Exploring young people's lived experience of a targeted positive youth development programme: A phenomenological investigation of the Teens and Toddlers teenage pregnancy prevention programme

The high rate of teenage pregnancy in the UK has been a source of concern for decades. In 2014, the under-18 conception rate for England and Wales arrived at its lowest since 1969. Many advocates owe this to the success of the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy (TPS). The TPS aimed to halve the under-18 conception rate by 2010. The Strategy drew on evidence from research linking youthful fertility and social disadvantage and recommended targeting individuals and groups with these characteristics. One approach suggested by the TPS was Positive Youth Development (PYD). PYD programmes build upon young people’s assets to prevent risk behaviours. Effectiveness of PYD interventions has not been replicated consistently. PYD programmes are often designed to target high-risk individuals or groups. Some evidence suggests that targeting may lead to unintended consequences and do not to address the structural factors that increase risk. The aim of this research was to explore whether and how young people’s lived experience of being targeted for and participating in a PYD programme may be related to programme effectiveness. I analysed qualitative data from the process evaluation of the Teens & Toddlers PYD pregnancy prevention programme (T&T). My analysis suggests that T&T provided some opportunities for PYD, but that this was not consistent. School staff’s lack of transparency regarding the targeting strategy and criteria led to feelings of confusion and mistrust among some participants. They responded by adopting strategies to manage their risk reputations. School staff selected young women for intervention based on individual-level factors, suggesting that individualised notions of risk are being reproduced in schools. The development of preventative programmes should include young people’s voices in all aspects, use targeting sparingly, openly and as part of universal 4 programmes to minimise further marginalising young people who already experience multiple disadvantage and disconnection from school