A Study of Positive Youth Development among Adolescents in Urban Area

With the wave of new developments in the field of psychology, the study of youths has taken a new turn. Researchers are now focusing on enhancing psychological growth in youths. With this new focus in light, various schools and organizations in the west have adopted "positive youth development" for a holistic development of a youth's physical, psychological and social growth. In most cases, high rates of alienation, disconnection and boredom from meaningful challenge are not signs of psychopathology but rather, it can be seen as a sign of deficiency in positive development. The present study focuses on the concept of positive youth development (PYD) and its assessment in Indian education setting. The objective of the study was to assess the dimensions of positive youth development among adolescents. Positive Youth Development Inventory developed by Arnold, Nott, and Meinhold (2012) was used for data collection. Data comprised of l00 adolescents (50 males & 50 females) age range between l6-18 years for the present study. The obtained data has been analyzed using descriptive statistics like Mean, Standard Deviation (SD), Independent sample t test. The study showed higher scores of female participants in comparison to the male participants on Positive Youth Development. It was also found that females scored higher on the dimensions of Positive youth development that are emotionally regulated like character, connection and caring. While males scored higher on cognitive dimensions of positive youth development like competence and confidence. Researchers recognized need to promote positive youth development among youths, efforts are being made to establish appropriate programs for interventional purposes.