Positive Growth in

UNIT 13 POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT* Childhood

Structure

13.1 Learning Objectives

13.2 Introduction
13.3 Defining Positive Youth Development (PYD)
13.3.1 Principles of Positive Youth Development
13.4 Theoretical Frameworks and Models of PYD
13.4.1 Theoretical Frameworks of Positive Youth Development
13.4.2 Models of Positive Youth Development
13.5 Key Attributes of PYD
13.6 Positive Youth Development Programmes
13.6.1 Specific PYD Programs
13.7 Evaluation of PYD Programmes
13.8 Let Us Sum Up
13.9 Key Words
13.10 Answers to Self Assessment Questions
13.11 Unit End Questions
13.12 References
13.13 Further Learning Resources

13.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After studying this Unit, you would be able to:
 Explain the concept of positive youth development (PYD);
 Describe the key attributes of PYD;
 Explain the various theories and models of PYD;
 Understand the PYD programmes from a positive psychology perspective;
 Describe specific PYD programmes in India and International context; and
 Point out the different aspects of evaluation of PYD programmes.

13.2 INTRODUCTION
When we think of the youth, what is the image that usually comes? Most of you
would be in the youth stage of life. What exactly is the age group of youth? What
characteristics do they possess? Do they live with parents or independently? Do
they study or do they work, or are they doing both simultaneously?Or are they
neither in school nor doing any work? What are the issues and challenges do
they face? What are their aspirations, potentials, and dreams? Do we find any

*
Prof. Swati Patra, Faculty of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, IGNOU, New Delhi 239
Role of Psychology in Positive difference in the characteristics and development of youth in relation to their
Growth Across Life Span
gender, socio economic status, cultural background? Do their health condition,
disability if any, and their sexual orientation affect their development, sense of
identity and well-being? Do they have their own personal value system?
The United Nations defines youth, for statistical purposes, as between 15 to 24
years of age. It recognizes that youth is a fluid state as the age group may vary
across societies and cultures. According to the World Health Organization (WHO),
young people consists of 10 – 24 years of age group which includes adolescents
(10-19 years of age), and youth (15-24 years of age). The UNICEF in its
Convention on Rights of the Child, defines a child as upto 18 years of age. Legally
also the Government of India considers an individual as a child till 18 years of
age. The National Youth Policy 2014 of India has described youth as between
15-29 years of age. It has been estimated that the total youth population of India
(15-24 years) is going to increase to 25 crores in the year 2021 (National
Commission on Population, 2019). That is why India is considered to be a young
country as the population of young people is more.
There are variations in the age range that marks the stage of youth. However, it is
universally described as a transitional phase between childhood and adulthood.
There is a movement from dependence stage of childhood towards independence
of adulthood.
According to Erikson’s (1994) psychosocial theory of development, one crucial
task in the stage of adolescence is to establish a sense of identity. The crisis that
the adolescents face during this stage of development is identity versus role
confusion. As they go through various changes in physical, cognitive, moral,
social and emotional dimensions, they try to gain a sense of understanding of
their self. This identity development is influenced by the dynamic interaction
between the adolescent as an individual and the varied contexts and situations in
which they live and function.
Alongwith developing a sense of identity, the young people need to achieve other
developmental tasks also, e.g., successful completion of education, getting into a
decent job and career, forming romantic relationship, learning interpersonal skills,
acquiring workplace values and attitudes, being more self-reliant, being socially
responsible, and contributing to the community. They gradually move towards
greater psychological and economic independence. However, there may be
variations in the rate in which these are attained by the youth. For instance, the
rural and tribal youth may achieve economic independence sooner than the urban
youth who may be continuing their education for longer time and still exploring
their career options. Hence it is important to consider the sociocultural context
of the young people while trying to develop an understanding of them and planning
for their betterment and well-being.
Definitely youth is a major stage in the human life span where a lot of changes
happen simultaneously and peer, family and the community exert significant
influence. The youth may be faced with various challenges related to these
influences such as abuse, conflicts, domestic violence, negative peer pressure,
substance use, bullying, anxiety and various mental health conditions also. For
instance, with regard to suicide, youth (18 and above- below 30 years) is one of
the vulnerable groups with 33% share of total police recorded suicide cases
240
(MoSPI, 2017). The youth needs to learn skills to navigate these adverse impacts Positive Youth Development
on development.
At the same time, the youth is also full of potential, energy, dreams, ambitions
and desire to achieve and excel. We have many examples of people in all walks
of life who have succeeded and fulfilled their dreams despite all odds. Hence
there needs to be a three-pronged approach to youth development: intervention
(focusing on remediation), preventive (focusing on at-risk youth and preventing
adverse consequences) and positive development approach (focusing on all youth
developing their character strengths and skills). Thus positive youth development
is based on building up of positive experiences and positive traits in the youth,
and creating a positive culture in major sociocultural institutions in the life of the
youth such as family and school.

