Lisette M. DeSouza’s research while affiliated with Tufts University and other places

Understanding interpersonal relationships and the skills an individual needs for building and engaging in interpersonal relationships is central to the study of the construct of connection, as an indicator of positive youth development, and to understanding the challenges adolescents face as they transition to adulthood. Accordingly, we conducted a thematic analysis of the reflections about relationships provided by young men beginning postsecondary education. We attended to what they said made these relationships meaningful or important to them, the actions and processes described as part of these relationships, and the role of these relationships in their life plans. Themes identified included indicating closeness through metaphor and hyperbole, connection as feeling close and cared for, emotional expression, talking and listening, putting effort into a relationship, acknowledging difficulty, and improving relationships. We discuss implications of our findings for future research with adolescents and young adults in relation to masculinity ideologies and positive youth development approaches.

Research pioneered by Peter L. Benson, of Search Institute, has enhanced the study of developmental assets and thriving among youth. Thriving occurs when the strengths of youth are aligned with ecological developmental assets. Findings from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (PYD) indicate that when individual and ecological assets are integrated, thriving occurs. We discuss contributions of Search Institute to the study of thriving, as well as findings from tests of the model of PYD by Lerner and Lerner.

Contribution to civil society is a key outcome of positive youth development (PYD), as evidenced by findings from the 4-H Study of PYD. In this chapter, we focus on conceptualizations and measurement of contribution within PYD research. We first discuss conceptualizations of contribution as Active and Engaged Citizenship (AEC) and the relations among AEC and other constructs, such as school engagement and risk behaviors, within the 4-H Study sample. We then describe research on contribution among youth of color, including recent research on social justice youth development and critical consciousness. Throughout the chapter, we review strategies that practitioners can use to develop and promote meaningful contributions among diverse young people. Given associations between contribution and positive outcomes among America’s diverse youth, we emphasize that policies and programs should provide more opportunities for youth contributions to society, including community service, social activism, and/or participation in local polities.

This article discusses the current and emerging status of contemporary developmental science and present predictions about the growth of the field by 2025. Key contemporary features of developmental science involve a theoretical focus on models derived from the relational developmental systems, metamodel, a methodological focus on quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods analytic approaches. Emerging foci involve an integrative understanding of evolution and of epigenetics, methodological innovations predicated on the idiographic nature of intraindividual change and on the use of systems science and econometric methods, and the use of relation developmental systems-based evidence to enact applications to optimize human development and to promote social justice.

Theory and research in adolescent development have emphasized that contributing to self, others, and community is important to the success of society and predictive of positive youth and later adult development. Despite this emphasis, there is a lack of qualitative and youth-centered research exploring whether adolescents themselves value contribution as part of their daily lives or future goals. Understandings of contribution are, thus, limited in their generalizability. To lessen this gap, we implemented qualitative analyses of open-ended responses from youth in the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development. We addressed questions about what is meaningful to youth and about their future goals through descriptive and thematic analyses of responses from 56 youth (66 % female) who participated in the 4-H Study in each of three grades (6, 9, and 12). Findings indicated that most youth in this study valued acts and/or ideologies of contribution at some point in their adolescence, and several were committed to facets of contribution across grades. The analyses also identified other aspects of these youth experiences (e.g., athletics, family relationships, and academic competencies) that were described as meaningful across adolescence. Findings are discussed in relationship to youth programming aimed at encouraging well-being and contribution in adolescence.

Prior research has demonstrated that participation in out-of-school time activities is associated with positive and healthy development among adolescents. However, fewer studies have examined how trajectories of participation across multiple activities can impact developmental outcomes. Using data from Wave 3 (approximately Grade 7) through Wave 8 (approximately Grade 12) of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, this study examined patterns of breadth in out-of-school time participation in activities and associated outcomes in positive youth development (PYD), Contribution to self and community, risk behaviors, and depressive symptoms. We assessed 927 students (on average across waves, 65.4 % female) from a relatively racially and ethnically homogeneous sample (about 74 % European American, across waves) with a mean age in Wave 3 of 12.98 years (SD = 0.52). The results indicated that high likelihood of participation in activities was consistently associated with fewer negative outcomes and higher scores on PYD and Contribution, as compared to low likelihood of participation in activities. Changes in the breadth of participation (in particular, moving from a high to a low likelihood of participation) were associated with increased substance use, depressive symptoms, and risk behaviors. Limitations of the current study, implications for future research, and applications to youth programs are discussed.

Little research has investigated postsecondary institutions as a context for character development, despite theoretical suggestions about their potential significance. Accordingly, the authors initiated the Assessment of Character study, a mixed methods investigation of character development, among students at the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades (WS) and 3 comparison schools (CS). Analyses of initial data from 214 WS and CS students with a mean age of 18.76 years (60 of whom were also interviewed) indicated that WS students scored higher on several measures of character attributes and that the manifestation of character may differ across contexts. The authors discuss these findings in light of the continued importance of triangulations across quantitative and qualitative methods in subsequent waves of this research.