Prior research has demonstrated that participation in out-of-school time activities is associated with positive and healthy development among adolescents. However, fewer studies have examined how trajectories of participation across multiple activities can impact developmental outcomes. Using data from Wave 3 (approximately Grade 7) through Wave 8 (approximately Grade 12) of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, this study examined patterns of breadth in out-of-school time participation in activities and associated outcomes in positive youth development (PYD), Contribution to self and community, risk behaviors, and depressive symptoms. We assessed 927 students (on average across waves, 65.4% female) from a relatively racially and ethnically homogeneous sample (about 74% European American, across waves) with a mean age in Wave 3 of 12.98 years (SD = 0.52). The results indicated that high likelihood of participation in activities was consistently associated with fewer negative outcomes and higher scores on PYD and Contribution, as compared to low likelihood of participation in activities. Changes in the breadth of participation (in particular, moving from a high to a low likelihood of participation) were associated with increased substance use, depressive symptoms, and risk behaviors. Limitations of the current study, implications for future research, and applications to youth programs are discussed.

Highlights Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) may be mitigated by trauma‐informed social environments. However, there is little empirical evidence that show how community approaches can address ACEs. A participatory change process was implemented by a community coalition in response to ACEs. Data was used to track implementation, generate hypotheses and guide a community response to ACEs. Results show how one community initiated steps to build a resilient, trauma‐informed community.

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 contexts, represented as individual context relations. When relations are mutually beneficial, they are termed adaptive developmental regulations. Civic engagement develops within the context of adaptive developmental regulations. Individuals' positive engagement with, and contributions to, family, community, and civil society constitutes their contributions to the individual context exchanges marking positive integration between people and society. We discuss the development of civic engagement using RDS-based metatheory and review methodological issues raised by studying the development of civic engagement within RDS-based models. We conclude by discussing potential implications of civic engagement development theory for future research and applications aimed at promoting individual thriving and freedom, liberty, and social justice.

Interest in trauma‐informed approaches has grown substantially. These approaches are characterized by integrating understanding of trauma throughout a program, organization, or system to enhance the quality, effectiveness, and delivery of services provided to individuals and groups. However, variation in definitions of trauma‐informed approaches, coupled with underdeveloped research on measurement, poses challenges for evaluating the effectiveness of models designed to support a trauma‐informed approach. This systematic review of peer‐reviewed and gray literature identified 49 systems‐based measures that were created to assess the extent to which relational, organizational, and community/system practices were trauma‐informed. Measures were included if they assessed at least one component of a trauma‐informed approach, were not screening or diagnostic instruments, were standardized, were relevant to practices addressing the psychological impacts of trauma, were printed in English, and were published between 1988 and 2018. Most (77.6%) measures assessed organizational‐level staff and climate characteristics. There remain several challenges to this emerging field, including inconsistently reported psychometric data, redundancy across measures, insufficient evidence of a link to stakeholder outcomes, and limited information about measurement development processes. We discuss these opportunities and challenges and their implications for future research and practice.