Most youth development programs strive to promote thriving, but scientific inquiry into "how" they achieve this aim is rare and often complicated by nuanced program structures and delivery. Across two studies, we explored how one thriving indicator, having a sense of purpose in life, may be cultivated by a statewide 4-H program. In Study…

Stage-Environment Fit Theory underlines the role of learning environments and their match with students' needs as crucial for students' motivation and learning. This study explores the mediation role of goal orientations in the interplay of academic self-concept and achievement in mathematics and verbal domains in student-directed and…

This article focused on findings of case study that explored the use of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" to supplement a service-learning project. The project was initiated in an academic orientation course as a part of a summer bridge program in order to foster a sense of belonging. Data from written reflections and a focus group centered…

Research has shown that youth and their communities benefit from civics education, with its aim to prepare citizens for democracy. However, civics education for adolescents in the United States is not equitable, and determining how to best measure aspects of civic development in younger adolescents is a challenge. In this qualitative study, we…

Youth purpose has important implications for behavior and well-being, yet there is limited information about the types of purpose that young people pursue. The current study contributes insight into the content of purpose through a survey of 316 adolescents and young adults. Analyses of responses revealed that young people rated their purposes as…

Adolescent internalizing problems (e.g., depression, anxiety) are common, but fewer than half of affected adolescents access treatment. This need-to-access gap may have been exacerbated during the coronavirus pandemic. To help address this challenge, we evaluated the potential mental health benefits of a digital single-session intervention using…

This study examined the effects of group art therapy on self-concept and peer relationships among adolescents using a mixed-method approach. Twelve recruited adolescents from a high school in Northern Taiwan attended weekly 2-h group art therapy sessions for 8 weeks. Through a discovery-oriented approach incorporating focus group interviews and…

Educational aspirations are an important predictor of academic outcomes. While there has been considerable research on educational aspirations in the West, there has been little research in East Asia, and the investigation of factors influencing adolescent aspirations has been neglected, particularly in rural areas. Drawing on ecological systems…

The purpose of the study was to discover and give voice to the perceptions of Black and Latino adolescent males regarding their school attitudes (attitudes toward school, attitudes towards teachers, motivation/self-regulation, goal valuation, and academic self-perception) and their level of hope (agency and pathways) for the future. This mixed…

The aim of this study is to investigate the sports-specific psychological ability levels of high school students. The study is a descriptive study, and the data were collected by survey method. A total of 402 students (226 male, 176 female) participated in the study. Mann Whitney U test was used for paired comparisons and Kruscal Wallis H tests…

Early adverse experiences can hold lasting influence on later life outcomes, particularly during formative developmental periods such as adolescence. The current study evaluates the impact of different kinds of adolescent trauma on later sense of purpose in adulthood, using data from the Hawaii Longitudinal Study of Personality and Health.…

Relationship education (RE) has been linked to several short- and long-term benefits; however, less is known about its effects on adolescents' overarching life-goals. This study utilized a multi-method approach to examine whether RE was linked to increases in the relative importance of intrinsic, as opposed to extrinsic, life-goals. Results…

The objective of the study was to analyse whether young people with physical disabilities have lower global self-esteem and less positive domain-specific self-concepts than peers without physical disabilities, as well as which processes protect their self-esteem. Data were collected from 179 German adolescents with physical disabilities and 296…

Teenage mothers often report immense personal benefits of children, claiming that motherhood reordered their priorities, provided a sense of purpose, and prevented a worse fate, yet the potentially beneficial impacts of early motherhood receive little empirical attention. This study employs propensity score analysis using nearest neighbor matching…

This study used the Possible Selves Questionnaire (PSQ) with 30 incarcerated youth in a long term juvenile correctional facility in Costa Rica. The PSQ is a self-administered survey that measures a person's aspirations and fears for the future and strategies to achieve who they wish to become and avoid becoming. Results showed that while…