Fig. 13.1: Three-pronged Approach towards Youth Development

Supporting youth and preparing them for adulthood is a key focus for governments,
policies and programs (Lerner et al., 2018). Positive Youth Development (PYD)
is an approach to supporting youth, which believes that all young people can
develop positively and provides avenues for this to occur (Benson, Scales,
Hamilton, & Sesma 2007).

Indian success stories despite all odds

 Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a great scientist and the eleventh President of
India, was born in a poor family and had to distribute newspapers
after school.
 Sushil Kumar, famous Indian wrestler who has won medals in Olympics
came from a lower-middle class family and had lack of proper diet,
training facilities and finance, but overcame all odds to become world
champion.
 Sudha Chandran, the internationally famous classical Bharatnatyam
dancer, had to got her leg amputated at the age of 16. With a prosthetic
241
Role of Psychology in Positive
Growth Across Life Span ‘Jaipur foot’ and her sheer dedication and determination, she defeated
her disability and thrived.
 Gautam Adani, the Founder of Adani Group had to drop out of his
education due to lack of finance. However, he challenged all adversities
and earned his first million by the age of 20 years.
 Girish Sharma, lost his one leg as a kid, but went on to become a
badminton champion with just one leg.
 H. Boniface Prabhu, a Padma Shri awardee by the government of India
in 2014, is a famous quadriplegic tennis player who had become
quadriplegic at the age of four.
 Javed Abidi, the founder of the Disability Rights Group in India, had
spina bifida and had to be wheelchair-bound by age 15. But he was not
bound by his limitations and pursued his dreams is an activist in the
field of disability.

Success stories at global level

 Marc Zupan, gold medalist in Paralympic, was quadriplegic after
accident.
 Victor Frankl, is the author of best seller “Man’s Search for Meaning”,
and key theorist of existential theoretical approach in psychology. He
suffered extreme torture in Nazi concentration camps where his wife
and family were killed.
 Albert Einstein is considered as a genius and is the Nobel prize winner
in physics. However, he was jobless after his studies for long.
 Tom Cruise, one of the greatest and highest paid actor, received Academy
awards and Golden Globe awards. He was surrounded by poverty,
abusive father in early years.
 Oprah Winfrey, famous for her award winning talk show ‘The Oprah
Winfrey Show’ is considered the greatest black philanthropist. She was
raised in poverty by a single mother, was raped in her childhood, and
faced severe hardship.

13.3 DEFINING POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

(PYD)
The youth are a very important asset of any nation. So what are the goals the
society envisages for the youth? What vision and approach does a nation have
towards their youth? The dominant approach earlier was to view the youth as
problematic (e.g., ‘the angry young man’ portrayal in the earlier Bollywood movies
or the image of the youth as falling prey to use of drugs and alcohol and going
astray) and their issues needed to be solved. However, the absence of problems
and illness does not mean there is presence of wellness (Ryff & Singer, 1996, p.
242 14). Steps may be taken to reduce the problems and challenges to be solved.
However, this itself does not suffice to help the youth to self actualize and move Positive Youth Development

towards fulfillment, empowerment and positive contribution towards the society.

This requires a focus on the development of positive attributes and strengths of
the youth.
It is important to address the problems and issues of the youth. However, problem-
free does not mean that the youth are prepared to face life effectively, have acquired
good character values, realized their full potential, are empowered and engaged,
and meaningfully contribute to the society. Optimal psychological well-being
requires one to go beyond the mere absence of mental illness. Rather than just
being disease free or problem free, parents want their children to be safe, healthy,
happy, moral, fully engaged in life, and productive contributors to the communities
in which they live (Noddings, 2003).
The traditional medical model of health focuses on the absence of psychological
distress and disorder. However, equal attention needs to be paid to the other side
also focusing on the psychological well-being and positive functioning of
individuals. Thus positive youth development brings in a balanced perspective
by emphasizing the positive attributes in the youth and highlighting the person-
context interaction in helping the youth to excel and thrive. It acknowledges
assets along with problems, that is, takes into account the risk factors but at the
same time capitalizes on the protective factors in the life of the youth. As Damon
(2004) has stated, positive youth development recognizes the good in (young
people, focusing on each and every child’s unique talents, strengths, interests,
and future potential. It aims mainly at understanding, educating, and engaging
children in productive activities rather than at correcting, curing, or treating them
for maladaptive tendencies or so-called disabilities (Seligman et. al., 2005).
Positive youth development(PYD) thus derives from positive psychology
perspective and follows a strengths based approach focusing on assets and
competence of the youth. It is multidisciplinary in nature as youth and their well-
being related to different aspects are concerns of varied disciplines such as
psychology, sociology, anthropology, social work, economics, public
administration etc. In line with the principles of positive psychology, PYD includes
not only the at-risk young people, but also all adolescents and youth. It aims at
achieving the potential for all, providing positive experience and creating a positive
relationship and a positive environment to the individual.

