Background: Overall, youth well-being is crucial, particularly in developmental contexts, such as sub-Saharan Africa, which is experiencing the largest growth in the youth population internationally. The Positive Youth Development (PYD) framework considers the importance of positive experiences, positive relationships and positive environments…

In early adolescence, levels of conscientiousness and agreeableness have been found to temporarily decrease, with levels of neuroticism increasing, indicating a dip in personality maturation. It is unknown whether these changes are related to the process of puberty, a major developmental milestone with numerous changes for children. Here, we first…

This study investigates how adolescents begin to demonstrate skills and approaches that help them pursue their aspirations. The qualitative study examined emergent forms of key indicators of adolescent thriving: the 5Cs of positive youth development and sense of purpose. Pre- and post-program interviews with 24 S2 (~seventh grade) Scottish…

Self-development is a central developmental issue in adolescence, there are few studies describing the experiences related to the self in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We conducted semi-structural interviews with 14 adolescents with ASD and three with ADHD to describe the self.…

Background: Adolescents are required to take increased responsibility for their health. Although health literacy is implicated in adults' health decision-making and health behaviors, little is known about adolescents' health literacy and its relationship to their health behaviors. Furthermore, adolescent health literacy research overlooks…

This study investigated ethnic-racial identity (ERI) developmental processes (i.e., exploration and resolution) as pathways for adolescents to develop global bicultural competence, or the ability to meet heritage and host cultural demands. The sample included 749 U.S. Mexican-origin youth (30% Mexico-born; 51% male) followed from early-to-late…

Needs assessments (NAs) for marginalized communities would ideally contextualize needs in the sociocultural context, use agency-supportive methods, and result in liberatory action planning. This article develops the Transformative Needs Assessment With Marginalized Communities (TNAMC) using a mixed-methods approach that examines internal and…

In theory, purpose has implications for fostering good character, yet almost no research considers this proposition. This study examined character strengths in interviews with eight adolescent and young adult purpose exemplars and with informants who know them well. Most mentioned, general, typical, and variant strength occurrences were compared…

This brief summarizes the working paper, "Understanding Motivation: Building the Brain Architecture That Supports Learning, Health, and Community Participation," which explains the science behind motivation--the "wanting" system and the "liking" system--as well as how those systems develop, and how that development…

Despite ample research on empathy development, its social origins have been understudied, particularly in the context of peer relations. This two-wave study of Swedish adolescents (N = 318; M[subscript ageT1] = 16.28, SD = 0.49; 55% females) examined longitudinal associations between youth friendships and empathy. The results showed that…

This study was situated in the context of the University of California 4-H Positive Youth Development Program. A convenience sample of teen teachers (N = 11) represents variation in age (11-17), gender, ethnicity, and geographic location. All teens delivered the 4-H Mindful Me curriculum from the University of California 4-H Program. Qualitative…

This research explored what students and school staff in rural, low socioeconomic (SES) high schools perceive as factors that strengthen and inhibit the positive youth development (PYD) attributes of students' confidence, competence, character, connection, and compassion. A collective case study was conducted in four rural high schools, two in…

The architecture of sleep undergoes distinct changes during childhood and early adolescence. Slow wave sleep is involved in memory processing and may support active consolidation of newly encoded representations to support the formation of abstracted "gist" memories. Here, we examined sleep and overnight memory formation in German school…

Past research has demonstrated an association between financial hardships and risk-taking behaviors (defined as delinquent or transgressive acts). However, this effect may differ based upon the provision of protective spaces, like those offered in extracurricular activities. In the current study, we examined the longitudinal effect of financial…

Overuse injuries are the most prevalent injuries in aesthetic sports, due to the repetitive nature of the training. Evidence of their relationship with growth, maturation, and training load is equivocal. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of these factors on overuse injuries in dance and aesthetic sports. A database search…