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Positive youth development: a catalyst for change in sport for development interventions?
1School of Health Sciences, Adelphi University, 1 South Avenue, Woodruff Hall, Room 172, Garden City, NY, 11530, USA. mwhitley@adelphi.edu.
BMC Public Health
|December 2, 2025
Summary
Positive Youth Development (PYD) experiences in Sport for Development (SfD) programs significantly boost social-emotional learning (SEL), leadership, and career readiness for vulnerable youth. Adults play a key role in facilitating these beneficial PYD experiences.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Youth Development
- Sports Science
Background:
- Strength-based approaches are gaining traction in public health.
- Sport for Development (SfD) interventions offer holistic well-being opportunities for socially vulnerable youth.
- A gap exists in understanding the mechanisms ('black box') through which SfD interventions achieve outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between specific Positive Youth Development (PYD) experiences within an SfD intervention and key youth outcomes.
- To examine the impact of PYD on social-emotional learning (SEL), leadership development, and career and college readiness.
Main Methods:
- A two-year rolling cross-sectional study was conducted at the South Bronx United (SBU) Academy, serving low-income, immigrant, and first-generation youth (ages 10-19).
- Participants completed pre- and post-academic year surveys assessing SEL, leadership, and career/college readiness.
- Seven distinct PYD experiences were measured, with linear regression analyses used to determine relationships with outcomes.
Main Results:
- Positive and significant correlations were found between reported PYD experiences and all measured outcomes.
- PYD experiences strongly correlated with enhanced SEL, leadership development, and career and college readiness over two years.
Conclusions:
- PYD experiences within SfD interventions are strongly linked to SEL, leadership, and career readiness, particularly for vulnerable youth of color.
- Adult facilitation is crucial for fostering these PYD experiences.
- SfD organizations should intentionally design programs and train staff to cultivate PYD, using robust evaluation to align with public health goals.
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