Richard M. Lerner Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development Tufts University

1. PROMOTING POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT THROUGH OUT-OF-SCHOOL-TIME (OST) ACTIVITIES:IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS FROM THE 4-H STUDY OF POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Richard M. Lerner Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development Tufts University

2. PROMOTING POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT:LEVELS OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ROLE OF OUT-OF-SCHOOL-TIME ACTIVITIES • Why should practitioners, policy makers, and funders, interested in promoting positive youth development (PYD), care about out-of-school-time (OST) activities? • Are OST activities a resources for promoting PYD? • What are the features of OST activities that are linked to PYD? • What actions can enhance the importance of OST activities for PYD?

3. THE KEY HYPOTHESIS:OST ACTIVITIES ARE A VITAL RESOURCE FOR PROMOTING PYD TO EVALUATE THIS HYPOTHESIS, WE NEED TO ADDRESS FIVE (5) QUESTIONS? • What is positive development? • What are the key ideas associated with the PYD perspective? • What is the link believed to be between PYD and OST activities? • What does research tell us about the PYD - OST link? • What are the implications of research for practice and policy?

4. WHAT WE THOUGHT WE KNEW ABOUT ADOLESCENCE • G. Stanley Hall (1904) founded the study of adolescence. • Hall defined adolescence as a period of universal and inevitable, biologically-based “storm and stress” • Therefore, according to Hall, Anna Freud, and Erik Erikson, adolescence was a period of crisis and disturbance • These ideas resulted in the view that adolescents were "broken" or in danger of becoming "broken" • For almost all of the 20th century most research about adolescence was based on this deficit conception of young people

5. HOWEVER • As early as the 1960s, research began to show that the deficit model was not in fact true

6. The “Seeds” of a New View of Adolescence • Most young people do NOT have a stormy adolescent period • Although adolescents spend increasingly more time with peers than with parents, most adolescents still value their relationships with parents enormously • Most adolescents have core values (e.g., about the importance of education in one’s life, about social justice, and about spirituality) that are consistent with those of their parents • Most adolescents select friends who share these core values

7. BUT DEFICIT MODELS DID NOT DIE; THEY DIDN’T EVEN SEEM TO FADE AWAY • Into much of the 1990s most research continued to use the deficit model of Hall to study adolescence • Literally hundreds of millions of dollars continue to be spent each year in the United States to reduce the problems “caused” by the alleged deficits of adolescents • These problems include alcohol use and abuse; unsafe sex and teenage pregnancy; school failure and drop out; crime and delinquency; and depression and self-harming behaviors

8. The Birth of a New Phase in the Scientific Study of Adolescence • In the 1990s a new vision of adolescence emerged • This is the Positive Youth Development (PYD) Perspective

9. Key Principles of the PYD Perspective • Because of the potential to change, all youth have strengths. • All contexts have strengths as well. These strengths are resources that may be used to promote positive youth development. • These resources are termed “developmental assets”: They are the “social nutrients” needed for healthy development.

10. Key Principles of the PYD Perspective • These assets are found in families, schools, faith institutions, youth serving organizations, and the community more generally. • If the strengths of youth are combined with ecological developmental assets, then positive, healthy development may occur. • We should be optimistic that it is in our power to promote positive development among all youth.

11. Three Key Hypotheses of the PYD Perspective 1. PYD is constituted by “Five Cs:” The Five Cs • Competence • Confidence • Character • Connection • Caring Contribution

12. Three Key Hypotheses of the PYD Perspective 2. Across adolescence, PYD occurs when the strengths of young people are aligned with the resources for healthy development (“developmental assets”) present in their: • Families, • Schools, and • Communities

13. Three Key Hypotheses of the PYD Perspective 3. Youth Development (YD) programs constitute key developmental assets promoting PYD. YD programs are marked by the presence of the “Big 3,” that is: • Sustained, positive adult-youth relations; • Skill building activities; and • Youth participation and leadership.

