Publication year
2018
Citation Title
Helping kids connect: Participant and staff perspectives on facilitating social relationships in a physical activity-based positive youth development program for youth from low-income families.
Journal Name
Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology
Journal Volume
7
Issue Number
1
Page Numbers
13-29
DOI
10.1037/spy0000109
Summary
Youth sport programs provide skill-building opportunities for youth, both physically and socially. In this study, youth and staff in a recurring summer physical activity youth program identified multiple ways that youth benefited on intra- and interpersonal levels. Youth built positive relationships with staff and each other, and were able to transfer the skills they learned to home and school.
Key Findings
Overall, the youth reported positive experiences in their program, including noticing that inter- and intrapersonal skills they developed in the program transferred to home and community, and that friends they made in the program continued afterwards.
Youth emphasized positive staff behaviors that included teaching sport and social skills, giving youth encouragement and choices, being inclusive, patient, and fair, and demonstrating conflict resolution strategies.
Youth appreciated the safe space to learn skills and the requirement to participate meant they felt included.
Staff found helpful confidence and skills training, support from administrators, seeing youth develop, and caring relationships with other staff.
Implications for Military Professionals
Collaborate with youth-serving programs in the area to facilitate inclusion of relevant youth
Encourage youth in sport programs to examine the skills they are learning and how they can generalize them to other contexts
Implications for Program Leaders
Provide continuity in programs for youth to continue to return to programs and build on skills and relationships from previous years
Develop training that teaches program staff how to remain positive, patient, and fair in their interactions with youth
Implications for Policy Makers
Continue to provide support for positive youth development programs for low-income youth
Recommend partnerships between youth summer programs and schools to facilitate continued and integrated learning of intra and interpersonal skills
Methods
Researchers utilized a case study methodology, examining the experiences of youth and staff in one program in detail and over time.
Youth were interviewed on day 16 of the 20-day program, and again eight months after the program ended; staff were interviewed only on day 16 of the program.
Interviews lasted 17-45 minutes, were transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis by the lead author in a six-phase process.
Participants
Ten male and 10 female youth participated and were 9-16 years old (M = 11.7 years, SD = 1.75). Of the sample, eight participants were White, eight were Latino, two were Black, and two were Asian.
All youth came from low-income households and had participated in the program for 1-5 years (first year for 12 participants).
Six young adult staff participants were interviewed; two were White, one was Latina, two were Black, and one was Asian.
In the follow-up interviews, ten total youth participated (ages 9-14), which consisted of seven males and three females.
Limitations
Follow-up with youth participants only obtained 50% response rate, which may have impacted the validity of the results.
The focus on interviewing primarily youth, and not any parents, teachers, or other adults outside the program, limits the ability to support the perspectives shared by the youth that the skills they learned in the program transferred to other settings.
The small sample from only one youth program limits the generalizability of the results to other youth programs with other curricula, staff, and structures.
Avenues for Future Research
Consider how gender, ethnicity, and age may influence youth's social relationships in a youth program setting
Repeat the study with different types of youth programs to assess similarities and differences of results
Assess validity of youth participant reports by gathering parents' and teachers' perspectives
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
Physical activity-based positive youth development (PYD) programs are designed to nurture personal and social assets in youth, and in underserved populations, often provide unique opportunities for physical activity and mentoring. Supportive relationships with peers and adults in such programs are associated with positive changes in developmental outcomes (Ullrich-French, McDonough, & Smith, 2012). In this case study, we examined youths’ and staff members’ perspectives on interpersonal relationships within a physical activity-based PYD program, their understanding of what experiences and interactions within the program help or hinder forming high-quality relationships, and their perspectives on how those relationships affect youth and transfer to contexts outside of the PYD program. We interviewed 20 youth and 6 program staff about their perspectives on social experiences in the PYD program, and conducted follow-up interviews with 10 youth participants 8 months later. We developed a figure describing youth and staff perspectives of program context factors, and how elements of interpersonal relationships among youth and between youth and staff affect youth intra- and interpersonal assets, and transfer to community contexts such as home, neighborhoods, and school. These findings provide insight into ways to promote positive social relationships in PYD programs in ways that are meaningful to youth.
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