Racial disparities in violence exposure and criminal justice contact are a subject of growing policy and public concern. We conduct a large-scale, randomized controlled trial of a six-month behavioral health intervention combining intensive mentoring and group therapy designed to reduce criminal justice and violence involvement among Black and…

Community Orientated and Opportunity Learning (COOL) Music was a 12-month collaborative project between researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University and practitioners at the Edinburgh-based social enterprise Heavy Sound. The project began in October 2017 and involved 16 sessions of participatory music making with 32 'hard-to-reach' young people…

Protsahan, a Hindi word that literally translates to encouragement, was started in 2010. The idea of Protsahan was born with the idea to rescue children from systemic, intergenerational poverty and abuse by providing a safe space for girls inside the slums that would offer access to quality education, health care, and justice. Since then,…

Positive development models shift focus for intervention from avoiding problems, deficits, or psychopathology to promoting skills, assets, and psychological well-being as the critical interests in development and intervention. The field can be characterized as multiple parallel lines of empirical inquiry from four frameworks: Social Competence,…

Adolescents may especially need social and emotional help. They are learning how to handle new demands in school and social life while dealing with new, intense emotions (both positive and negative), and they are increasingly feeling that they should do so without adult guidance. Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs are one way to help…

First Nations, Métis, and Inuit (FNMI) youth experience many health disparities in comparison with their mainstream Canadian peers. Researchers have recommended that interventions developed to enhance health and well-being for FNMI youth apply a strengths-based approach that acknowledges contextual challenges. This article uses a qualitative…

This meta-analysis reviewed 82 school-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) interventions involving 97,406 kindergarten to high school students (M[subscript age] = 11.09 years; mean percent low socioeconomic status = 41.1; mean percent students of color = 45.9). Thirty-eight interventions took place outside the United States.…

Creativity is essential in soccer due to the unpredictable and complex situations occurring in the game, where stereotypical play gradually loses its efficiency. Further, creativity is an important psychological factor for the development of soccer expertise, and valuing creativity increases satisfaction and well-being. Although creative players…

There is a definite need for effective intervention programmes that address the social-emotional, character and healthy development of preschool children. Strong social-emotional skills are necessary for successful transitions to formal schooling and for healthy developmental trajectories. The "Positive Action" ("PA") programme…

Research concerning the etiology and prevention of substance misuse has led to the development of preventive interventions that are theory-based and effective. One such approach, Life Skills Training (LST), targets key etiologic factors using a conceptual framework derived from social learning theory and problem behavior theory. LST has been…

Purpose: Evaluation of the Teens & Toddlers (T&T) positive youth development (PYD) and teenage pregnancy prevention programme suggested that the intervention had minimal effectiveness partly due to its unclear theory of change. The purpose of this paper is to examine the lived experiences of young women participating in the programme to…

Background: National estimates of middle school bullying approximate 40%, making it the leading form of school violence. Meta-analysis of conventional anti-bullying efforts have shown mixed results, averaging small reductions in bullying behavior. Social-Emotional Learning and PositiveYouth Development provide a theory-driven alternative for…

The Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with Dollar General Literacy Foundation, is proud to present this issue brief examining the vital role afterschool programs play to build students' literacy skills. This issue brief will explore the additional support needed to help students with their reading, writing and critical thinking skills, as well…

One of the main purposes of alternative education, residential facilities and our nation's juvenile justice restrictive settings is to provide the youth who find themselves in these settings an opportunity to redirect their lives and receive the supports and skills they need to have successful and productive futures. While this has not always…

This article explores the concepts of social and cultural capital as analytical tools for investigating the capacity of sport-based intervention programs to contribute to the personal, social and professional development of disadvantaged young people. It draws on survey data (n = 129) and qualitative interviews (n = 53) with participants of the…