Fig.13.2: Aspects of Positive Youth Development

13.3.1 Principles of Positive Youth Development

1. All youth have the inherent capacity for positive growth and development.
They are naturally resilient and can thrive in the face of adversity. 243
Role of Psychology in Positive 2. Resiliency, however, operates in a context and is influenced by environmental
Growth Across Life Span
factors. Support and care from family and other external contexts moderate
the adverse impact of events and help make the youth more hardy and resilient.
This indicates a positive developmental trajectory and highlights the
importance of the protective factors in the life of the youth.
3. Protective factors thus include assets related to both individual (e.g.,
personality traits, attitudes, character strengths etc.) and the environment
(e.g., family relationship, role models, school belongingness, opportunities
to pursue one’s interests/hobbies etc.). Benson (1997) has talked about 40
developmental assets which you will learn in detail in later section.
4. There is a dynamic relationship between the individual assets and the
environmental characteristics including the contexts and ecologies. These
interact with the risk factors present in the life of an individual to determine
if s/he will thrive or succumb. Hence it is important that the positive youth
development programmes focus on developing various positive attributes/
assets.
5. Thus it is important that the youth functions in nutrient rich relationships,
contexts, and ecologies. All youth are benefitted from this including the at-
risk youths.
6. Community plays a significant role and a ‘critical delivery system’ for positive
youth development.
Thus positive youth development is a comprehensive system where the youth
can play a major role themselves. The core ideas and concepts in PYD (Benson,
Scales, Hamilton, & Sesman, 2006) consist of :
 Developmental contexts or the Community (the ecology) - which includes
the family, school, peer group, neighbourhoods, workplace, clubs,
programs etc.
 Nature of the child with inherent capacity to grow and thrive (the
developmental strengths) – the positive traits and qualities in the youth
 Reduction of high-risk behavior and promotion of health, well-being
and thriving

13.4 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS AND

MODELS OF PYD
Earlier approaches to the study of adolescence characterized it as a period of
‘storm and stress’ as indicated by Stanley Hall. The dominant perception of major
theoretical frameworks was that the life of adolescents was beset with various
problems due to the transitional nature of this phase. Hence the objective was to
deal with the problems and hence ‘fixing the problems’ was the main approach.
Research focused on adjustment problems, health related issues, mental disorders,
conditions of poverty, discrimination and deprivation etc. However, gradually
there was a change in the approaches to the study of adolescence and youth.
Similar to a coin having two sides, researchers started paying attention to the
244 other side where the young were found to have talents, potentials, aspirations
and could thrive despite several odds in their lives. Thus focus was more on Positive Youth Development
positive strengths in the individuals, in their environment and the dynamic
interaction between them.
This led to a shift from the pathological orientation to positive growth orientation
in the study of adolescents and youth, and positive youth development emerged
as one of the positive approaches (Tolan et al., 2016). It talked about optimal
development of the young people rather than just okay or good enough
development. There was a shift from viewing the youth in terms of their
incapacities/problems to having potentials, from deficit approach to strengths
approach. Thus the positive youth development addressed not only the youths at
risk, but also all the youth because they are considered as significant resources,
which a nation cannot afford to neglect. It takes a holistic approach of the youth
by studying them as embedded in the context of their ecologies which play an
important role in the youth development. The youth are not just problems to be
solved or fixed but they are full of potentials which need to be realized by paying
attention to the dynamic interaction between them and their sociocultural context.

