Thesis advisor: Jacqueline V. Lerner / Positive youth development (PYD) emerged from the relational developmental systems metatheory which focuses on the coactions between individuals and their contexts as the fundamental process of development. Within this theory, individuals and contexts (e.g., families, communities) thrive when their coactions are mutually beneficial (Overton, 2015). Within youth programs, researchers and practitioners have focused on how contextual and programmatic resources might work together with attributes of youth in mutually beneficial ways to promote thriving. When such youth attributes align with the resources of the context, PYD, and, in turn, positive contributions to self and society have been found to occur (Lerner, Lerner, et al., 2015). While still in its early stages, research on spirituality and religiosity among adolescents has grown alongside research on PYD over the past 20 years (e.g., Hardy et al., 2019). In the mid-to-late 20th century, religion and spirituality came to be distinct constructs, each contributing unique variance to individual development. That is, whereas some people were found to experience religion and spirituality as isomorphic, others identified with each to different degrees, and still others rejected one while embracing the other (e.g., “spiritual but not religious”). This dissertation seeks to contribute to the growing body of knowledge around spirituality within the context of adolescent development. Paper One presents an argument for spirituality to be recognized as a developmental asset for youth globally. Paper Two focuses on youth perceptions of safety within a faith-based youth development program in El Salvador finding that while safe spaces are integral for effective delivery of any PYD program, they are not well understood and the youth perspective is overlooked. In addition, youth in this program described a spiritual component of safety, such that their connection to God supported a sense of safety despite the unsafe community context. Paper Three, using the same data as Paper two, explores semi-structured interviews to understand how youth relate with God and how this youth <=> God relationship functions within the broader developmental context. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BOSTON/oai:dlib.bc.edu:bc-ir_109695 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Hay, Samuel W. |
| Publisher | Boston College |
| Source Sets | Boston College |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, thesis |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. |
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