Search Results (702)

Background: One in seven youth experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 13% of the global disease burden. The family environment is a modifiable factor for the prevention of mental disorders. While evidence-based online parenting programs exist, engagement by immigrant families, such as Indian-origin families in Australia, remains low. Objective: To explore perceived barriers of Indian-origin parents and co-create strategies to build cross-cultural bridging interventions to increase their engagement in parenting programs. Method: A qualitative co-design method was used, and participants were selected using a set of inclusion criteria through a criterion-based sampling approach. Eight videoconference workshops were conducted with 23 Indian-origin parents living across Australia, incorporating scenarios, roleplay, and vignettes. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s inductive coding approach. Results: One central theme and six design principles were developed. The central theme, low engagement with parenting programs, encompassed five factors that contribute to low engagement: ‘parenting programs’ is not a concept in India; limited awareness of parenting programs available in Australia; lack of time to engage in parenting programs; misalignment between parenting program content and real-world parenting challenges; and an ‘I know how to parent’ mindset. The six design principles were: acknowledge culture shock and acculturation; use a collaborative approach; include content specific to immigrant parents and children; adopt cross-cultural perspectives; use short and interactive bilingual pedagogic tools; and use focused dissemination and marketing. Conclusions: This study’s findings formed the foundation for developing a cross-cultural bridging intervention to connect Indian-origin parents with existing online parenting programs. Full article

Background: The co-occurrence of obesity and elevated blood pressure (EBP) in childhood represents a critical but underrecognized public health concern, with potential long-term consequences for cardiometabolic health. Understanding its trends and disparities is essential for early prevention strategies. Methods: This study analyzed data from 1,692,660 Han Chinese children and adolescents aged 7–18 years collected across seven waves of the Chinese National Survey on Students’ Constitution and Health (CNSSCH) from 1985 to 2019. Joinpoint regression was used to estimate temporal trends, and logistic generalized additive models were fitted to predict prevalence through 2030. Results: The prevalence of co-occurring obesity and EBP increased from 0.06% in 1985 to 2.36% in 2019 and is projected to reach 5.87% by 2030. A slowdown in the growth rate was observed approximately in 2000. Notably, rural areas experienced a faster and more recent rise, especially among girls, suggesting widening disparities. Conclusions: The growing dual burden of obesity and EBP in Chinese youth, especially in rural areas, calls for urgent and integrated interventions. Public health efforts must prioritize early prevention, with equitable policies that engage schools, families, and communities, particularly in underserved populations. Full article

Further Education in the UK aims to provide strong educational outcomes for young people. However, some young people are facing a range of complex issues that often require extra support or different interventions. A college developed a programme that combined professional youth work, support services, and formal teaching to see if this approach would improve outcomes. This research took a mixed-method approach to explore if the professional youth work approach has any impact on outcomes for young people. The research showed that professional youth work was considered a unique approach that allowed for more safeguarding concerns to be disclosed, and greater support for additional needs, resulting in improved attendance at college, and better outcomes in Math and English GCSE results. The qualitative data identified five themes that highlighted the effectiveness of this approach: soft skill development, improved familial relationships, unique youth work approaches, effective professional adult relationships, and cohesive professional working. The research concludes that youth work has a positive influence on young people’s formal education experience but must be recognized and supported to be effective. Full article

After the end of the Second World War, Hungary, like other war-torn countries, was left with countless orphaned children. The collapsed state structures were unable to care for them, so only various private or church initiatives—such as Gaudopolis, a children’s home set up by the Lutheran pastor Gábor Szehló—provided a means of survival. However, in East-Central Europe—including Hungary, Poland and Romania—where the Soviet Union had a sphere of influence, the emerging Soviet-style system was aimed at the political re-education of society. Ideological goals categorically excluded the possibility of churches being involved in the care and education of youth beyond the existing legal framework. Any person who engaged in such activities was cracked down upon. This study examines the role and responsibility of church persons in the care and upbringing of orphaned children through the fate of the Roman Catholic priest István Regőczi. In the decades of communist dictatorship, István Regőczi repeatedly reorganised orphanages, where he carried out youth education activities based on principles similar to scouting. The values he imparted to the children—such as the Christian religion, family protection, mutual help and social solidarity—were all values of Christian socialism. However, the communist dictatorship—promoting its own political ideology, Marxism—sought to take control of the upbringing and education of children by nationalising all institutions involved in this activity. Anyone who resisted this—as István Regőczi did—was made impossible in the people’s democracy of the 1950s and 1960s, and his child-saving, educating and teaching activities were prevented, even if the courts sentenced him to longer or shorter prison sentences for the crimes of illegal youth organisation, incitement and the abuse of freedom of association. This study, comparing what is described in István Regőczi’s memoirs with the surviving archival sources, shows how during these terrible decades it was possible to save orphaned, needy children and raise them in a Christian spirit, even against the will of the authorities. Full article

