations highlight future research and practice needs at national, organizational, and individual levels.</p>

Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Karen S. Myers-Bowman / The current study focuses on qualitative data collected from youth and adults in two rural Kansas communities. The focal point of analysis was youth and adults' answers to questions about their experiences working with one another within community-based programs, specifically questions regarding youth's feeling of empowerment within the context of the program. Lerner's theory of developmental contextualism provided a framework for understanding how youth-adult relationships contribute to the development of youth empowerment. Youth voice, a construct related to the youth empowerment literature, appeared in the participants' responses across program sites. Common themes across settings were that teens who had been involved in the program the longest felt especially empowered, that youth became more responsible as a result of participating in the program, and that adults in both program sites fulfilled the six adult roles for youth empowerment that have been established in the research literature. Finally, three constructs significant in the youth development literature (confidence, connection and compassion) emerged as themes in relation to the experiences of the young people in the program. Implications of this study include exploring the impact youth-adult relationships have on adults and investigating how teens as role models or mentors for "littles" impact their feeling of empowerment. Suggestions for replication of this study are also given.

The author presents original research findings on the subject of the impact of a youth mentoring program, Fresh Start, on a group of at-risk adolescents in the United States. The article opens with an introduction and overview of the subject of youth mentoring, and proceeds to a review of the literature that describes types of mentoring and the varied outcomes mentoring programs have been documented to have on target populations. The literature also explains the concept of at-risk adolescents, and explains how and why mentoring programs are believed to be effective interventions for working with this population. The author then presents the methodology, research design, and procedures that were used for the study, and identifies the organization that served as the subject of the study. The researcher explained that data were collected from three distinct participant groups: students, teachers, and parents. The researcher documents the data collection and analysis techniques, and reports the results. Based on the study conducted, the researcher concluded that the Fresh Start mentoring intervention influenced statistically significant positive outcomes for participants with respect to the at-risk students’ behaviour and academic performance. Taking this conclusion into consideration, the researcher reflected upon the components of a mentoring program that are most likely to predict academic and social success for students who have been deemed at-risk, and offered recommendations for future research and program development. / Sociology / D. Phil.(Sociology )

Background. Despite on-going efforts to reduce bullying among adolescents, this phenomena remains a persistent public health problem (Espelage & Colbert, 2015). Positive youth development (PYD)-physical activity based programs have the potential to target health risk behaviors by focusing on positive psychological assets and promoting personal growth (Fraser-Thomas, Côté, & Deakin, 2005). Similarly, physical activity has been associated with physical and psychosocial benefits as it enhances the process of development, promote life skills, and foster personal and interpersonal skills through peers and non-parental adult interactions (Fraser-Thomas et al., 2005; Weiss, Smith, & Stuntz, 2008). While we know quite a bit about PYD programs and understand the importance of physical activity related to its influence on bullying behaviors, we know far less about the effectiveness of anti-bullying programs that combine both PYD with physical activity components. However, addressing this gap in the literature could inform prevention science research efforts as it would enhance understanding on how such interventions might decrease bullying in youth. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of positive youth development (PYD) physical activity based interventions on bullying behaviors among pre- and young adolescents (8 - 14 years old). Methods. A systematic review was conducted and included a search of five databases (PsycINFO, PubMed, Cochrane Library, ERIC and CINAHL), and reference lists of included studies and reviews from 2003 to 2017. Additional information was requested from study authors. The study inclusion criteria included interventions that used both PYD and physical activity components, recruited participants who ranged in age from 8 to 14, and that targeted bullying behaviors (bullying, victimization, and bystander). Two independent reviewers assessed studies, and extracted data, and one reviewer evaluated risk of bias using the Cochrane risk of bias tool (Higgins, Sterne, Savović, Page, & Hróbjartsson, 2016). Studies were placed into two groups based on type of study (quasi-experimental and experimental). To determine effect sizes for the quasi-experimental designs and experimental designs, Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) and standardized mean differences (SMD) were used, respectively. Results. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria, of which three were quasi-experimental and four were experimental studies. For bullying outcome, the quasi-experimental studies were found to have a small effect size (r = -.24 to -.22) while experimental designs had small, medium, and large effect size (SMD = -.68 to -.27). For victimization, a medium effect size was found in one study (SMD = -.53), and for bystander involvement, a medium effect size was found for unadjusted model (r = .37), and a small/negligent effect size was found for the adjusted model (r = -.05). Reductions in bullying and victimization, and increase in prosocial bystander behavior were found across the physical activity-based, PYD interventions, which utilized a combined approach of PYD components (e.g., caring, empathy, respect), and physical activity context, as well as the use of an interactive and supportive approach to deliver the program’s PYD component between the participants and staff. Selection bias, lack of blinding bias, attrition to follow-up bias, and failure to control for confounding were found across the studies, with experimental study designs reporting generally better quality than quasi-experimental. Conclusion. PYD-based, anti-bullying interventions with a physical activity component are promising in reducing bullying among adolescents. Findings revealed that the further interventions should be structured into a physical activity-based PYD setting that foster youth’s psychosocial development and provide them with opportunities to develop these PYD components in a mastery-oriented climate, which in turn may reduce problem behaviors The small number of studies identified strongly suggests that there remains a critical need for PYD-physical activity based interventions that target bullying behaviors.

Programs that include skills to help girls successfully navigate the difficulties of preadolescence have been shown to be beneficial. One such youth development program in the southeastern part of the United States began in 2014 but has had no formal evaluation completed. The purpose of this qualitative study was to conduct a utilization-focused process evaluation, asking questions that addressed the perceptions of a school leader (n = 1) and volunteers of the program (n = 8). Their input was solicited concerning successful implementation strategies used, and recommendations for adaptations, recruitment, and volunteer training. Semistructured interviews were conducted using predetermined open-ended, questions. Open coding was used to discover the most common themes. After analyzing the data using VERBI's Software, MAXQDA, the identified themes were (a) successful elements of the program, (b) elements of the program that were not working, (c) suggestions for adaptations to improve the outcomes for participants, and (d) essential points to consider when recruiting new volunteers. Study participants reported that many of the girls participating in the program made positive changes in their behavior, exhibited improved self-esteem, and expanded their support system. Key findings will be discussed with the program administrators to assist them in recruiting and training new volunteers and to suggest administrative adjustments. Positive social change will be facilitated by offering ideas to the administrators that may result in expansion of the program, allowing more girls in the community to participate and experience positive results.