Empowerment as fostering positive youth development and citizenship.

Objective: To develop a theoretical framework of youth empowerment in the context of a participatory community health promotion intervention, a longitudinal qualitative study was conducted.

Methods: Individual and group interviews, documents, and observations were analyzed using the constant comparative method and theoretical sampling.

Results: Practitioners created an environment conducive to adolescents' taking responsibility for their quality-of-life issues by welcoming and enabling youth. Power was transferred to youth as responsibility for voicing, decision making, and action. This led to positive changes in youth development and their social integration into community.

Conclusion: Empowerment emerged as a transactional partnering process between adults and youth.