Youth Definitions of Success, Obstacles to Success, and How Significant Others Can Help: Providing Youth a Voice in Their Own Development

Positive Youth Development (PYD) programmes are often conceptualized and led by adults with little or no youth input. The purpose of this study was to better understand youth definitions of success, obstacles they face in achieving success, and how they perceive others can help. Interviews were conducted with 24 youth from three different contexts (swim club, church group, and reform home) in Trinidad and Tobago. The results indicated that youth have a varied understanding of success. Further, many youths’ definitions mirror those prescribed in PYD literature. Youth identified a variety of obstacles in their quest for success, and though similarities existed, several obstacles were context dependent. Finally, youth identified support and assistance as the best mechanisms to propel them to success. Support, both informal and formal, points to the significant role non-parent adults serve in the lives of youth. Implications for youth programmes and future research are discussed

To Act or Not to Act?: Student-Athlete Perceptions of Social Justice Activism

Issues related to social justice and activism have always permeated sports, but recently, due to the high profile cases of several elite-level athletes (i.e., Colin Kaepernick, Megan Rapinoe), these issues have become much more prominent in the contemporary sporting climate. Even though these highly visible actions are publicized in today’s media environment, little is known about how collegiate student-athletes perceive engaging in social justice activism. Therefore, the current study surveyed 2,092 collegiate student-athletes on their attitudes toward activism engagement using a theory of planned behavior framework with particular attention paid to how gender and ethnicity/race influenced these relationships. A series of MANOVAs indicated that female student-athletes, in relation to male student athletes, and student-athletes of color, in comparison to White student-athletes, held higher perceptions on most of the subscales related to activism. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms were significant predictors of athletes’ intention to engage in activism. In addition, interactions of the three predictors with race and gender influenced the final regression model indicating the strength of each predictor was impacted by athlete race and gender. Future research directions and implications for programming in relation to study findings are discussed

To act or not to act? Student-athlete perceptions of social justice activism

Issues related to social justice and activism have always permeated sports, but recently, due to the high profile cases of several elite-level athletes (i.e., Colin Kaepernick, Megan Rapinoe), these issues have become much more prominent in the contemporary sporting climate. Even though these highly visible actions are publicized in today’s media environment, little is known about how collegiate student-athletes perceive engaging in social justice activism. Therefore, the current study surveyed 2,092 collegiate student-athletes on their attitudes toward activism engagement using a theory of planned behavior framework with particular attention paid to how gender and ethnicity/race influenced these relationships. A series of MANOVAs indicated that female student-athletes, in relation to male student athletes, and student-athletes of color, in comparison to White student-athletes, held higher perceptions on most of the subscales related to activism. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms were significant predictors of athletes’ intention to engage in activism. In addition, interactions of the three predictors with race and gender influenced the final regression model indicating the strength of each predictor was impacted by athlete race and gender. Future research directions and implications for programming in relation to study findings are discussed