14. Using the PYD Perspective to Provide New Information About Adolescent Development and the Role of OST Activities The 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development

15. Amy Alberts Pamela Anderson Neda Bebiroglu Deborah Bobek Michelle Boyd Aerika Brittian Jennifer Carrano Elise Christiansen Jennifer Davison Dan Du Kristen Fay Yulika Forman Helena Jelicic Heidi Johnson Jacqueline V. Lerner Richard M. Lerner Yibing Li Alicia Doyle Lynch Lang Ma Maria McNamara Nancy Pare Marie Pelletier Erin Phelps Lauren White Nicole Zarrett Stacy Zimmerman “TEAM TUFTS”

16. Design of the 4-H Study • The 4-H Study is a longitudinal investigation • Beginning in 5th Grade, we are following some youth through 12th Grade (and we hope for at least one year past high school) • To adjust for the loss of participants and to maintain statistical power, we have added new students in 6th, 7th, 8th grades, etc.

17. Design of the 4-H Study • We also are studying these new students longitudinally • To date, we have sampled more than 4,000 youth and more than 2,000 parents from 25 states

18. BOTH THE INITIAL FINDINGS OF THE 4-H STUDY, AND THE MORE RECENT FINDINGS, HAVE CHANGED RESEARCH AND PRACTICE IN YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

19. FiveInitialDiscoveriesofthe4-HStudy 1. We can now talk about the strengths of young people by using a scientifically-validated set of positive terms: PYD is constituted by “Five Cs,” and PYD is linked to youth Contribution The Five Cs • Competence • Confidence • Character • Caring • Connection Contribution

20. PYD is constituted by “Five Cs,” and PYD continues to be linked to youth Contribution in Grade 8 PYD, as marked by the Five Cs • Competence • Confidence • Character • Caring • Connection Contribution .62***

21. FiveInitialDiscoveriesofthe4-HStudy • We know now what must be done to promote PYD and Contribution Across adolescence, positive youth development occurs when the strengths of young people are aligned with the ecological resources for healthy development present in their communities (Youth Strengths + Ecological Resources = “Developmental Assets”)

22. FiveInitialDiscoveriesofthe4-HStudy 3. The strengths of young people – their internal developmental assets – can be measured by three (3) characteristics: • Selection of goals • Optimization (developing strategies and means for reaching one’s goals) • Compensation (in the face of failure or blocked goals)

23. FiveInitialDiscoveriesofthe4-HStudy 4. There are four (4) Ecological Assets present in the Families, Schools, and Communities of Youth: • Individuals • Institutions • Collective Action • Access In each setting INDIVIDUALS are always the most important asset!

24. FiveInitialDiscoveriesofthe4-HStudy 5. Youth Development (YD) programs constitute key ecological assets promoting PYD YD programs are effective in promoting PYD because they are marked by the presence of the “Big 3,” that is: • Sustained, positive adult-youth relations; • Skill building activities; and • Youth participation and leadership.

25. Connection Caring Character IndividualStrengths PYD Contribution Reduced Risk Behaviors EcologicalAssets Confidence Competence Summary of Key Initial Discoveries of The 4-H Study

26. Implications of the Initial Discoveries • Practitioners can speak of overall PYD when discussing a thriving young person • A tool for measuring PYD – and Contribution as well – can be derived from the 4-H Study • The tool can be used to assess the status of adolescents on these indicators of healthy development and of program success in promoting contributions to, and leadership of, valued community programs • We do not need to measure 40 developmental assets, or rely only on youth perceptions, to measure developmental assets

27. BUILDING ON THE INITIAL DISCOVERIES:IMPORTANT, NEW DISCOVERIES OF THE 4-H STUDY • Contrary to prior beliefs, there is not only one pathway for PYD • The “mantra,” that the best way to prevent problems is to promote PYD, MUST be changed • Using information from Grades 5, 6, 7, and 8 we have identified several distinct patterns of PYD, Contribution, and Risk/Problem behaviors

28. Trajectories from Grades 5, 6, and 7 29% 35% 17% 14% 4%

29. [Youth participating in 2 or more waves are included] 27% 37% 13% 17% 6%

30. Contribution Trajectories from Grades 5, 6, and 7 19% 66% 14%

31. [Youth participating in 2 or more waves are included] 8% 24% 53% 15%

32. High PYD Trajectory vs. Risk Behaviors from Grades 5 to 7 Percentage of Youth in High PYD Trajectories who are in one of Three Risk Trajectories Increasing 1% Low, slight increase 17% 82% None

33. [Youth participating in 2 or more waves are included] 4% 27% 69%

34. High PYD Trajectory vs. Depression from Grades 5 to 7 Percentage of Youth in High PYD Trajectories who are in one of three Depression Trajectories Increasing 15% Decreasing 5% Low, stable 80%

