ch 16

Learning Objectives for the Epilogue of Adolescent Development

• Objective 16.1: Characterize successful youth development programs.
• Objective 16.2: Contrast the stage of "adolescence" with the stage of "emerging adulthood."
• Objective 16.3: Summarize the specific life tasks faced by individuals in young adulthood.

Positive Youth Development (PYD)

• Core Perspective: Positive youth development is a therapeutic perspective that focuses on the strengths and constructive attributes of youth. It operates on the recognition that human development is not predetermined and that providing opportunities to foster healthy growth can have a beneficial impact.
• Definitional Variations:     * There is no single, universally accepted definition of positive youth development (Lerner et al., $2009$).     * Some scholars, such as Shek et al. ($2007$), use the term synonymously with "healthy adjustment."     * Others, such as Tebes et al. ($2007$), define it as the avoidance of harmful activities.
• Relationship to Prevention: Much of the knowledge regarding PYD is derived from analyzing prevention programs designed to provide skills, establish relationships, and increase self-esteem to help adolescents avoid harmful behaviors and transition into well-functioning adults.
• Rationale for Prevention Efforts: Many experts argue for a focus on prevention for the following reasons:     * Shared Stressors: A single program can concurrently reduce risks for multiple undesirable behaviors (e.g., substance abuse and dropping out) because these problems often stem from the same underlying stressors.     * Trauma Reduction: Prevention eliminates or mitigates the trauma experienced by the adolescents, their families, and potential victims.     * Breaking the Spiral of Defeat: Prevention can stop a "spiral of defeat," where one problem leads to or worsens subsequent problems.
• PYD vs. Narrow Prevention: Positive youth development programs differ from narrowly focused efforts (like informational lectures on the dangers of substance abuse or unsafe sex) because the latter often fail to provide the life skills necessary for success (Roth, $2000$).

Attributes of Successful Youth Development Programs

• The Triad of Attributes: By examining $71$ existing successful programs, Roth and Brooks-Gunn ($2003$) identified three core legs for success:     * The Right Goals: Programs must aim not only to prevent high-risk activities but also to build competencies, skills, and connections.     * The Right Activities: Successful programs offer opportunities to practice decision-making, experience challenges, and engage in community service.     * The Right Atmosphere: The environment must feel safe and supportive. Most successful programs encourage the formation of mentoring relationships between adults and teens.
• Sustained Service Requirement: To be effective, services must be sustained over the long term rather than being brief or short-term interventions (Roth, $2000$).
• The "5 Cs" Model: Lerner and colleagues ($2009$) integrated various research findings into a model where positive youth development involves helping teens develop:     * $1.$ Competence     * $2.$ Confidence     * $3.$ Connection     * $4.$ Character     * $5.$ Compassion
• Fostering Responsibility (Reed Larson’s Approach): Larson ($2011$) and Salusky et al. ($2014$) emphasize that youth programs help teens acquire responsibility by providing duties and the practice of being responsible (Wood et al., $2009$). Factors that build efficacy include:     * Tasks that become progressively more demanding and challenging.     * Open-ended tasks that require adolescents to figure out how to accomplish goals themselves.     * Adequate-but-not-suffocating support.     * Goals that require teamwork.
• Attracting Youth Participation: According to Anderson-Butcher ($2005$), teens are interested in programs that:     * Are accessible in time and location.     * Expand horizons and increase quality of life.     * Assist with schoolwork or other needs.     * Provide a sense of mastery and challenge.     * Enhance physical fitness.     * Offer choices and the opportunity to be with friends.

Emerging Adulthood

• Definition and Origin: Emerging adulthood is a distinct stage of life first conceptualized by J. J. Arnett ($2000$, $2004$). It typically spans from age $18$ through the middle or late twenties.
• Demographic Drivers: This stage arose because people in Western societies are waiting longer to marry and are continuing their education for longer periods.
• Characteristics of the Stage:     * Constant Flux: Individuals in this stage often move frequently, change jobs, and stop/start their education.     * "Pingponging": This refers to the back-and-forth movement in life choices, sometimes by choice (uncertainty about goals) and sometimes due to external factors (a tight job market).     * Diversity: Emerging adults are highly diverse compared to other age groups; while most adolescents live with families and most middle-aged adults are employed, there is little that "almost all" emerging adults have in common.     * Self-Perception: When asked if they feel like adults, emerging adults often answer "yes and no" because they do not yet feel completely self-reliant financially or emotionally.
• Psychological Moratorium: Emerging adulthood acts as an extension of Erik Erikson’s psychological moratorium—a period where one actively thinks about goals and choices before reaching decisions. This is crucial for identity search, especially for those not marrying until near age $30$ or pursuing graduate school.
• Cultural Context: Emerging adulthood is not universal. It exists primarily in Westernized cultures where development has been prolonged and may not endure as a permanent phenomenon in all industrialized societies.

Young Adulthood and Maturity

• Psychological and Social Maturity: Beyond independence and identity, maturity involves taking responsibility for decisions, accepting oneself, and viewing the world realistically.
• Traits of Maturity:     * Handling setbacks and "bouncing back."     * Caring for others beyond self-interest (Allport, $1961$).     * Increased Conscientiousness: Being careful, thorough, and responsible.     * Increased Agreeableness: Being cooperative, warm, and considerate (Roberts & Mroczek, $2008$).     * Cross-cultural verification of these trends (Bleidorn et al., $2013$; McCrae et al., $2000$).
• Benefits of Maturity: Mature individuals report higher levels of happiness, more successful relationships, better work performance, and healthier, longer lives (Roberts et al., $2007$).
• Drivers of Maturity: Maturity is driven by both physical and environmental factors, but environmental factors are more influential in young adulthood (Briley & Trucker-Drob, $2014$). The transition to full-time employment is particularly influential (Bleidorn et al., $2013$).
• Subjective Experience: Adolescence is characterized by a flavor of "becoming" or "working toward" a future life. Young adulthood, by contrast, feels like "arriving"—moving from "becoming" to "being."

The Life Tasks of Young Adulthood (Robert Havighurst)

Robert Havighurst ($1972$) outlined specific tasks that define the transition into and the experience of young adulthood:

• Selecting a Mate: Dating becomes more serious and focused on finding a long-term partner or spouse.
• Learning to Live with a Marriage Partner.
• Starting a Family.
• Rearing Children.
• Managing a Home.
• Getting Started in an Occupation.
• Taking on Civic Responsibilities.
• Finding a Congenial Social Group: Young adults often find they must work harder to establish friends than they did during their school years.

Questions & Discussion

• Journal Prompt: Youth Development Programs: Describe a youth development program that you were involved with. Did it provide you with the skills and traits described (e.g., the $5$ Cs, responsibility, mentoring)? If so, how? If not, what did it lack?
• Journal Prompt: Emerging Adulthood: What plans do you have post-graduation? Do you expect to spend an extended period of time before you "settle down"? In what ways, yes; in what ways, no?