The impact of community-wide teen pregnancy prevention initiatives (CWIs) on local U.S. birth rates among adolescents aged 15 to 19 years was examined using synthetic control methodology within a quasi-experimental design. CWIs were implemented in 10 U.S. communities from 2010 to 2015. Each initiative implemented evidence-based teen pregnancy…

In 2021, approximately five million young people in the United States were not in school or working. This group of young people transitioning to adulthood, roughly ages 16 to 24, are often referred to as "opportunity youth" and sometimes "disconnected youth." Young people from low-income families and from communities of…

Recent studies have reported that strengths-based programs, leveraging autistic adolescents' abilities and interests, could improve their skills and facilitate social engagement. However, little is known about the long-term impact of strengths-based approaches. This study aimed to explore the long-term outcomes of community strengths-based…

Adolescent girls face distinct challenges that require tailored and girl-centered responses. This brief draws on the knowledge of program implementers and researchers who work on community-based girl group (CBGG) programs (often called "safe spaces") in various low- and middle-income settings and the US. It summarizes emerging lessons…

This essay reflects on the challenges of facilitating a community program partnership with the Prince George's Memorial Library System. The program, "Community Justice," uses a public syllabus to introduce local teens to social justice concepts, theories, and methods. While issues of sustainability and retention are examined in this…

This study examines the writing of adolescent Pacific Islander girls who, during a community-based workshop, drafted statements of purpose (SOP) for scholarship applications. Pacific Islander migrants are among the most marginalized residents in Hawai'i. Our project engaged the girls in telling their own stories through writing. Following New…

Perceptions of program safety for youth might include such features as physical safety, psychological safety, and social-relational safety. A holistic sense of safety, or one that inclusively encompasses and integrates features of, and relations with, the ecology in which youth develop, could be engendered through programmatic designs that attend…

This paper explores young people's aspirations and the influence of community drama in shaping these arts-focussed aspirations. Research was undertaken using creative drama methods with young people who attend a youth drama group. The young people identified career and personal aspirations, recognising the hard work and support that it can take to…

While research abounds on the outcomes of out-of-school time programs for youth, most studies focus on programs with similar profiles or within the same program category, leaving a notable gap in examining youth experiences across programs with different delivery modes. The current research investigated the perceived experiences of youth in two…

Background: Situated in urban Philadelphia, Autores Fuertes was part of a network of nonprofit community writing centers that provided a free afterschool writing academy for children ages 7 to 17. With a full-time lead educator and assistant educator, alongside several volunteer community educators, this center promoted itself as a…

Background: Amidst rapid developmental changes, refugee-background adolescents (RBAs) face unique challenges during resettlement, including adapting to new cultures, languages, and educational systems, while often dealing with pre-migration trauma. These youth need support to navigate educational and career pathways in their host countries. Using…

This article explores the risks and potentials of staging vulnerability in community theatre with teenage girls. By drawing on postconstructionist and spatial theories, the article elaborates on how aesthetic spaces emerge when interwoven with spaces of vulnerability. Exploring how vulnerability becomes a generative, or restrictive force, the…

This brief is the first of a series of applied research briefs that focus on specific challenges and opportunities public media faces in its approaches to youth content and engagement. Drawing from priorities surfaced through focus group interviews with youth across the country, these briefs highlight recent research and public discussions about…

Background: Internationally, the number of young people who experience significant mental health issues is increasing. It is argued that flexible, community-based initiatives can help support mental health services to address the mental health needs of young people. Youth mentoring is a community-based model, which has been found to act as a…

Using a 3-Round Delphi Technique, the current study aimed to ascertain consensus regarding parents' thoughts about the school, home, and community protective factors (i.e., preventive behavior interventions, behavior resources) needed to prevent adolescents from referral to behavior school and subsequent involvement in the juvenile system. A…