Young people have a desire to meaningfully contribute to their communities and create lasting impact. While youth service programs aim to support this goal, research often emphasizes youth development over social and environmental outcomes. This study addresses this gap by analyzing six youth service programs run by three national Canadian non-profits. Using a youth-led social framework, we examine the impact strategies young participants employed to implement service projects. Our findings highlight how youth use diverse strategies to achieve social and environmental outcomes, and we propose adjustments to the existing framework to better capture youth contributions. This research broadens the understanding of youth impact, emphasizing that young people are not only beneficiaries of service but also agents of meaningful change. Full article

This convergent mixed-methods investigation explores the changing place of Buddhism in Chinese youth lives in the post-pandemic era using data from a national survey (N = 2812) and semi-structured interviews (n = 24). Although traditional religious affiliation is still generally low among participants, Buddhism still serves as an important psychosocial and symbolic resource. In contrast to doctrinal commitments, youth connect with Buddhism through emotional identification, ritual adaptability, and virtual arenas. Results indicate a unique profile of symbolic-affective religiosity, whereby Buddhism is selectively taken up as an emotional regulation tool, moral guide, and existential reassurer. This form of engagement is frequently enabled by digital rituals, smartphone applications, and social media interactions, highlighting the mediatized character of modern spiritual engagement. Subgroup analysis reveals considerable heterogeneity among this population with differences by region, gender, level of education, and religion of family background, which implies that “Buddhist youth” in China must be conceived as a pluralistic and fluid category. The study contributes to scholarship on youth spirituality and post-institutional religion by emphasizing the functional rather than theological dimensions of religious engagement among East Asia’s younger generations. Full article

(1) Background: In today’s digital society, challenges like cyberbullying, harmful social media use, and unhealthy digital habits demand innovative and inclusive educational responses. This study investigates the potential of service-learning (SL) and electronic service-learning (e-SL) as experiential approaches to enhance digital well-being among youth. By actively engaging students, educators, and community stakeholders in co-designed projects, SL/e-SL promotes critical awareness, digital citizenship, and prosocial values while addressing digital risks. (2) Methods: This review offers a literature-based analysis of existing programs and good practices that apply experiential education to encourage responsible digital engagement. It explores SL and e-SL experiences across various educational settings. (3) Results: The findings show that SL and e-SL can be effective educational tools, creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in tackling digital issues and building inclusive spaces where students, faculty, and communities collaborate to foster digital literacy and well-being. The analysis also led to the development of quality standards for SL and e-SL practices that promote digital well-being. (4) Conclusions: This study highlights key implications for teaching, underscoring the value of integrative pedagogies that connect experiential learning to digital challenges, promoting a more inclusive and responsible digital culture. Full article

This article focuses on participation in youth-led climate-oriented groups and the role of this form of civic engagement for young people. Thirty interviews were conducted with 13- to 18-year-olds belonging to four groups: Extinction Rebellion Youth, Sustainabiliteens, Sunrise Movement, or school-affiliated clubs. The participants had been part of their group for an average of 1.5 years, coming from either the United States (n = 26) or Canada (n = 4). They were predominantly female (n = 22), with a few male (n = 5) and a small number identifying as non-binary (n = 3). Significant in the thematic analysis was the critical role of increased meaning-making, which involved relationship-building, processing emotions, and taking action. The peer-led group settings served to create community, work through the range of emotions the climate crisis evoked, and generate actions that felt purposeful at both the individual and collective levels. In these spaces, young people seek meaning together, and they propose and demand action from governmental bodies and corporations on climate change. Through everyday activism, young people express an ecocitizenship that is constructive, hopeful, and generative. In a world characterized by the climate crisis, joining and contributing to youth-led climate groups is becoming part of young people’s identity development, a way of enacting citizenship and expressing political agency. Full article

