Positive Youth Development and Community Engagement

Positive Youth Development (PYD) represents a strengths-based framework that views adolescence as a period of opportunity during which young people’s inherent capacities can be nurtured rather than merely risks managed. Central to this approach is the cultivation of internal assets such as competence, confidence, character and caring, alongside external supports drawn from family, peers, schools and wider community institutions. Community engagement constitutes both a means and an outcome of PYD. When young people participate in civic activities, volunteerism or collective problem-solving, they acquire social capital, deepen their sense of agency and foster reciprocal relationships that benefit individual flourishing and communal resilience alike. PYD programmes often integrate structured leisure, mentoring and service-learning projects to promote skill development, intentional self-regulation and prosocial contribution. Globally, the approach has been adapted to diverse cultural contexts, emphasising locally relevant assets and participatory design. From after-school clubs in urban centres to youth councils in rural settings, evidence highlights how embeddedness in community networks bolsters mental well-being, reduces maladaptive behaviours and prepares adolescents to navigate complex social environments. Practical applications span educational reform, public health initiatives and youth-led advocacy campaigns, underlining the interdependence of individual growth and collective well-being.

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Positive Youth Development and Community Engagement publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in positive youth development and community engagement across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Positive Youth Development (PYD): A strengths-based framework that emphasises young people’s capacities, resources and contributions rather than focusing solely on risk reduction.

Five Cs: The core dimensions of PYD—competence, confidence, character, caring and connection—proposed to underpin healthy adolescent development.

Civic engagement: Active participation by young people in community or political processes, ranging from volunteering and service-learning to advocacy and collective action.

Developmental assets: Internal and external resources that young people draw upon to support their growth, including personal skills, supportive relationships and enabling environments.

References

1. How adolescents learn to build social bonds: A developmental computational account of social explore-exploit decision-making. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience (2024).
2. Civic engagement and mental health trajectories in Norwegian youth. Frontiers in Public Health (2023).
3. Developmental Assets and Academic Performance of Adolescents in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Child & Youth Care Forum (2018).
4. An Evaluation of the Measurement Properties of the Five Cs Model of Positive Youth Development. Frontiers in Psychology (2015).