Toward a Measure for Assessing Features of Effective Youth Development Programs: Contextual Safety and the “Big Three” Components of Positive Youth Development Programs in Rwanda

Background When delivered in a safe space, programs effective in promoting positive youth development (PYD) involve key features termed the Big Three: (1) Positive and sustained adult–youth relationships; (2) Life-skill-building activities; and (3) Opportunities for youth contribution and leadership...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child & youth care forum 2020-04, Vol.49 (2), p.201-222
Main Authors: Tirrell, Jonathan M., Dowling, Elizabeth M., Gansert, Patricia, Buckingham, Mary, Wong, Caitlin A., Suzuki, Sara, Naliaka, Catherine, Kibbedi, Patience, Namurinda, Emmanuel, Williams, Kate, Geldhof, G. John, Lerner, Jacqueline V., King, Pamela Ebstyne, Sim, Alistair T. R., Lerner, Richard M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent development
Age Differences
Age groups
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Child and School Psychology
Children & youth
Compassion
Confirmatory factor analysis
Development programs
Enrollment
Foreign Countries
Gangs
Gender Differences
Interpersonal Competence
Leadership
Leadership Training
Measurement
Original Paper
Participation
Poverty
Predictions
Predictive validity
Program Effectiveness
Program Evaluation
Psychological safety
Psychology
Psychometrics
Quantitative psychology
Safety
Skill Development
Social development
Sympathy
Test Construction
Test Validity
Usefulness
Violent crime
Youth
Youth Programs
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Summary:Background When delivered in a safe space, programs effective in promoting positive youth development (PYD) involve key features termed the Big Three: (1) Positive and sustained adult–youth relationships; (2) Life-skill-building activities; and (3) Opportunities for youth contribution and leadership. However, no measures exist in the literature for assessing the Big Three. Objective The present study sought to develop a quantitative measure of program quality. Method Using data collected from Rwandese participants from the Compassion International (CI) Study of PYD, we developed a youth-report measure with two groups: 603 youth enrolled in CI-supported programs, and 320 youth not enrolled in CI but involved in other youth development programs (total N  = 923, M age = 11.81 years, SD  = 1.68). We used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to refine the item pool. Using a propensity-score matched subsample, we added a measure of youth contribution to assess predictive validity of the measure, and tested for between-group measurement invariance across age, gender, and CI-enrollment status. We then compared CI-supported and non-CI-supported youth as an initial assessment using the measure. Results We established a parsimonious and robust measure of the Big Three demonstrating strong psychometric properties. CI-supported-youth reported higher levels of each of the Big Three features. Conclusions These results provide information about the usefulness of a measure assessing the Big Three attributes of effective PYD programs. We discuss how future research using this approach to understanding the content of youth development programs may provide evidence of how PYD may be promoted.
ISSN:1053-1890
1573-3319
DOI:10.1007/s10566-019-09524-6