Article
Positive Youth Development in Jamaica: Latent Growth of Self-Efficacy and Youth Assets
Positive youth development in a global context: Bridging the gaps between research, policy and practice
(2021)
Abstract
International contexts for Positive Youth Development (PYD) programs are often aimed at youth who face economic disadvantages, especially in developing countries. Little is known about the developmental trajectories of youth referred to as NEET (Not active in Education, Employment, or Training opportunities). In the present chapter, we examine latent growth trajectories of career decision self-efficacy and youth assets among NEET youth in Jamaica from a longitudinal field trial (N = 1069) with a treatment group that participated in the National Youth Service Corps program, a randomly assigned control group, and a non-equivalent comparison group representing the lower stratum of NEET youth in Jamaica. The latent growth models examined suggested that PYD programs produced improved change over time on career decision self-efficacy and youth assets relative to a matched comparison group. However, the trajectory of NEET youth possessing few basic skills represents a challenge for future conceptualizations of PYD programs in developing nations.
Keywords
- Randomized trial,
- Latent growth,
- Jamaica,
- Positive youth development,
- NEET youth,
- The National Youth Service Corps Program
Disciplines
Publication Date
October 23, 2021
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70262-5_20
Citation Information
Darrell M. Hull, Sarah L Ferguson, Marcus A. Fagan and Emily A. Brown. "Positive Youth Development in Jamaica: Latent Growth of Self-Efficacy and Youth Assets" Positive youth development in a global context: Bridging the gaps between research, policy and practice (2021) p. 299 - 313 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/sarah-ferguson/18/