Int J Environ Res Public Health
September 2022
Underpinned by the New World Kirkpatrick model, and in the context of a community-based sport psychology programme (My Strengths Training for Life™) for young people experiencing homelessness, this process evaluation investigated (1) young peoples' reactions (i.e., program and facilitator evaluation, enjoyment, attendance, and engagement) and learning (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMy Strengths Training for Life™ (MST4Life™) is a positive youth development program for improving wellbeing and social inclusion in young people experiencing homelessness. MST4Life™ addresses a gap in strengths-based programs aimed at promoting healthy and optimal development in vulnerable older adolescents/emerging adults. The program was co-developed with a UK housing service as part of a long-term (>8 years) community−academic partnership.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTraditionally, UK housing services have focused on providing temporary accommodation, identifying risk factors, and preventing negative outcomes to young people experiencing homelessness. However, deficit approaches may lead young people to becoming dependent on services and face greater marginalization and stigmatization. Meeting long-standing calls to focus more on young people's positive attributes and abilities, the My Strengths Training for Life™ (MST4Life™) program was developed as a community partnership with a large housing service.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite increasing emphasis on youth contact with nature and associated benefits, research has not examined the direct relationship between adolescents' nature-based experiences and holistic measures of positive youth development (PYD). This gap may stem from the lack of interdisciplinary work on nature and PYD. Our study integrates multiple disciplinary perspectives to explore direct associations between time in nature, connection to nature, and the five Cs of PYD (competence, connection, confidence, character, and caring) as well as the "sixth" C of contribution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis community-based study investigated whether (1) a novel sport psychology informed positive youth development program, My Strengths Training for Life™, improved resilience and well-being and (2) young people differed in outcomes according to demographics (gender, ethnicity, social inclusion, and learning difficulty). A total of 246 young people (M age = 19.74, SD = 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIndividuals, particularly those considered "hard-to-reach," often engage well with assessment tools that involve active dialogue and the co-construction of knowledge. Strengths profiling is one such tool that enables a person-centered and autonomy supportive approach to the identification of character strengths. Strength profiling is an adaptation of performance profiling used in sport psychology, which has not yet been utilized in broader psychological research or clinical practice.
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