This study examines how Internet Addiction (IA) and negative affect relate to everyday memory lapses in Portuguese students and teachers. A cross-sectional sample of 254 participants (167 youth aged < 25 years and 87 adults aged ≥ 25 years) completed validated instruments measuring IA, emotional states, and everyday memory lapses. Memory lapses were assessed with the Memory Lapses Questionnaire (QLM), which evaluates five factors: verbal distraction, failed actions, local/geographical orientation, memory for names and faces, and recovery of misplaced objects. Structural equation modeling showed a strong direct effect of IA on memory lapses among adults (β = 0.94, p = 0.002) and a small indirect effect via negative affect among youth (indirect β = 0.08, p = 0.002), whereas the mediation was not significant in adults. IA correlated moderately (0.32 ≤ r ≤ 0.45) with QLM subscales such as verbal distraction and spatial orientation, and youth reported more verbal distractions and orientation errors than adults. These findings suggest that excessive digital engagement impairs everyday memory, particularly attentional and spatial aspects, and that emotional disturbances contribute only modestly among younger users. This study highlights the need for age-tailored interventions addressing both maladaptive internet use and emotional regulation. Full article

This study examines sustainable consumption intentions among university students in Portugal, a generation increasingly recognized for their ecological awareness but often constrained by structural and social barriers. Within this context, this study explores psychological and behavioral determinants of sustainable consumption and peer recommendation using an integrative framework based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the Value–Belief–Norm theory (VBN), and the SHIFT model. Drawing on a survey of 324 students from diverse academic backgrounds, we analyzed how environmental beliefs, consumer habits, and activism influence sustainable consumption intention and recommendation. The analysis, conducted using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), reveals that environmental beliefs significantly predict both consumer intention and habitual behavior, which in turn affect activism and sustainable consumption. Notably, intention emerges as a key mediator between individual motivations and peer recommendation, while activism and habits do not exert direct influence on recommendation behavior. These findings underscore the importance of moral values, routine behavior, and motivational pathways in shaping sustainable practices, while highlighting the persistent gap between awareness and consistent advocacy. This study offers theoretical and practical insights into how structural and psychological factors can reinforce youth engagement with sustainability. Full article

This study investigated youth’s empowerment through EU-funded climate change projects (CCPs) and the role that social research and public engagement play in that process. The importance of considering youth empowerment in a time of climate change is increasingly recognized. Youth are exposed to interrelated health, socioeconomic, and political vulnerabilities caused by climate change, but they often lack resources to address and navigate these changes. To help address these issues, youth empowerment holds the potential to give youth a greater influence over their lives in the context of an evolving climate. EU-funded CCPs play a crucial role in EU’s climate mitigation and adaptation policies, and the implementation of these projects can have widespread implications for youth across the EU. However, there is little research exploring the local youth implications of EU-funded CCPs. In this paper, we want to start addressing this knowledge gap by exploring how youth empowerment was facilitated, shaped, and restrained over a year-long collaboration with students from a Greek school as part of a Horizon 2020 project on the social acceptance of Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCUS) technologies. The findings indicate that the activities provided the students with opportunities to explore and express different types of concerns, knowledge, and perspectives on issues related to climate change, social acceptance, and CCUS. However, the empowering potential of these activities was also shaped by power differentials and contestations around the validity of different knowledge sources. For meaningful youth engagement through Horizon 2020 initiatives, more longitudinal and meaningful participation is needed. Full article