13.4.1 Theoretical Frameworks of Positive Youth Development

Three theoretical frameworks have been suggested underlying the Positive youth
development (Benson et al., 2006):
1. Theory of Human Development
The human development theory focuses on the inherent potential of
human beings. It posits that the youth are capable of positive development
which includes two aspects: individual well-being and social well-being.
That is, the youth are able to realize all potentials within themselves and
they also contribute to the greater social good. Thus the theory identifies
the possibility of active and constructive contribution to the development
of self, community, and society (Benson et. al., 2006). It highlights the
interplay between the individual and their contextual factors and ecologies
which influence the developmental pathway of the individual. There is a
bidirectional relationship between the person and the context. Both
influence each other.
2. The Theory of Context and Community Influence
The theory highlights the dynamic role of contexts in influencing positive
youth development. Most important theory here is the ecological systems
theory of Bronfenbrenner (1979) which talks about different layers of
systems or contexts in the life of an individual that affect development.
It ranges from the immediate influence of systems of family, school,
peer and neighbourhood to distal systems of political, social, religious
and cultural institutions and the particular historical context in which
the individual is living. For instance, in the current 21st century times,
technology is exerting a greater influence on almost all aspects of our
life and subsequently has an impact on our well-being.
These developmental contexts are interdependent in nature, e.g., what
happens in family may influence the classroom transactions, or political
happenings at the nation level can influence the functioning of school
etc. 245
Role of Psychology in Positive Further, studies have also identified certain features of the positive
Growth Across Life Span
developmental contexts /settings that can facilitate the building of assets
by the youth. NRCIM (2002) reports eight features related to the daily
life settings and experiences of adolescents which have been found to
help promote positive youth development (National Research Council
and Institute of Medicine, 2002). These features can be considered as
“active ingredients” of community development programmes for the
youth. These are described in the Table 13.1.
Table 13.1: Eight Features of Positive Developmental Settings (NRCIM, 2002)

Features Description
Physical and psychological The developmental setting needs to be free from
safety any harm, abuse, violence, and other stressful
experiences. It needs to provide a sense of safety
in both physical and psychological terms.
Appropriate structure The environment needs to provide clear rules,
boundaries and guidelines for the development
of the child.
Supportive relationships There needs to be secure attachment with the
family members and a caring and nurturing
atmosphere.
Opportunities to belong An atmosphere of inclusion, engagement and
integration needs to prevail and discrimination
on the basis of diversity of youth needs to be
avoided.
Positive social norms It focuses on the importance of social values and
morals for proper development
Support for efficacy and The developmental setting needs to offer
mattering opportunities to exercise independence, taking
responsibility and engaging in meaningful
challenge. It needs to develop a sense of being
taken seriously or mattering.
Opportunities for skill The setting needs to offer opportunities to
building develop skills and competencies related to
personal, cognitive, academic, social, emotional
and vocational aspects. It emphasizes developing
the human capital in all arenas.
Integration of family, school There needs to be a harmonious relationship and
and community efforts interaction among the three crucial aspects of a
child’s life – family, school and community.

Thus these features of developmental setting of the youth will create

positive atmosphere and lead to asset building in the youth. All the
stakeholders in the developmental context of the youth need to work
246 toward the common goal of achieving positive youth development
 including positive experiences, positive relationships and positive Positive Youth Development
contributions of the youth.
3. The Theory of Context and Community Change
This theory addresses the issue of how does the change occur. Now we
know what are the ingredients that can lead to positive youth development
and the positive outcomes out of these. But the question is ‘how does
change occur’? In this regard, we first need to consider the will to change
and the capacity to change (Granger, 2002). Various intervention
strategies can address this. Secondly, there needs to be a developmentally
attentive community (Benson et. al., 2003, p.389), that helps in asset-
buildinga cross multiple contexts to facilitate the change process. This
requires using strategies to make a vibrant community where there is
interaction among all the members across age and sectors such as schools,
clubs, organizations etc.

