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Abstract. The UN 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for disaggregating results of program effectiveness within subgroups. Using the Bornstein (2017) specificity principle, involving within-group assessments regarding what specific youth prosper in what specific ways in what specific programs, we analyzed data from 888 Salvadoran youth (50% female), aged 9–15 years ( M = 11.60 years, SD = 1.7), participating in the Compassion International (CI) Study of Positive Youth Development (PYD). We compared CI-supported youth with non-CI-supported youth on nine variables related to PYD, intentional self-regulation, hopeful future expectations, and spirituality. Whereas tests of group averages indicated no meaningful differences, disaggregated results across 20 program sites indicated that 2 sites showed no group differences, 7 sites showed better CI-supported youth performance, 3 sites showed better non-CI-supported youth performance, and 8 sites showed a mixed pattern. We discuss the use of the specificity principle in future assessments of SDG indicators.

Traditional variable-centered research on executive functions (EFs) often infers intraindividual development using group-based averages. Such a method masks meaningful individuality and involves the fallacy of equating group-level data with person-specific changes. We used an intensive longitudinal design to study idiographic executive function fluctuation among ten boys from Grade 4. Each of the participants completed between 33 and 43 measurement occasions (M = 38.8) across approximately three months. Data were collected remotely using a computerized short version of the Dimensional Change Card Sort task. Multi-group analyses of three participant pairs (Participants 5 and 3, 5 and 2, and 5 and 6) demonstrated that Participant 5 differed from Participants 3 and 2 in different ways but Participants 5 and 6 were similar in all comparisons. Dynamic structural equation modeling demonstrated unique individual trajectories, which were not represented by the trajectory of group-averages. Although more than half of the participants showed a negative association between EFs and inattention, two participants showed a positive association between EF and inattention. This study demonstrated meaningful person-specific trajectories of EFs, suggesting that future study should undertake the analysis of individual development before data-aggregation or generalization from aggregate statistics to individuals.

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Results highlight the need to adapt pediatric chronic pain interventions to family culture and context. Further research is needed to understand pediatric chronic pain from a cross-cultural perspective.

Programs effective in promoting positive youth development (PYD) involve curricular features termed the Big Three: Positive and sustained adult–youth relationships; life-skill-building activities; and youth contribution and leadership opportunities. Data from 610 adolescents (50% female; M age = 16.39 years, SD = 1.83) enrolled in Compassion International-supported programs in El Salvador indicated that scores derived from a youth-report measure of the Big Three, established using data from Rwanda, manifested strong invariance and predicted both youth strengths and contribution. Qualitative interviews with 18 youth from these programs indicated that the Big Three were seen as present and enhancing their positive development. We discuss how future research using a quantitative–qualitative approach may provide deeper evidence about the practical application and promotion of PYD in youth programs.