A survey of 1,860 15-year-olds from across the United States found that mentees' perceived positive regard from caring adults was associated with a range of personal, school, and civic outcomes. A structural equation modeling analysis found that for youth who have a mentor or other caring adults that they feel "gets them," this perceived…

"Purpose" has been identified as a fundamental need of adolescence, and there are a growing number of community service programs that may promote the development of a sense of purpose and meaning for youth participants. Understanding the transformative nature of contextual influences for the individual is critical, and this research…

Within contemporary developmental science, models derived from relational developmental systems (RDS) metatheory emphasize that the basic process of human development involves mutually-influential relations, termed developmental regulations, between the developing individual and his or her complex and changing physical, social, and cultural…

Across the United States, researchers and youth workers alike have identified an increasing number of civically engaged youth who are organizing to improve their communities and schools. By taking an action-oriented approach, these youth are speaking back to the notion that they are uninvolved in society. This interview-based study explores the…

Using longitudinal data from Grades 8 to 11 of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, a longitudinal study involving U.S. adolescents, we examined the developmental trajectories of multiple components of civic engagement, and the effects of youth development program participation and participation in another major domain of youth engagement…

The purpose of this interpretive study was to understand how students made sense of their experiences in a technology-based youth development program. This study was framed by James P. Connell and Michelle A. Gambone's, Community Action Framework for Youth Development, conceptual model for understanding youth development that identifies the…

4-H has long emphasized the importance of civic engagement and community service for positive youth development. One pathway to this ideal is youth action research and evaluation. This article demonstrates how participatory youth research and evaluation can lead to the successful implementation of community action projects. It describes the…

Using data from 8th grade participants in the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, factor analytic procedures were used to explore a model of active, engaged citizenship, termed Civic Identity/Civic Engagement (CICE). We identified a higher order factor model in which CICE is a second-order latent variable that is comprised of several…

Increased voter turnout among youth in recent national elections notwithstanding, youth engagement in political life in the U.S. has been shown to be on the decline in recent years. This trend, as well as relatively low voter turnout in the U.S. among all age groups, makes this collection of articles on youth civic engagement and political…

This brief discusses the elements and features that define positive youth development and highlights some ways to support the positive development of children and youth. Specifically, this brief addresses the critical role that particular out-of-school time settings (regular family dinners and organized activity programs) can play in supporting…

This study assessed the links between civic participation and adolescent behavior problems (bullying, physical fighting, and alcohol and tobacco use), and whether civic engagement could be a moderator of the negative effects of parent/family detachment. Participants were 7,097 11-, 13-, and 15-year-olds (48.6% girls) in a region of Northern Italy.…

Comments on the emptiness of the adolescent role in modern Western societies. Argues that youth participation in community life and services can provide a bridge between adolescence and adulthood and between schools and the communities they serve. (Author/GC)

Various traditions within developmental science and psychology have concentrated on either personal or collective correlates as manifestations of well-being. The authors' claim is that the well-being of any one person is highly dependent on the well-being of her relationships and on the community in which she resides. Well-being may be defined as…

The Conversation on Youth Development in the 21st Century was convened around the nation to draw together youth and adults to discuss youth development priorities at the local, state, and national levels. Convened by the local 4-H program and involving community partners from outside 4-H, county conversations were held in 38 of Florida's 67…