Children, Youth and Families

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Children, Youth and Families

Children, youth, and families are members of many communities which may include neighborhoods, schools, and religious and civic groups. Community Psychologists study the interests of child and adolescents within these communities. Particular attention is paid to development in high risk contexts and especially the impact of urban poverty and community structures on child and family development.

Photograph of student teaching

“Here to Stay”: A High School Course formed with Community Psychology

Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Marginalized Groups
Published in:
Latinx high school students co-create and co-lead a course focused on identity and social action providing an example for others creating transformative educational opportunities for marginalized students.

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Photograph of two students

High-Quality Afterschool Programs for LatinX Youth

Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Education, Marginalized Groups
Published in:
LatinX youth’s cultural experiences are related to the ways in which they experience afterschool program activities and interact with staff. To better support diverse youth and their math and STEM learning, serious and thoughtful consideration should be given to the promotion of culturally responsive practices.

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Photograph of a working group.

“Safe Space” or “Brave Space”: How GSAs can Address Intersectionality

Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Marginalized Groups
Published in:
Collective norms around race and immigration talk facilitated or impeded the extent to which these were discussed. Advisors and student leaders can embrace a “brave space” rather than a “safe space” dynamic to encourage students to participate in intersectional conversations.

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Photograph showing mentoring

Mentors Can Help Young Adults Transition to Higher Education

Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Mental Health
Published in:
Natural mentors can provide young adults critical support as they transition to college or university. Colleges and universities should help students develop and maintain close relationships with mentors.

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photograph of 3 teenage boys

Learning “Maleness”: Implications for Mental Health

Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Mental Health
Published in:
Masculinity and mental health are related, especially for adolescent boys. Findings reveal the need to support adolescent boys to resist expectations of stereotypical masculinity.

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Image of Hands

Retiring Juvenile Detention Centers for Wrap-Around Community-Based Services

Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Criminal Justice
Published in:
Youth are not best served in JDC environments and should be diverted to community-based and therapeutic environments whenever possible. Girls’ feedback through a confidential youth advisory process prompted systemic change better suited to meet their needs.

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Decision Tree for the Range of Youth Participatory Approaches

Comparing Youth Participatory Approaches

Posted in: Children, Youth and Families
Published in:
There are many commonalities among Community-Psychology-informed youth participatory approaches. However, approaches differ on the level of emphasis on research to inform action, how much decision-making power young people have throughout the process, and the role and power of adults.

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photograph of a sad teenager

Gender-Informed Programming for Incarcerated Girls

Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Criminal Justice
Published in:
Treatments and programs in the juvenile justice system may not work as well for girls as they do for boys. Rehabilitation programs must be understood in context including different program format types (individual, group, family) and program emphases (cognitive, behavioral, family systems).

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Photograph of a girl behind prison bars

Lessons Learned from a Family-Based Intervention for Court-Involved Girls

Posted in: Children, Youth and Families, Criminal Justice
Published in:
Family-based interventions have the potential to reduce recidivism in girls. Contextual factors such as poverty, an unstructured home life, domestic violence, and neglect must be addressed in successful interventions.

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Photograph of Program Go Participants

Integrating Youth in Community Based Participatory Research

Posted in: Children, Youth and Families
Published in:
Meaningfully engaging youth in research, evaluation, and practice is important. We examined the value of Youth GO as an emerging participatory qualitative method to engage youth in collecting and analyzing data.

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