35. [Youth participating in 2 or more waves are included] 7% 8% 17% 68%

36. Percentage of Youth in the top PYD Trajectories Across Grades 5 to 8 Gender: Males: 56% Females: 74% Race/Ethnicity: African American: 66% Asian American: 62% European American: 70% Latino/a: 58% Multi-ethnic/racial: 67% Residence: Urban: 67% Rural: 63% Suburban: 69%

37. Percentage of Each Group in the Top PYD Trajectories Across Grades 5 to 8 Single parent family: 59% Two parent family:68% Youth hoping to graduate from college: 71% Youth not hoping to graduate: 39% Youth expecting to graduate from college: 73% Youth not expecting to graduate: 44%

38. IMPLICATIONS • Practitioners cannot use a “cookie cutter,” or a “one size fits all,” approach to designing or implementing their programs • Youth Development (YD) programs need to be as rich and diverse as the developing youth engaged in these programs • Practitioners need to attend to BOTH promotion and prevention: There is not a simple inverse relation between PYD and risks/problems • Practitioners should be concerned about how we can promote PYD and youth contribution among both boys and girls; their development is not the same.

39. Expanding on Key Finding 5:Youth Development (YD) Programs Constitute Key Ecological Assets Promoting PYD • Across grades, youth participate in structured out-of-school-time activities (OSTs) at a high level – fewer than 10% do not participate in any identified OST • On average, youth participate in about three different types of activities each year • However, the array of activities changes across grades • In general, the more time youth spend participating in YD programs (participation intensity) the more they benefit from their participation

40. In What Activity Groups Do Youth Participate? Percentage of Youth Participating Dichotomized participation based on participation of more than once a month in the activity

41. Zarrett, 2007 University of Michigan Dissertation Research on Longitudinal Patterns of OST Activity and of Other Uses of Time from 7th to 11th Grade WHAT TYPES OF ACTIVITIES WERE STUDIED? • CONSTRUCTIVE ACTIVITIES • OST ACTIVITIES: Sports; School-related; Community-, Volunteer-, and Faith-based Activities; Playing a Musical Instrument • Reading, Homework, Paid Work, Household Chores • PASSIVE ACTIVITIES • Hanging out with Friends; Watching Television

42. WHAT MAJOR CATEGORIES FOR YOUTH TIME EXPENDITURE WERE FOUND (Across Grades 7, 9, and 11)? • SPORTS-ONLY. Sports participation as only OST activities • SPORTS + ACTIVITY. High participation in sports and at least one other organized OST activity • OTHER ACTIVITY. Participation in at least one OST activity, but this activity does not include sports • LOW-ENGAGED. Little participation in any OST activity

43. FINDINGS • Particular activity participation pathways predicted higher PYD. • The pathway of sports and at least one additional organized activity (Sport + Activity) was linked to the highest levels of PYD • Participation in sports as the only organized activity (Sport-Only) predicted lower levels of PYD

44. Sport-Only vs. Sport + Activities 11th Grade Means by Continuous Activity Participation

45. CONCLUSIONS • Sports participation alone, or participation in ANY OST activity, alone, does not tell the whole story of PYD • We need to dig deeper into the impact of combinations of OST activities on PYD: Some combinations of activities are more positive than others AND most youth participate in combinations of OST activities • The 4-H Study provides excellent data for digging deeper

46. Participation Patterns in the 4-H Study We discovered Five Sports-Dominant Participation Patterns at Grade 7 • High-Engaged: Sports, School Clubs, and many other activities • Sports and Youth Development (YD) Programs • Sports and Faith-based Youth Groups • Sports and Performing Arts • Sports-Only There are two other patterns: Performing Arts Engaged and Non-Engaged

47. Implications of Participation Patterns in Grade 7 Controlling for: youth goal-orientation (SOC), race, sex, SES

48. Grade 8 Matched Group Comparison of Means by Activity Participation Types: 4-H Programs vs. Other OST Activities * Statistically Significant Difference, p < .05

49. Grade 8 Matched Group Comparison of Means for Educational Outcomes: 4-H Programs vs. Other OST Activities p <.05

50. Youth Civic Contribution Involves Eight (8) Characteristics: Grade 8 • Neighborhood Social Capital/Social Trust • Peer Social Capital/Social Trust • Adult Social Capital/Social Trust • Civic Duty • Civic Information • Civic Voice • Civic Helping • Civic Activities