Like many youth development programs, most youth mentoring programs do not have prescribed practices that target specific outcomes. Because the construct of mentoring represents a broad range of potential activities, researchers face a conundrum when making generalizable causal inferences about the effects of this and similar services. On the one…

Positive Youth Development (PYD) model is a strength-based perspective of transition to adulthood derived from developmental systems theory. Developmental assets (DAs) framework describes the individual and contextual resources that may promote PYD. This work aims to analyze the associations between internal and external DAs and PYD, as well as…

This article synthesizes knowledge on the role of relationships and key macro- and micro-contexts -- poverty, racism, families, communities, schools, and peers - in supporting and/or undermining the healthy development of children and youth, using a relational developmental systems framework. Relationships with parents, siblings, peers,…

In this study, we examined the characteristics of adolescents' deep interests or "sparks," the role of relationships in supporting the development of sparks, and whether having a spark was associated with positive developmental outcomes. Participants included 1,860 15 years olds from across the United States who participated in the…

In order to examine youth experiences in athletic activities with different characteristics, the present study explored the developmental outcomes associated with participation in three different types of sport (individual sports, team sports, and dance-type sports) as well as across six identified patterns of participation (no participation,…