Adolescence is popularly viewed as a time of experimentation and risk-taking. It is also a time when adolescents develop the skills, connections, and good judgment to become productive, contributing members of society. There is evidence that positive youth development approaches in childhood and adolescence can help develop these skills, connections, and good judgments, and prevent crime and substance use. Dr. Catalano will provide the historical context of youth development in the U.S., focusing on:
- Issues that brought researchers, policy makers, and practitioners together to critique existing single-problem-focused prevention approaches
- Concepts that have been used in positive youth development (PYD) approaches
- Impacts of PYD programs on substance use and crime
- Program outcomes from his own work, the Seattle Social Development Project, using the Raising Healthy Children approach to youth development in elementary schools
- Future directions for future PYD research