13.4.2 Models of Positive Youth Development

Several models of positive youth development guide the community programmes
on PYD. These models assume that the adolescents and youth have the potential
to thrive despite this stage of development considered as a stage of struggle and
challenges on many counts including their personal development, academic,
vocational and relationship aspects. Positive youth development recognizes and
focuses on the strengths, resources and potential of young people, and works to
build young people’s skills and engage them in communities (Lerner, 2004).
Thus positive youth development can inform the development and implementation
of effective PYD programmes.
Four such models are described below.
 Developmental assets model (Benson et al., 2011)
The model talks about 40 developmental assets, 20 internal and 20
external which combined together helps create positive experiences and
well-being for the youth. Internal assets refer to the personal traits or
qualities such as positive identity, social and emotional competencies,
commitment to learning etc. which help the youth which guide the youth
in positive direction and make proper choices and decisions. External
assets include the external world around the youth consisting of family
members, neighbours, community etc. which provide support, care,
guidance and encouragement etc. which can help empower the youth to
progress and thrive.
 The 5Cs/6Cs Model (Lerner et.al., 2011)
It focuses on the following aspects - competence, confidence, connection,
character, care, and the added 6th C of contribution. Each C consists of a
number of attributes/qualities which indicate positive development
(Lerner et. al., 2005).
a) Competence: a sense of capability in specific areas such as academic,
cognitive, vocational and social
b) Confidence: a global sense of self-worth and self-efficacy 247
Role of Psychology in Positive c) Connection: a positive and reciprocal relationship with family, peers,
Growth Across Life Span
school and community
d) Character: includes morality, value system and integrity
e) Care: involves having sympathy and empathy for others
f) Contribution: refers to the outcomes of all the other Cs which lead
the youth to enhance their own development as well as contribute to
the larger society as a result of these processes.
Thus the 5C/6Cs model describes a thriving youth in terms of these six
aspects. It has been widely studied and the five Cs are viewed as indicators
of thriving (King et. al., 2005). It is used as a theoretical model to design
a programme or as outcomes to be achieved (e.g., Mercier et. al., 2019).
 The Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Model by CASEL
This model emphasizes the acquisition of social and emotional
competencies which are significant for effective functioning in life. It
includes intrapersonal competencies such as self awareness, self
management and motivation; and interpersonal competencies such as
social awareness, empathy and relationship skills. The SEL model is
provided by the Collaborative of Academic Social and Emotional
Learning (casel.org) .
 ‘Being’ Model of PYD
The ‘being’ model focuses on ‘being’ rather than ‘doing’, that is, acquiring
skills and achieving things. It highlights the individuality of the youth,
emphasizing on their character strengths, values, spirituality, meaning
and purpose in life.
Self Assessment Questions 1
1. The National Youth Policy 2014 of India has described youth as between
_________ years of age.
2. According to Erikson, the crisis during adolescence stage of development
is called as _________________.
3. There needs to be a three-pronged approach to youth development:
intervention, preventive and __________________ approach.
4. What is the criticism of the traditional medical model of health?
5. Assets are related to both individual and the _________________.
6. What are the 6 Cs?

13.5 KEY ATTRIBUTES OF PYD

Catalano et al. (2004) have described 15 key constructs or attributes of positive
youth development. These attributes have been derived inductively based on 77
PYD programs with positive outcomes. Further, these attributes reflect the
conceptualization of PYD in different models described in the earlier section.
248
The 15 PYD attributes are given in the Table 13.2 below. Positive Youth Development

Table 13.2: 15 Attributes of Positive Youth Development (Catalano et. al.,

2004)

Attribute Explanation of the Attribute

1 Bonding good relationships with peers and adults
2 Resilience competence to overcome adversity
3 Cognitive competence ability to think logically, creatively, and
critically
4 Social competence ability to maintain good social relationships
5 Emotional competence ability to manage emotions
6 Moral competence ability to make sound moral judgment
7 Behavioural competence ability to take skillful verbal and non-verbal
actions
8 Positive and healthy having positive self-perceptions
self-identity
9 Self-determination ability to take age-appropriate action by
oneself
10 Self-efficacy belief that one has abilities and is able to
attain goals
11 Optimism belief in the future
12 Promotion of pro-social developing pro-social behavior
norms
13 Pro-social involvement engagement in pro-social behavior
14 Appreciation of young desirable behavior of young people is
people’s positive behavior properly recognized
15 Spirituality having good relationship with oneself,
others, and higher being

