A global Youth Peacebuilding Beliefs Scale

Area of Science:

• Social Psychology
• Peace and Conflict Studies
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Youth are often stereotyped as victims or perpetrators in conflict.
• However, youth also possess significant potential to act as peacebuilders and disrupt conflict cycles.
• International frameworks like SDG 16 and UN Security Council Resolutions (2250, 2419, 2535) emphasize youth participation in peacebuilding and social inclusion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a global measure of youth peacebuilding beliefs.
• To assess diverse forms of youth peacebuilding across ecological levels (microsystem, mesosystem, macrosystem).
• To empirically test the Developmental Peacebuilding Model.

Main Methods:

• A sequential, mixed-methods, cross-cultural design was employed.
• Study 1 involved focus groups with adolescents and young adults (N=199) in Northern Ireland, Colombia, Israel, and Switzerland.
• Study 2 utilized a large-scale survey (N=2771) across the same four diverse settings.

Main Results:

• The Youth Peacebuilding Beliefs Scale (YPBS) was successfully developed and validated.
• The scale measures various types of peacebuilding activities across different social ecological levels.
• The findings provide empirical support for the Developmental Peacebuilding Model.

Conclusions:

• The validated YPBS offers a novel tool for assessing youth peacebuilding.
• Policymakers and researchers can utilize the YPBS to support and understand youth-led peace initiatives.
• This research highlights the crucial role of youth in fostering peace and social inclusion across the peace continuum.