Nuances in Early Adolescent Developmental Trajectories of Positive and Problematic/Risk Behaviors: Findings from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development

doi:10.1016/j.chc.2006.11.006

Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America

Volume 16, Issue 2, April 2007, Pages 473-496

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2006.11.006 Get rights and content

Using data from the first three waves of data (Grades 5, 6, and 7) from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (PYD), the authors assessed among 1,184 youth (58.5% female) the patterns of change associated with indicators of PYD and of risks/problem behaviors. Results indicated that five PYD trajectories represent change across grades, four trajectories were associated with indicators of internalizing problems, and three trajectories were associated with indicators of externalizing problems. Although theoretical expectations associated with the study of both child and adolescent resilience and PYD led to the expectation that most youth across the early adolescent period would show change marked by the coupling of increases in PYD and decreases in risk/problem behaviors, only about one-sixth of all youth in the sample manifested this particular pattern of change. Other youth remained stable over time, showed increases in PYD and risk, and declined in PYD. The multiplicity of patterns of conjoint trajectories for PYD and risks/problem behaviors constitutes a challenge for both developmental theory and applications aimed at enhancing resilience and positive development among adolescents.

Section snippets

Method

Full details of the methodology of the 4-H Study have been presented elsewhere [14]. We present here those features of methodology pertinent to the focus of the present article.

Indexing Positive Youth Development

As described by Lerner and colleagues [14], several measures derived from the overall measurement model of the 4-H Study of PYD were used to index PYD, operationalized through the assessment of the Five Cs [10], [28], [29]. Full details about these measures are provided by Lerner and colleagues [14] (see also [17], [18]). A brief summary of the features of these measures is provided herein.

Each of the Five Cs is comprised of a number of well validated scales designed to assess the essential

Results

Our analyses were designed to advance our understanding of the association between trajectories of risks/problem behaviors and of PYD among early adolescents. Two approaches to data analysis were used. Variable-centered analyses provide information about average change over time aggregated across individuals and about the correlates of change. Person-centered analyses permit analysis of patterns of intraindividual change over time [23].

Table 1 shows means and standard deviations for PYD and

Discussion

The contemporary studies of resilience [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7] and of PYD [8], [9], [10], [11] converge in focusing on individual ←→ context relations within the dynamic, developmental system. Both perspectives converge in suggesting that when these bidirectional relations are mutually beneficial, the individual manifests healthy, adaptive behaviors.

A question remains about whether the presence of trajectories of such adaptive, positive behavior fully characterize (eg, in a trait-like

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: This research was supported in part by a grant from the National 4-H Council. We gratefully acknowledge Daniel Nagin and Bobby L. Jones, Carnegie Mellon University, for their help on this article.

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Nuances in Early Adolescent Developmental Trajectories of Positive and Problematic/Risk Behaviors: Findings from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development

Section snippets

Method

Indexing Positive Youth Development

Results

Discussion

Ordinary magic: resilience process in development

Am Psychol

Regulatory processes, risk and resilience in adolescent development

Ann N Y Acad Sci

Resilience in development

What is positive youth development?

Ann Am Acad Pol Soc Sci