Evaluating Girls on the Run in Promoting Positive Youth Development: Group Comparisons on Life Skills Transfer and Social Processes

Abstract

<jats:p><jats:italic><jats:bold>Purpose</jats:bold>:</jats:italic> <jats:italic>Girls on the Run</jats:italic> (GOTR), a physical activity-based positive youth development program, uses running as a platform to teach life skills and promote healthy behaviors. In this companion paper of our comprehensive project, the authors evaluated program impact on positive youth development by comparing GOTR participants to youth in other organized activities (Sport and physical education [PE]) on life skills transfer and social processes. Qualitative methods complemented quantitative data through interviews with GOTR stakeholders. <jats:italic><jats:bold>Method</jats:bold>:</jats:italic> The participants included 215 girls in GOTR and 692 girls in the same grades and schools who did not participate in GOTR (Sport = 485; PE = 207). They completed self-report measures of life skills transfer, peer and coach relatedness, and coach autonomy support at the season’s end. GOTR subsamples of girls, coaches, caregivers, and school personnel participated in focus groups. <jats:italic><jats:bold>Results</jats:bold>:</jats:italic> Girls in GOTR compared favorably to the Sport and PE girls on all life skills—managing emotions, resolving conflicts, helping others, and making intentional decisions—and to the PE girls for all 3 social processes. The GOTR and Sport girls did not differ on coach relatedness and autonomy support, but the Sport girls rated teammate relatedness higher. The GOTR girls’ scores on life skills transfer remained stable at a 3-month follow-up assessment. Stakeholders in the focus groups shared corroborating evidence that, through participating in GOTR, girls learn skills that generalize to school and home contexts. <jats:italic><jats:bold>Conclusion</jats:bold>:</jats:italic> Using comparison groups, a retention assessment, and mixed methods, the findings provide evidence that GOTR is effective in teaching skills and strategies that generalize to broader life domains. The processes that explain group differences on life skills transfer include GOTR’s intentional curriculum of skill-building activities delivered by coaches within a caring and autonomy-supportive climate.</jats:p>

“A Piece of Sanity in the Midst of Insane Times”: Girls on the Run Programming to Promote Physical Activity and Psychosocial Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Based on these data, GOTR provided a means of sustaining physical activity, strengthening friendships, achieving goals, and building confidence. Girls acquired ability to express feelings, maintain optimism, and take pride in completing the 5 K. Evidence of season-long improvement in physical and psychosocial outcomes align with the mission, vision, and core values of the program (5) as well as longitudinal findings during "normal" program delivery (9,10).…”

“…Evidence of program effectiveness shows GOTR's impact on physical activity, life skills, and holistic health [e.g., (7)(8)(9)(10)]. Pre-to post-season improvements emerged for activity levels, self-esteem, physical competence, and peer support; these were retained 3 months after season's end.…”

Personal and Social Responsibility Development in a Volleyball Hybrid Positive Youth Development Program: A Mixed Methods Approach

“…They seem to be capable of transferring those lessons mentioned above into their daily lives. This transference is an essential characteristic of PYD programs that use sports as a means to achieve this skill transfer (Fraser-Thomas et al, 2005 ; Hellison et al, 2008 ; Hellison, 2011 ; Turnnidge et al, 2014 ; Chinkov and Holt, 2016 ; Whitley et al, 2016 ; Weiss et al, 2020 ). It is possible that the nature of volleyball (team sport, cooperative, etc.…”

“…These procedures were also framed within theory and philosophy, appropriately marrying the pragmatic paradigm and the PYD theory on which the study was based with the mixed methods designs used. These criteria have been taken into account in multiple studies that use mixed methods to ensure their reliability (Ames et al, 2009 ; Craig et al, 2019 ; Vázquez-Diz et al, 2019 ; Leiter et al, 2020 ; Valero-Valenzuela et al, 2020a ; Weiss et al, 2020 ).…”

“…On a social level, such programs promote citizenship, social success, positive interrelationships, and the development of skills such as leadership, cooperation, responsibility, empathy, or self-control. On an intellectual level, there is a positive relationship between these programs and academic performance, class attendance, study time, and university attendance (Fraser-Thomas et al, 2005 ; Petitpas et al, 2005 ; Theokas et al, 2008 ; Weiss et al, 2013 , 2020 ; Ivy et al, 2018 ). However, SBPYD programs may not always foster all of these benefits.…”