Youth Involvement in Community Development: Implications and Possibilities for Extension

There is a need for Extension program/policy developers to better understand the role of youth in the community development process. While often seen as suited only for 4-H programs, youth can significantly contribute to a variety of Extension activities. Through active engagement, youth can take on ownership and become lifelong contributors to local well-being. This mixed-methods research reflects data from a survey of 418 Florida youth and 12 in-depth key informant interviews. The findings provide insights into the factors most directly shaping youth attitudes and involvement in their communities. From these, implications for applied use in Extension programs are presented

Parental involvement during adolescence and contraceptive use in college

The current study aimed to explore the relationships between parental involvement during adolescence on sexual behaviors among college students. Research has shown that parental involvement decreases as students move from high school to college, but the impact that parents had on their students while in high school continues into college. It is important to determine if one factor relating to the number of sexual partners, sexual activity, and contraceptive use is parental involvement during adolescence. After approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB), an online survey using Survey Monkey was administered to a convenience sample of undergraduate students in a general education course at a large Southeastern university. Items measuring sexual activity, contraceptive use, and parental involvement were compiled to make-up the 36-item instrument. Following data analysis, strong negative correlations were found between father’s involvement during adolescence and the number of sexual partners. There were not, however, statistically significant relationships between mother’s involvement during adolescence and the number of sexual partners. Results also indicated that father’s involvement during adolescence was statistically significant in relation to sexual behaviors. The results also found that father’s involvement during adolescence were statistically significant related to contraceptive use in college. The results of this study indicate the importance of father involvement during adolescence to impact sexual behaviors, sexual partners, and contraceptives use during college. Health Educators must focus on parental involvement, specifically father involvement, to help reduce risky sexual behaviors among college students

Perceptions of Community and Risk Behavior Exposure for Youth in At-Risk Environments

This paper highlights an examination of the relationship between perceptions of community and risk behavior exposure for youth in at-risk environments. Data were collected from 133 youth enrolled in after-school programs in two communities over a three-year period. The Youth Involved in Community Issues (YICI) survey assessed youth perceptions of community on four subscales measuring support, involvement, connectedness, and environment. The Social Behavioral Questionnaire (SBQ), with subscales of access, frequency of use, social behaviors, and neighborhood, asked participants to report risk behaviors that they saw occurring within their local area. Linear regression analysis indicated that youth community (overall score) predicted risk exposure in the areas of perceived friend behaviors and behaviors seen within their community. The results of this study indicate the importance of youth awareness of community in relation to risk behaviors observed within their communities

Self-Esteem Assessment of Adolescents Involved in Horsemanship Activities

The study reported here was designed to determine if participation in horsemanship activities is associated with change in self-esteem and other developmental competencies. The study examined 122 adolescents, aged 12-18 years, who participated in the Florida 4-H Horsemanship School during summer 2005. The results found a small but significant change in self-esteem after the adolescents participated in the 6-day residential horsemanship program. It is important to consider the findings of the study when designing a horsemanship school curriculum for adolescents. Equine activities also may provide beneficial results to youth, including increased self-esteem, physical exercise, and positive youth development

Teaching Scholarly Writing to Doctoral Students: Giving Novice Scholars a Running Start

Students entering doctoral programs in adult education and related fields often experience culture shock. Perhaps the biggest adjustment is learning how to think and write like a scholar. This paper examines how involvement by doctoral students in a formal scholarly writing project during their first semester of study influenced their subsequent doctoral experience and professional work

Integrating Youth into Community Development: Implications for Policy Planning and Program Evaluation

As non-profits, volunteer groups, and nongovernmental organizations take on increasingly larger roles in contributing to local well-being, the active collaboration between youth and adults is vital to the long-term success of community development efforts. Similarly, as service activities become standardized components of high-school programs, youth are empowered to becoming long-term contributors to local development efforts. Through this process youth engage in shared citizenship, leading to greater investment in their communities. This research was based on the premise that youth, acting as central parts of the community development process, have the capacity to improve local well-being. It reflects input from 12 key informants and 418 youth who participated in a survey conducted on the development issues contributing to their involvement. The findings of this study provide insights into the factors most directly shaping youth attitudes and involvement in their communities, as well as presenting direct implications for applied use

Aggressors, Victims and Bystanders: Preventing Bullying in the Middle School Environment

The research presented in this article examines the effects of implementing a prevention program for bullying and aggressive behaviors to sixth graders in 14 Florida middle schools. The evaluation was conducted as a control/experimental design. The primary goals of this manuscript are to determine: (a) the change from baseline student habits of thought related to violence prevention, (b) student habits of thought related to attitudes and physical behaviors related to violence, and (c) teacher perceptions of student attitudes and behaviors related to violence. Equally important, this study adds to our understanding of bullying prevention programs by examining the impact of an Aggressors,’ Victims’ and Bystanders’ program in terms of three dimensions: (1) teacher perceptions of student thoughts and behaviors related to their ability to solve conflict, (2) middle school student habits of thought about violence prevention, and (3) middle school student attitudes about behaviors associated with the prevention of violence, including aggressor behaviors and actions and bystander behaviors and actions

Integrating Youth into Community Development: Implications for Policy Planning and Program Evaluation

As non-profits, volunteer groups, and nongovernmental organizations take on increasingly larger roles in contributing to local well-being, the active collaboration between youth and adults is vital to the long-term success of community development efforts. Similarly, as service activities become standardized components of high-school programs, youth are empowered to becoming long-term contributors to local development efforts. Through this process youth engage in shared citizenship, leading to greater investment in their communities. This research was based on the premise that youth, acting as central parts of the community development process, have the capacity to improve local well-being. It reflects input from 12 key informants and 418 youth who participated in a survey conducted on the development issues contributing to their involvement. The findings of this study provide insights into the factors most directly shaping youth attitudes and involvement in their communities, as well as presenting direct implications for applied use

Self-Esteem and Feelings of Community Connectedness of At-Risk Adolescents Attending Community-Based Afterschool Programs

This research investigated the relationship between adolescent afterschool program attendance, self-esteem and feelings of community connectedness. Thirty-nine of the 61 at-risk adolescents enrolled in two federally funded, community based afterschool programs participated in the study. Participants completed a 10-item self-esteem questionnaire and a 5-item section of the Youth Involved in Community Issues Survey (YICI) to measure perceptions of community connectedness. Attendance records were also collected from the sites. Data were analyzed using Pearson Correlations. Results indicated that there was not a significant relationship between the total variables. The individual item analysis, however, did find a significant relationship between adolescent community connectedness and self esteem items. Findings suggest that there is a relationship to be explored and strengthened through means of community outreach for adolescents. Conclusions from this study have important implications for youth practice. Specifically, program leaders need to help adolescents get involved in the community as contributing members

Organizational Support for Sexual Minority Adolescents: Effects of Level of Youth Involvement and Diversity Training

A two-phase, cross-section and case study design examined the level of youth involvement in the decision-making processes of youth-serving organizations and the effects of diversity training on organizational support for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) adolescents. Results indicate the organizations studied differed with respect to levels of youth involvement, but did not significantly differ with respect to the outcome variable. In-depth analysis to open-response questions indicated organizational support is extremely varied and organizations do support diversity, but not necessarily in regard to LGBT adolescents. The LGBT content within diversity training programs is also discussed. Finally, some religious ideas or beliefs seem to negatively affect the environment in youth-serving organizations in regard to support for LGBT adolescents. Implications for further research, youth practitioners and organizations are discussed