%0 Journal Article %J J Adolesc Health %D 2010 %T Future directions for positive youth development as a strategy to promote adolescent sexual and reproductive health. %A Catalano, Richard F %A Gavin, Lorrie E %A Markham, Christine M %K Adolescent %K Adolescent Development %K Female %K Humans %K Male %K Reproductive Medicine %K Research %K Sexual Behavior %K United States %X

PYD has tremendous potential to promote not only ASRH but adolescent health more broadly. This review has identified 15 tested, effective models that have demonstrated impact on ASRH; most also affected other youth outcomes, and several produced long-lasting, sustainable effects. These model programs should be prepared for broader dissemination, replication, and effectiveness trials. Broader dissemination will entail investments in developing training, technical assistance, and monitoring models that will aid in ensuring and sustaining implementation with fidelity and tracking program adaptations in broad settings. Evaluations of existing national youth-serving organizations and existing PYD programs that are unevaluated should be encouraged if they are evaluable, address the most strongly supported PYD constructs, have a clearly developed logic model that connects program elements to youth development constructs and outcomes, and program manuals are developed. Support is also provided here for the impact of youth development constructs on later ASRH outcomes, suggesting that new PYD programs, especially those targeting PYD constructs with longitudinal evidence of promotive or protective effects, should be developed and evaluated to identify long-term results. There is much work to be done on examining the ability of PYD constructs to impact ASRH. While there is sufficient evidence for a number of PYD constructs, more longitudinal research is needed. We have argued here that investigation of existing longitudinal datasets may efficiently increase our understanding of the evidence for the promotive and protective effects of understudied constructs or those with mixed evidence. Further, there is a need for the development of standardized measures of PYD constructs and the development and use of measures of positive sexual and reproductive health outcomes. We also recommend that future studies compare the relative strength of the PYD constructs and devote more resources to understanding how these constructs work together to promote ASRH.

%B J Adolesc Health %V 46 %P S92-6 %8 2010 Mar %G eng %N 3 Suppl %R 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.12.026 %0 Journal Article %J J Adolesc Health %D 2010 %T Positive youth development as a strategy to promote adolescent sexual and reproductive health. %A Gavin, Lorrie E %A Catalano, Richard F %A Markham, Christine M %K Adolescent %K Adolescent Development %K Female %K Health Promotion %K Humans %K Male %K Reproductive Behavior %K Sexual Behavior %K Young Adult %B J Adolesc Health %V 46 %P S1-6 %8 2010 Mar %G eng %N 3 Suppl %R 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.12.017 %0 Journal Article %J J Adolesc Health %D 2010 %T A review of positive youth development programs that promote adolescent sexual and reproductive health. %A Gavin, Loretta E %A Catalano, Richard F %A David-Ferdon, Corinne %A Gloppen, Kari M %A Markham, Christine M %K Adolescent %K Adolescent Behavior %K Adolescent Development %K Female %K Humans %K Male %K Reproductive Behavior %K Sexual Behavior %X

PURPOSE: Positive youth development (PYD) may be a promising strategy for promoting adolescent health. A systematic review of the published data was conducted to identify and describe PYD programs that improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

METHODS: Eight databases were searched for articles about PYD programs published between 1985 and 2007. Programs included met the following criteria: fostered at least one of 12 PYD goals in multiple socialization domains (i.e., family, school, community) or addressed two or more goals in at least one socialization domain; allocated at least half of the program activities to promoting general PYD outcomes (as compared with a focus on direct sexual health content); included youth younger than 20 years old; and used an experimental or quasi-experimental evaluation design.

RESULTS: Thirty programs met the inclusion criteria, 15 of which had evidence of improving at least one adolescent sexual and reproductive health outcome. Program effects were moderate and well-sustained. Program goals addressed by approximately 50% or more of the effective programs included promoting prosocial bonding, cognitive competence, social competence, emotional competence, belief in the future, and self-determination. Effective programs were significantly more likely than those that did not have an impact to strengthen the school context and to deliver activities in a supportive atmosphere. Effective programs were also more likely to build skills, enhance bonding, strengthen the family, engage youth in real roles and activities, empower youth, communicate expectations, and be stable and relatively long-lasting, although these differences between effective and ineffective programs were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION: PYD programs can promote adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and tested, effective PYD programs should be part of a comprehensive approach to promoting adolescent health. However, more research is needed before a specific list of program characteristics can be viewed as a "recipe" for success.

%B J Adolesc Health %V 46 %P S75-91 %8 2010 Mar %G eng %N 3 Suppl %R 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.11.215