Positive youth development
taking into account various contextual factors
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Positive youth development from a comparative cultural perspective
Research on positive developmental outcomes (e.g. life satisfaction or engagement) has become increasingly important in youth research in recent years. The concept of Positive Youth Development (PYD) assumes that positive developmental outcomes, also known as "5 Cs" (Competence = Competence, Confidence = Confidence, Character = Character, Connection = Connection, Care = Care and Compassion), arise from a dynamic interplay between developmental resources in the young people themselves and their environment. The current project aims to clarify which developmental resources (internal and external) are available to adolescents in Germany and how these relate to positive and negative developmental outcomes. To this end, adolescents between the ages of 13 and 15 are being surveyed in schools using questionnaires. The long-term goal is to use the findings of this study to plan and develop intervention measures that compensate for deficits in developmental resources and thus promote the positive development of young people. The project is part of an international research network coordinated by the University of Bergen, Norway. At the same time, analogue surveys will be carried out in other countries and the data will be compared with each other afterwards.
Project management
Associate Prof. Dr Karina Weichold
Partner institution|cooperation partner (management)
Nora Wiium, University of Bergen, NorwayExternal link
International partner institutions|cooperation partners
www.uib.no/en/rg/sipa/pydcrossnationalExternal link
Positive youth development during and after the coronavirus crisis
The global COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly a historically unique example of a comprehensive societal, economic and social change that was accompanied by a particularly rapid impact on everyday life. As part of the PYD-Corona study, the effects of this exceptional social situation combined with school closures, homeschooling or contact bans on the psychosocial adjustment of young people are to be investigated. As a basic sample, classes (6th to 9th grade) from Central German schools ("PYD study"; wave 1; N=800) that had already participated in a study on youth development before the pandemic (maximum one year before) were contacted again. The pupils were invited to take part in an online survey in December 2020 - i.e. shortly before the second phase of school closures. A total of around 500 7th to 11th graders took part in this survey ("PYD Corona Study"; wave 2). The current analyses are intended to (a) document problems and how young people coped with them during the period of school closures, (b) show changes in positive development and problem behaviour among young people over the period of school closures and (3) investigate which specific factors in the person and their living environments contributed to the course of psychosocial adjustment over time. The findings of the study should not only paint a picture of the consequences of the corona crisis for young people, but also identify starting points for prevention and intervention measures, for example in the context of school.
Project management
apl. Prof. Dr Karina Weichold
Dr Anja Blumenthal
Final year projects|thesis|dissertation
- Stümpel, E. (2021) The leisure behaviour of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: The importance of unstructured leisure time and its relationship to the psychosocial adjustment of adolescents. Unpublished master's dissertation. Jena: Friedrich Schiller University.
- E. Krebs - Changes in family life and the well-being of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic (ongoing)
- A. Dührsen - The relationship between pandemic-related changes in the peer context and well-being in adolescents (ongoing)