13.6 POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

PROGRAMMES
The concept of positive youth development (PYD) is understood in at least three
interrelated but nevertheless different ways: (1) as a developmental process, (2)
as a philosophy or approach to youth programming, and (3) as instances of youth
programs and organizations focused on fostering the healthy or positive
development of youth (Hamilton, 1999).
Thus PYD as a developmental process talks about the key attributes that the
youth need to develop (discussed in previous section 13.5). In this section, PYD
is discussed as an approach that can inform the development of youth programmes,
and also highlights specific programmes who focus on PYD outcomes. 249
Role of Psychology in Positive Positive youth development programmes are based on positive psychology
Growth Across Life Span
perspective. Positive psychology provides the PYD a broad goal of helping the
youth to thrive. What do we mean by thriving adolescent and youth? One aspect
of it focuses on developing individual psychological characteristics which can
include mainly character strengths, competencies, positive emotions, flow, and
life satisfaction (Seligman et al., 2005). Thus it envisions a young person who
living in the context of proper available health and safety, experiences more
positive affect than negative affect, who is satisfied with his or her life as it has
been lived, who has identified what he or she does well and uses these talents
and strengths in a variety of fulfilling pursuits; and who is a contributing member
of a social community (Seligman et al., 2005). In short, the youth is able to fulfill
all their potentials, experience positive affect, is an engaged member of community
and contributes meaningfully to the society.ThePYD programmes broadly include
skill building opportunities, positive relationships and opportunities for leadership
and empowerment (Roth & Brooks-Gunn, 2016).
There are three components that the PYD programmes need to consider in
designing an effective programme: the person, the context/environment related
factors, and the interaction between the two.The developmental and cultural
settings of the youth play a powerful role in enhancing their potential and well-
being. The individual characteristics of the youth interact with the features of
these settings including family, school, neighbourhood and community that can
result in positive outcome or otherwise. There needs to be an appropriate fit
between personal, developmental and sociocultural conditions of particular youths.
You have learned about Bronfenbrenner’s theory in this regard in earlier section.

13.6.1 Specific PYD Programs

Society has always focused on addressing the needs of the youth, preparing
themselves to become good citizens, and developing them into disciplined
individuals with good character, moral values, and contributing to the collective
good. The Government of India has established an exclusive Department of Youth
Affairs and Sportsin the International Year of Youth in 1985 which subsequently
was turned into a separate Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in 2000. The
latest National Youth Policy (NYP, 2014) of the government of India envisions
empowering the youth for contributing in the nation-building process. Towards
this end, it advocates for a holistic development of the youth focusing on their
health, education, sports, skill development for employment opportunities,
engagement of the youth in community, public institutions, governance, policies
and social justice areas. The National Adolescent Health Strategy (Rashtriya
Kishore Swasthya Karyakram) is a major programme of the government of India.
Various programmes and initiatives have been taken for the development of the
youth and making them an integral part of the nation building exercise, e.g., the
Scouts and Guides at school level, National cadet corps (NCC) and National
service scheme (NSS) at college level, YMCA, YWCA etc. The Rotary Club and
Lions Club also aim at building character, values and service attitude among the
young. Various life skills based programmes such as life skills education (LSE)
aim at equipping the youth with necessary skills and capabilities to grow optimally
and become productive members of the society. Thus the programmes aim at
developing the personalities and character of the youth and enabling them to
250
become useful, productive and contributing members of the society. The youth Positive Youth Development

have a right as well as an obligation to participate actively in shaping the destiny

