Understanding Youth Development: Promoting Positive Pathways of Growth

摘要

For more than two decades, the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) has been promoting the strengths of an approach known as positive youth development. That approach suggests that each community must create a vision of what it wants for all young people. Only then can those communities create an environment in which young people can achieve their greatest potential, through supports, services, and opportunities. Key to that process is an understanding of adolescence and of what young people need during this stage of life. The document reviews the research literature on adolescent development conducted by an advisory team of specialists in the field. On the basis of that review, the advisory team produced a conceptual framework for understanding youth development. That framework forms the core of the document, which explores the developmental process, developmental pathways, desired adulthood outcomes, and critical ingredients necessary for positive adolescent development. The framework also examines the individual and contextual factors that influence adolescent developmental pathways and provides a brief overview of the strategies that might help communities support young people transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. The report provides a conceptual model for understanding youth development and identifies the processes than enhance the adolescent experience and promote a successful transition from childhood to adulthood. It is intended as a guide for professionals in csonstructing and implementing policies and programs designed to assist children and their families in navigating the adolescent era along positive developmental pathways.