Objectives: This study examined how differential basic resistive skills training influences basketball players’ physical performance. Methods: Seventeen young male athletes completed two weekly sessions of bodyweight strength exercises based on movement variability for 6 weeks. Countermovement jump (CMJ), sprinting, and change of direction (COD) tests were used to evaluate performance before and after the intervention and after a retention phase. Based on previous research, the experimental group followed a differential strength training protocol incorporating movement fluctuations to promote adaptability alongside basketball training. The control group only engaged in standard basketball training. Results: Bayesian analysis showed moderate improvements in sprint performance (0–20 m and 10–20 m sprinting times) for the experimental group, though these gains were not sustained during the retention phase. Slight, non-significant increases in CMJ left leg height were observed, and no significant differences were found in COD performance. Conclusions: The findings suggest that differential strength training may enhance sprint performance and adaptability in young athletes. However, the findings suggest that modifications to the training protocol, such as increasing training volume (e.g., from one set to three sets of 10 repetitions) or incorporating external resistance (e.g., medicine balls, kettlebells, and barbells), may further optimize performance outcomes. This study highlights the potential of differential training methods to address the multidirectional and dynamic demands of youth basketball. Future research should explore refined protocols and their long-term impact on athletic performance and retention. Full article

Summer Youth Employment Programs (SYEPs) operate in most major U.S. cities and are known to build social–emotional and job skills in youth while reducing crime. Integrating STEM learning and summer employment offers a promising way to increase youth engagement in STEM—and allow leaders to access funding not typically used for education. Using a connected learning framework, we examined how STEM-focused SYEPs support STEM pathways, the practices they implement, and their connections with schools. Our study explored 10 diverse STEM programs (e.g., robotics, renewable energy, coding) within a citywide employment initiative in summer 2015. Through 22 staff interviews and focus groups with 59 youth, we found that these programs provided meaningful and engaging STEM experiences. They combined interest-driven exploration with hands-on, real-world learning in supportive environments. Many included mentors from groups underrepresented in STEM fields. While collaboration with schools was generally limited to recruitment and shared facilities, opportunities for deeper partnerships were evident. Our findings led to a list of ten promising practices for STEM-focused SYEPs. This study underscores the importance of lifelong, lifewide, and connected approaches to STEM learning through summer employment initiatives. Full article

Background/Objectives: Chronic pain symptoms can disrupt cognitive processes. Such interruptions may negatively impact one’s overall functioning, causing frustration and distress when engaging in important tasks. This experience has been referred to as cognitive intrusion of pain. To date, only one adult self-report measure of cognitive intrusion of pain exists: the Experience of Cognitive Intrusion of Pain (ECIP). The purpose of the current study was to examine the psychometric properties of the ECIP in a sample of pediatric patients with chronic pain. Methods: The internal consistency reliability, factor structure, and validity of the ECIP were evaluated in a sample (N = 182) of youth ages 11 to 18 who presented to a multidisciplinary chronic pain clinic at a large Midwestern children’s hospital in the United States. Results: Results suggest excellent reliability (α = 0.94). Confirmatory factor analysis results supported a one-factor model, with excellent model fit. The ECIP demonstrated evidence of convergent validity, with moderate and positive correlations with measures of pain-related limitations in functioning, pain symptoms, anxiety, and depression. Regarding discriminant validity evidence, the ECIP was minimally and inversely related to measures of readiness to transition to self-managed care and global health. Conclusions: Overall, the ECIP demonstrated strong initial reliability and validity evidence for use in pediatric chronic pain. Further research is recommended in more diverse samples and to evaluate the clinical utility of the ECIP. Full article

This study investigates how land access, inheritance expectations, and socio-economic conditions influence migration intentions of rural youth in central Vietnam. Drawing on survey data from 200 young respondents and employing logistic regression analysis, the research reveals that youth with higher levels of education and income exhibit a greater propensity to migrate in pursuit of improved livelihoods. Male respondents were significantly more likely to migrate, reflecting gender norms and unequal access to opportunities. Crucially, secure land tenure—measured through formal land titles and perceived inheritance rights—was strongly associated with lower migration intentions. Conversely, tenure insecurity emerged as a significant push factor, undermining youth confidence in long-term rural investment and contributing to land use instability. This study argues that secure land access is not only vital for sustaining rural livelihoods but also foundational for youth and women’s engagement, socio-economic stability, and long-term community resilience. From this viewpoint, this study highlights the need for youth-inclusive land reforms, the promotion of rural entrepreneurship, and expanded access to vocational training as critical policy interventions. Full article