Positive Youth Development: Theory and Perspective

Abstract

Positive youth development (PYD) emerged in the 1990s as a response to the deficit model of adolescent development that had been predominant throughout the 20th century. Whereas this deficit model viewed youth as “problems to be managed,” the strengths‐based PYD perspective instead views adolescents as “resources to be developed.” This entry provides an overview of the major theoretical models of PYD and provides examples of effective PYD programs. The continued integration of research and practice will support ongoing efforts to attempt to answer complex questions pertaining to the promotion of PYD and efforts to optimize positive development among all youth.

Book Review: Handbook of Positive Youth Development: Advancing the Next Generation of Research, Policy, and Practice in Global Contexts

“…Likewise, the current handbook understands PYD as an overarching and dynamic process, and presents evidence on how key concepts such as identity, school and student engagement, mindfulness, selfefficacy, and hopeful future expectations interact with contextual resources such as parents, peers, and schools to provide the bases of PYD. The chapters of the current handbook situate and study these processes within two prominent PYD frameworks: the 5Cs and 6Cs model (Geldhof et al, 2015;Burkhard et al, 2019), and the developmental assets model (Scales et al, 2017). With the evidence presented in the handbook, it is now visible that these models touch on globally valid mechanisms of PYD.…”

“…Adolescents and emerging adults are the two populations most affected by the changing world (Dimitrova, 2018;Mehta et al, 2020), and their well-being is critical for the social well-being globally. Even though Positive Youth Development PYD scholars have long acknowledged that different contexts and conditions in youths' life provide different opportunities for learning (Burkhard et al, 2019;Shek et al, 2019;Syvertsen et al, 2019;Wiium and Dimitrova, 2019) research about the adaptability, utility, and limitations of various PYD conceptualizations and practices across diverse (cultural) contexts remained relatively understudied. The Handbook of Positive Youth Development: Advancing the Next Generation of Research, Policy and Practice in Global Contexts edited by Dimitrova and Wiium (2021) tackles this need and offers an integrative and comprehensive collection of empirical evidence about the conceptualization and application of PYD approaches across the globe.…”

Integrating Positive Youth Development: Insights From International Youth Development Programming

“…Through decades of youth work, practitioners, policymakers, funders, and researchers determined that an asset-based approach was a critical success factor and the focus shifted from prevention to the role of resiliency-including protective factors such as caring, supportive relationships; high expectations; and meaningful participation (Lee et al, 2012). By the late 90s, a broader conception of youth development emerged that focused on the whole child, their assets and needs, and their environment-rather than their deficiencies (Burkhard et al, 2020). Today, PYD is considered a cornerstone of cross-sector youth development programs in the United States and is increasingly being used by international development practitioners.…”

Activities and relationships with parents as key ecological assets that encourage personal positive youth development

“…The Positive Youth Development (PYD) perspective sees adolescents focusing on “resources to develop” based on their strengths (Burkhard et al, 2020; Lerner et al, 2011). This strength‐based view of adolescents has been used to study youth development (Lerner et al, 2011).…”