Positive Youth Development

Positive youth development (PYD) programs are designed to optimize youth developmental progress. Positive youth development (PYD) programs are designed to optimize youth developmental progress. PYD differs from other approaches to youth in that it rejects an emphasis on trying to correct what is 'wrong' with children's behavior or development. Programs and practitioners seek to empathize with, educate, and engage children in productive activities. While not particularly common in use yet, PYD has been used across the world to address social divisions, such as gender and ethnic differences. Positive youth development originated from ecological systems theory to focus on the strengths of adolescence. It is also similar conceptually with the principles of positive psychology. Central to its philosophy, the theory of PYD suggests that 'if young people have mutually beneficial relations with the people and institutions of their social world, they will be on the way to a hopeful future marked by positive contributions to self, family, community, and civil society.' The major catalyst for the development of positive youth development came as a response to the negative and punitive methods of the 'traditional youth development' approach. The traditional approach makes a connection between the changes occurring during adolescent years and either the beginning or peaking of several important public health and social problems, including homicide, suicide, substance use and abuse, sexually transmitted infections and teen and unplanned pregnancies. Another aspect of the traditional approach lies in that many professionals and mass media contribute to it through the portrayal of adolescents as 'inevitable problems' that simply need to be fixed. Specific evidence of this 'problem-centered' model is present across professional fields that deal with young people. Many connections can also be made to the current U.S. criminal justice model that favors punishment as opposed to prevention. The concept and practice of positive youth development 'grew from the dissatisfaction with a predominant view that underestimated the true capacities of young people by focusing on their deficits rather than their development potential'. Encouraging the positive development of adolescents can help to lessen the likelihood of such problems arising by easing a healthy transition into adulthood. Research findings point out that PYD provides a sense of “social belonging” or “social membership,” participatory motivation in academic-based and community activities for positive educational outcomes, developing a sense of social responsibility and civic engagement, participating in organized activities that would aid in self-development, etc. PYD focuses on the active promotion of optimal human development, rather than on the scientific study of age related change, distinguishing it from the study of child development or adolescent development. or as solely a means of avoiding risky behaviors. Rather than grounding its developmental approach in the presence of adversity, risk or challenge, a PYD approach considers the potential and capacity of each individual young person. A hallmark of these programs is that they are based on the concept that children and adolescents have strengths and abilities unique to their developmental stage and that they are not merely 'inadequate' or 'undeveloped' adults. Lerner and colleagues write: 'The goal of the positive youth development perspective is to promote positive outcomes. This idea is in contrast to a perspective that focuses on punishment and the idea that adolescents are broken'. Positive youth development is both a vision, an ideology and a new vocabulary for engaging with youth development. Its tenets can be organized into the 5 C's which are: competence, confidence, connection, character, and caring. When these 5 C's are present, the 6th C of 'contribution' is realized. Positive youth development programs typically recognize contextual variability in youths' experience and in what is considered 'healthy' or 'optimal' development for youth in different settings or cultures. This cultural sensitivity reflects the influence of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. The influence of ecological systems theory is also seen on the emphasis many youth development programs place on the interrelationship of different social contexts through which the development person moves (e.g. family, peers, school, work, and leisure). The University of Minnesota's Keys to Quality Youth Development summarizes eight key elements of programs that successfully promote youth development. Such programs are physically and emotionally safe, give youth a sense of belonging and ownership and foster their self-worth, allow them to discover their 'selves' (identities, interests, strengths), foster high quality and supportive relations with peers and adults, help youth recognize conflicting values and develop their own, foster the development of new skills, have fun, and have hope for the future.