No abstract

Interpersonal relationships during adolescence can be powerful avenues for personal development. As school is a universal context for youth, positive teacher-student relationships (TSRs) are one potential source for such developmentally promotive relationships. Unfortunately, research has shown a decline in the quality of teacher-student interactions as students progress through PK-12, which suggests a missed developmental opportunity. More research is needed to identify factors that contribute to positive TSRs, especially during adolescence. Utilizing qualitative methods, this study explores adolescent perceptions of TSRs in order to identify and understand key interactions and characteristics of high-quality, positive TSRs. We identified two overarching themes that emerged from our qualitative analysis: teacher noticing and teacher investment. Within these themes, we also examined the role of "free" and "same-level" conversations in promoting positive TSRs. Our findings contribute to research aimed at understanding specific processes that occur within positive youth-adult relationships. Specifically, we find promise in key teacher-student interactions that fulfill adolescents'

We are interested in understanding the individual and environmental attributes that contribute to a youth's sense of connection. Specifically, we explore the ways in which close relationships with nonparental adults (such as teachers, coaches, mentors) are 1 vector of connection through which PYD occurs. We focus on interview transcripts from 37 youth, ranging in age from 11 to 18 years. We look across their narratives of relationships with adults in their lives as well as analyze these narratives in conjunction with individual level characteristics derived from survey data. Several themes across these close relationships were identified as facilitating or impeding connection including: adult personality characteristics, shared interests, and length of time spent together. Role expectations and role boundaries were also defining features in the narratives of YARs. We suggest that context of YARs is an important factor in understanding the nature of the relationship and youth perceptions of adults, in general. Finally, we offer suggestions for conceptual clarity and the importance of using qualitative methods for understanding connection.

The relationship between family functioning and adolescents’ physical aggression has been well established, but whether these relationships might differ by ethnicity has received less attention. Ethnic variations may be important for targeting prevention programs to specific youth and families. This study examined the longitudinal relationship between family cohesion, parental monitoring, and physical aggression using data from the Multisite Violence Prevention Project sample of high-risk youth (elevated aggression). Participants were 1,232 high-risk middle school students (65% male; 70% African American; 15% Hispanic). Meaningful demographic variations were identified. After controlling for intervention condition and study site, family cohesion was significantly negatively related to physical aggression, more so for Hispanic youth. Parental monitoring was negatively associated with physical aggression for African American youth only. Our findings point to the importance of developing culturally sensitive family interventions to prevent physical aggression in middle school.

Highlights• Systematic review of studies using experimental or quasi-experimental design to assess the impact of comprehensive community initiatives (CCIs) • Of 1,947 candidate articles, only 25 articles on six distinct CCIs met the inclusion criteria.• CCIs can prevent problem behaviors as soon as one year after intervention and as early as 7th grade.• Effects can be sustained up to seven years post-intervention and as late as a year post-high school.• The evidence base is still relatively small and focused on a narrow set of outcomes and populations.

Mentoring continues to be a popular intervention for promoting positive youth development. However, the underlying mechanisms associated with sustainable and successful relationships remain largely unknown. Our study aimed to expand on previous literature by examining characteristics that have previously been linked to mentoring outcomes (e.g., authenticity, empathy), from a process-focused lens. We utilized post program satisfaction scores and interviews to examine the presence of each characteristic in a large sample of dyads (n = 144) as well as dyads' levels of agreement or disagreement about aspects of the relationships. We found that high satisfaction dyads demonstrated greater congruity and detail in their descriptions of their relationships, whereas low satisfaction dyads were highly divergent and inconsistent in their descriptions. In addition, misattunement, a negative relational aspect, was the most powerful distinguisher between high and low satisfaction dyads, which provides support for mentors receiving attunement training in order to reduce instances of misattunement. Findings from this study highlight the importance of examining and assessing mentoring relationships from both the mentor and protégé perspectives, as a single perspective may not present a full picture of the relationship.

With the proliferation of participatory approaches to promoting youth development such as Youth-Led Participatory Action Research (YPAR), it is more important than ever that researchers and practitioners understand how to create curriculum that will authentically engage youth of color. To that end, there are important lessons public health researchers can learn from the fields of community psychology, education, and social work, among others. We explore the benefits of a youth-led research and action curriculum steeped in critical pedagogy and critical race theory focused on public health. Youth of color ( N = 35) between the ages of 13 and 34 years from five U.S. cities were hired as researchers. The majority (57%) of youth were 16 or 17 years, and the gender split was female (57%) and male (43%). Key informant interviews with adults and qualitative data analysis techniques were employed to examine program products and outcomes. Materials were deductively coded for content related to critical pedagogy and race theory (e.g., empowerment, capacity building and community engagement, skill development) as well as conceptualizations of health. Findings indicate young people (a) began to think more consciously about health, what it means to be healthy, and the factors that influence health; (b) developed critical skills; and (c) described feeling empowered. When given resources and space to lead, we found youth to be insightful, resourceful, compassionate, and deeply committed to improving the lives of their peers, family members, and communities.

The original version of the article unfortunately contained a mistake. The name of the co-author was incorrectly spelled as ''Nancy L. Detusch''. The author name is corrected through this erratum.