Evaluation of a community‐driven preventive youth initiative in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia

Lee, K. S. Kylie; Conigrave, Katherine M.; Clough, Alan R.; Wallace, Cate; Silins, Edmund; Rawles, Jackie

doi:10.1080/09595230701711124

Cited by 31 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…77,86,88,89,112 The remaining studies failed to provide a description of the analytical approach undertaken. 84,85,87,94,99 Detailed descriptions of methods of analysis were generally missing. Most studies were 'thin' in their interpretive scope.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…77,84,86,88,89,99,112 The remaining three studies were limited in the reporting of their findings, both overall and in relation to answering the RQ. 85,87,94 During the coding process it also became apparent that, although there were some data on contextual factors, these were often quite 'thin'. There were even fewer data on how participant characteristics affected PYD implementation and receipt.…”

Section: Breadth and Depthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lee et al 94 reported on a community-driven youth initiative delivered in an Australian rural community to all young people in the community by a combination of indigenous and other staff. Activities included technical studies, film-making, a driving licence programme, marine debris clean-up, youth leadership opportunities, recruitment, support and training for new employees in the local youth recreational sector, youth and community festivals, a mural painting programme, sporting carnivals, a cultural knowledge programme, discos, mental health promotion posters and health promotion.…”

Section: Bulanda and Mccreamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…84,85,94 Four interventions targeted individuals on the basis of individual disadvantage; two targeted individuals on the basis of area or school disadvantage; one targeted individuals on both individual and area disadvantage; and three did not involve targeting on either basis. Three interventions were delivered to participants for ≥ 1 year; three were delivered for < 1 year and six studies did not report their duration.…”

Section: Young People's Feedbackmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, most studies (n = 7) failed to provide sufficient detail about their recruitment strategies. [85][86][87][88][89]94,99 …”

Section: Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

The effects of Positive Youth Development interventions on substance use, violence and inequalities: systematic review of theories of change, processes and outcomes

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundPositive Youth Development (PYD) delivered outside school aims to enable young people to develop positive assets such as relationships and confidence, rather than to merely address risk. Existing reviews of PYD effects on substance use or violence are old and unsystematic.ObjectivesTo systematically review evidence to answer the following questions: what theories of change inform PYD interventions addressing substance use and violence? What characteristics of participants and contexts are identified as barriers to and facilitators of implementation and receipt in process evaluations of PYD? What is the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of PYD in reducing substance use and violence? What characteristics of participants and contexts appear to moderate, or are necessary and sufficient for, PYD effectiveness?Data sourcesA total of 21 bibliographic databases; 35 websites and contacting authors.Review methodsWe included reports published in English since 1985 and reporting on theories of change, as well as process, outcome and economic evaluations of PYD targeting 11- to 18-year-olds and addressing substance use or violence. References were screened on title/abstract and, where appropriate, on full report. Data extraction and quality assessment used Critical Appraisal Skills Programme, Evidence for Policy and Practice Information and Co-ordinating Centre and Cochrane tools. Theories of change and process evaluations were qualitatively metasynthesised. Outcome evaluations were synthesised narratively and meta-analytically.Results32,394 unique references were identified and 48 were included. A total of 16 reports described theories, 13 (10 studies) evaluated processes and 25 (10 studies) evaluated outcomes.Theories of changePYD interventions aim to offer opportunities for young people to develop positive ‘assets’ such as skills and confidence. These are theorised to promote and be promoted by young people’s ‘intentional self-regulation’, which involves reflecting on behaviour; determining goals; using existing resources to pursue these; and redirecting effort when thwarted. This enables ‘developmental regulation’, namely individuals capitalising on other opportunities to promote personal development. Positive assets thus accrued reduce health risks by reducing the impact on individuals of environmental risk or by ameliorating the impact of such risks. The literature offers limited insights beyond these general ideas.Process evaluationsCommunity engagement ensured that programmes were accessible and appealing. Staff capacity and continuity were crucial factors but often challenging when programmes could not offer full-time jobs. Tensions arose between a desire to empower participants to choose activities and a requirement for them to undertake a breadth of activities.Outcome evaluationsMeta-analyses of all combined outcomes and of short-term alcohol use, illicit drug use and smoking found no significant effects. There were small, statistically significant, short-term effects for an omnibus measure of substance use and for violence. We could not undertake metaregression to assess sociodemographic moderators but narrative synthesis suggested no clear pattern of effects by sex. We found no economic evaluations.LimitationsInsufficient studies precluded qualitative comparative analyses.ConclusionsHow PYD might promote health is currently undertheorised. Implementation can be challenging. We found little evidence that current PYD interventions delivered outside school reduce substance use or violence. However, these may not constitute a test of the effectiveness of the PYD model, as some included interventions that, although meeting our inclusion criteria, were not exemplars of PYD.Future workFurther evaluations should assess interventions employing PYD theory of change.Study registrationThis study is registered as PROSPERO CRD42013005439.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme.

show abstract