of the nation (Youth in India, 2017).
PYD programmes can be of three types in general such as promotion, preventive
and remedial in nature. Thus they can help promote or enhance good values and
attitudes in the youth. They can also be used to prevent the negative impact of
risk factors in the youth, and/or to remediate or bring in changes in the youth and
also suitable modifications in the environment of the youth.
Given below in the box are some widely recognized programmes on positive
youth development which aims at reducing problems in young people and/or
promoting their optimal development and psychological well-being.
 National Young Leaders Programme (NYLP): aims at developing
leadership qualities among the youth to enable them to participate and
contribute optimally in the development and progress of the nation
 Neighbourhood Youth Parliament (NYP): make the youth aware about
the socio-economic-political issues and concerns related to the youth
and communities in general.
 Youth for Development programme (YFDP): involves youth in
‘shramadaan’, i.e., voluntary labour in communities which helps develop
the youth personality and a sense of dignity of labour in them.
 Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS): It has centres all over India and
undertakes activities related to varied issues of literacy, sanitation, family
welfare, social issues, rehabilitation, justice, environment,
entrepreneurship etc. so that the youth are engaged in the development
of their own community and country.
 Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD) at
Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, established under the Ministry of Youth
Affairs and Sports, is a deemed University and an apex institution in the
area of youth development. It is playing a seminal role in the teaching,
research, training and extension activities related to youth development,
functioning and well-being.
Various other programmes/facilities/schemes of the Government of India to
provide opportunities to the youth for the development of their personality,
character, skills and community engagement include National Programme for
Youth and Adolescent Development (NPYAD), Tribal Youth Exchange
Programme, Youth Hostels across the country, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), Prime Minister’s Employment
Generation Programme (PMEGP), Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
(PMKVY). Various private and non-governmental agencies (NGOs), (e.g., Azim
Premzi Foundation, Teach for India,3L Concept, a Mumbai based research
organization that provides indigenous positive youth development programme
for K-12 education, higher education and technical education) are also involved
in the area of youth development, participation and engagement of the youth in
their own growth as well as that of the nation. 251
Role of Psychology in Positive International Scenario
Growth Across Life Span
a) The United Nations has declared the year of 1985 as the International
Year of Youth with the theme “participation, development, and peace”
in recognition of the crucial role of the youth locally, nationally and
globally. The various agencies of the UN also undertake youth-related
plans and actions.For instance, the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) considers youth as agents of
change, social transformations, peace and sustainable development
(Youth in India, 2017) and undertakes varied activities towards this. The
UN also has United Nations Volunteers Programme which empowers
the youth to engage in their own capacity development, actualization of
potentials, and also be the harbingers of change in the larger society and
policy level.
b) SEL (Social and Emotional Learning): It is a widely used and researched
programme by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional
Learning (CASEL) (casel.org). It aims at promoting the social and
emotional competencies of school students by establishing evidence-
based practices. The goal is to address the child as a whole, and equip
them to succeed in school as well as later in life by developing necessary
skills and competencies related to academic performance, emotion
management, prosocial behavior, interpersonal relationship etc.
c) PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies, Greenberg &
Kusche, 1998): It is a school-based programme (30-45 sessions) aiming
at development of social and emotional competence. It consists of
activities related to self-awareness, self-control and social problem-
solving.
d) Penn Resiliency Programme (Gillham & Reivich, 2004): It is a school-
based programme including 12 sessions focusing on preventing
depression among children and adolescents by using cognitive and
behavioural skills.
e) Project P.A.T.H.S.: A PYD programme in Hong Kong, has been developed
and rigorously evaluated and the findings based on different strategies
showed that the project protected young people from risk behavior and
promoted their thriving (e.g., Catalano et al., 2012; Alvarado et al., 2017).

13.7 EVALUATION OF PYD PROGRAMMES

The PYD programmes definitely contribute to the optimal development and
functioning of the youth. However, they need to be intensive and extensive,
keeping in mind the youth requirements and given at appropriate developmental
stage. The programmes need to be planned and structured with hands-on and
minds-on exercises under direct supervision. Further, the programs need to adopt
a ‘person-in-environment’ approach, emphasizing the complex interplay between
the two. A systemic view highlighting the different layers of systems in which
the youth lives and functions need to be considered. The socio-cultural context
also plays an important role in influencing the outcome of the PYD programmes.
252 Further, the programmes need to be based on relevant theoretical frameworks.
Following are some of the aspects of evaluation with regard to the positive youth Positive Youth Development
development programmes:
1. The PYD programmes need to be imbued with a positive perspective
rather than just focusing on a disease model to youth development. These
need to be based on a holistic view of human development. Both are
equally important and complement each other in ensuring well-being of
the youth.
2. The positive perspective on PYD highlights the personal qualities
(cognitions, affect and behavioural dimensions) and the environmental
factors influencing youth development. However, the contribution of
biogenetic factors also need to be studied widely (Seligman et al., 2005)
so that it leads to a comprehensive understanding on it. Like we have
strong research base for the biological causal factors in case of
psychopathology, similarly more research needs to be done to explore
optimal development and positive character strengths from biological
perspective.
3. Role of culture needs to be recognized in influencing the positive
experiences and the optimal development of youth. Consideration and
integration of socio-cultural aspects into the PYD programmes will make
them authentic and sustainable.
4. The programmes on positive youth development need to be evidence-
based and compiled to highlight the positive outcomes.
5. Majority of the PYD studies are pre-post based studies. There is need
for more longitudinal studies which can point out at the causal
relationships between the PYD attributes and well-being.
6. Most of the tools to assess PYD attributes are developed in the western
context. It may be noted here that sociocultural contexts influence the
developmental assets of youth in different ways (Benson et al., 2006),
and also the PYD attributes. This necessitates the use of validated PYD
assessment tools to measure the PYD domains (Zhou, Shek, & Zhu,
2020).
7. There is a dearth of Indian research on PYD. A review study by Hameed
& Mehrotra (2017) suggests a significant paucity of Indian published
literature on PYD programmes and PYD based mental health promotion
programmes. Their findings highlighted using the positive youth
development as a framework for youth mental health promotion.
8. Youth is not a homogenous group. The diversity owing to age, gender,
race, class, economic status, disability etc. makes it challenging for the
PYD programmes to cater to the needs of all youth. Further, the schooling
system, especially in India, may not provide a uniform experience to the
young people and shape their attitudes, beliefs and behaviours
accordingly.
Thus overall the positive youth development programmes are crucial factors that
can help harness the huge underutilized human resource of the youth for the
betterment of the youth themselves, and also for the development and progress 253
Role of Psychology in Positive of the country and the world. As Jamieson (2005) suggests, the PYD programmes
Growth Across Life Span
can be made more effective and fruitful on the basis of the following: (a) the
more, the better, (b) the earlier, the better, (c) the more structured, the better.
Self Assessment Questions 2
1. Who has described the 15 key constructs or attributes of positive youth
development?
2. Positive youth development programmes are based on which perspective?
3. What are the three components that the PYD programmes need to consider
in designing an effective programme?
4. What does SEL programme aim at?
5. Who has given the ecological systems theory?

