Abstract
This study examines youth perceptions of safety within a faith-based Positive Youth Development (PYD) program operated by Compassion International (CI) in El Salvador. The research aims to understand how various forms of safety—physical, psychological, social-relational, and spiritual—are experienced by youth participants in a highly violent context. Using a sample of thriving youth exemplars, the study employs a mixed-methods approach combining quantitative survey data with qualitative interviews to explore the phenomenology of safety from the youth’s perspectives.
Key findings highlight that physical safety is a foundational element that enables other forms of safety to flourish within the program. Youth reported feeling safe within the CI program due to the secure environment created by staff, the physical boundaries of the program site, and the presence of caring adult relationships. Psychological safety was also prevalent, with youth expressing a sense of emotional security and freedom to develop personal skills and confidence. Social-relational safety was fostered through positive and sustained adult-youth relationships, which further supported the youth’s sense of security.
A unique aspect of this study is the exploration of spiritual safety, where youth described feeling protected by their relationship with God. This spiritual safety extended beyond the program site, providing a sense of ongoing protection in their daily lives. The study suggests that integrating spiritual development into PYD programs can enhance youth perceptions of safety and contribute to their overall thriving.
These findings have implications for the design and implementation of PYD programs in violent contexts, emphasizing the need for a holistic approach to safety that includes physical, psychological, social-relational, and spiritual dimensions. Future research should further explore these components across diverse settings and populations to generalize and refine the understanding of safety in youth development programs.
https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/jyd/vol19/iss1/3/
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Wellbeing
Religious involvement in adolescence
Citation Vaughn, J. M., & King, P. E. (2024). Religious involvement. In Encyclopedia of Adolescence (pp. 411–421). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-96023-6.00002-6 Abstract Religion and spirituality are well-established contributors to adolescent well-being and development. Though efforts to identify the specific manners through which they may influence adolescents are ongoing, involvement in a religious congregation or community appears particularly beneficial. Religious involvement, which can take many forms, offers adolescents increased access to an abundance of resources – social, ideological, and transcendent. Accordingly, after describing trends in adolescent religiosity and religious involvement, we unpack what it means for an adolescent to be involved in their…
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Thriving
Hindsight in the 2020’s: Looking back and forward to positive youth development and thriving
Citation King, P. E., & Mangan, S. (2023). Hindsight in the 2020s: Looking back and forward to positive youth development and thriving. In L. J. Crockett, G. Carlo, & J. E. Schulenberg (Eds.), APA handbook of adolescent and young adult development (pp. 609–627). American Psychological Association. Abstract Positive youth development (PYD) started as a field of practice before it became a field of study. With a heightened awareness of the necessity of a framework for the thriving of all youth and all societies, the chapter considers the purpose of PYD and consequently revisits the concept of teleology, offering a revised understanding…
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Youth
Measuring Youth Perceptions of Being Known and Loved and Positive Youth Development: Cross-National Findings from Rwanda and El Salvador
Citation Tirrell, J. M., Dowling, E. M., Kibbedi, P., Namurinda, E., Iraheta, G., Dennis, J., Malvese, K., Abbasi-Asl, R., Williams, K., Lerner, J. V., King, P. E., Sim, A. T. R., & Lerner, R. M. (2023). Measuring Youth Perceptions of Being Known and Loved and Positive Youth Development: Cross-National Findings from Rwanda and El Salvador. Child & Youth Care Forum, 52(5), 1093–1119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-022-09725-6 Abstract Background Dynamic, relational developmental systems-based models of development emphasize that developmentally-nurturant youth-adult relationships elicit in youth perceptions of being known and loved. Although such perceptions are foundations of positive youth development (PYD), such measures do not…
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