13.8 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit you learned about positive youth development (PYD). It is a concept
that marks a shift from problematic youth to thriving youth who are full of
potential. PYD is viewed from the positive psychology perspective and; thus it
aims at achieving optimal development and functioning of the youth in a positive
family-social-cultural context which enables the youth to engage in positive
contribution to the society. Various models of positive youth development are
described which highlight the key attributes of PYD. Further positive youth
development programmes are explained and specific PYD programmes in Indian
and global context are described. Finally, different criteria of evaluation of PYD
programmes are described.

13.9 KEY WORDS

Youth : refers to the young people between 15-29
years of age as per the National Youth Policy
of India, 2014.
Positive Youth Development : includes a combination of positive
experiences, positive relationships and
positive environments in the life of the youth.
Resilience : refers to competence to overcome adversity.
Thriving : refers to not only surviving the adversity but
also progressing and enhancing oneself.
Developmental Assets : include both internal (individual-related) and
external (environmental related) factors that
help create positive experiences and well-
being for the youth.
Social and Emotional Learning : refers to various intrapersonal and
interpersonal competencies related to
awareness and management of emotions.
254
 Positive Youth Development
13.10 ANSWERS TO SELF ASSESSMENT
QUESTIONS
Answers to Self Assessment Questions 1
1. 15-29
2. identity versus role confusion
3. positive development
4. The traditional medical model of health focuses more on the absence of
psychological distress and disorder rather than on the psychological well-
being and positive functioning of individuals.
5. Environment
6. competence, confidence, connection, character, care, and contribution
Answers to Self Assessment Questions 2
1. Catalano et al. (2004)
2. positive psychology
3. the person, the context/environment related factors, and the interaction
between the two
4. SEL programmes aim at promoting the social and emotional competencies
of school students and equip them to succeed in school as well as later in
life.
5. Bronfenbrenner (1979)

13.11 UNIT END QUESTIONS

1. Discuss the concept of positive youth development.
2. Explain the 5Cs/6Cs model of PYD.
3. What is a PYD programme? Explore and identify certain youth development
programmes in your city or State. Can these be called as PYD programmes?
If so, why?
4. Identify a positive youth development programme in global context and
analyze it in terms of its objective, approach and outcomes.
5. Discuss the criteria of evaluation of PYD programmes.

13.12 REFERENCES
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13.13 FURTHER LEARNING RESOURCES

Benson, P. L., Scales, P. C., Hamilton, S. F. and Sesma, A. (2007). Positive youth
development: Theory, research, and applications. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner
(Eds.), Handbook of child psychology (pp. 894-941). doi:10.1002/
9780470147658.chpsy0116
https://www.ccrm.in/uploads/1/7/1/9/17199286/positive_youth_development_-
_ccrm-2326.pdf
https://yas.nic.in/sites/default/files/NPYAD%20Scheme%20Guidelines%
202014-15.pdf
Lerner, R.M., Lerner, J.V., Geldhof, G., Gestsdottir, S., King, P.E., Sim, A., . . .
Dowling, E. (2018). Studying positive youth development in different Nations:
Theoretical and methodological issues. In J. Lansford & P. Banati (Eds.),
Handbook of adolescent development research and its Impact on global policy
(pp. 68-83). doi:10.1093/oso/9780190847128.001.0001
National Programme for Youth and Adolescent Development: Scheme Guidelines.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
Saha, S. (2016). Contributions of positive youth development to the understanding
of adolescent behavior. Alexis Institute Initiative: Alexis Foundation.

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