Iniciativas legislativas y gubernamentales

The policy and practitioner advisory group and young people provided specific feedback on the theory synthesis and the hypothesis generated from this synthesis (see Appendix 12).

Policy stakeholders’ feedback

All of the themes from the theory synthesis made sense to policy and practitioner stakeholders. They commented on its usefulness when thinking about current programmes in the UK, particularly the idea of

positive assets‘piling up’ to support the prevention of risky behaviours. The hypotheses generated from

Young people’s feedback

Young people offered three key messages in response to the findings of the theory synthesis. First, to ensure a positive environment, PYD programmes should aim to provide a different experience from the

one that young people receive in school. This means ensuring that the setting is‘relaxed’ and ‘fun’, that

young people can have relationships with youth workers who are non-judgemental and that opportunities for young people to lead are provided.

Second, the group did not feel that violence/reducing conflict was a current focus of youth work, and the potential of youth work to reduce this was not obvious. However, the opportunity to engage in positive behaviours and with positive adults acting as role models might, as PYD theory reports suggest, plausibly help to reduce the influence of peers in promoting substance use and violence.

Third, projects that do try to reduce risky behaviour and promote positive development may not always work. It might be better to focus on the positive development rather than explicitly addressing risk behaviours, with the hope that the former causes decreases in the latter because of factors such as diversion. There is a risk that too explicit a focus on risk reduction might cause youth work to seem too much like school.

The ALPHA group also strongly agreed with the hypothesis that breadth of activities was important for

younger age groups (e.g. 10- to 14-year-olds) but that older teenagers may prefer more regular,‘in-depth’

activities. They felt that the ideal length of a project would vary but that this might typically be 1 year. The above comments from policy/practitioner stakeholders and young people are thus broadly in

agreement with the assertions made in the theoretical literature and do not suggest any amendments to the hypotheses above.

Chapter 5 Synthesis of process evaluations

About this chapter

This chapter describes and reports on the quality of process evaluations of PYD interventions that met our inclusion criteria. It also reports our thematic synthesis of these studies and uses this synthesis to refine our taxonomy of PYD interventions and develop further hypotheses about what factors might moderate their effects.

Included studies

Studies and their quality are tabulated in Appendix 14. Of the 10 included studies,77,84–89,94,99,112eight were conducted in the USA,77,84–88,90,99one in Australia94_{and one in England.}112_{A total of four studies targeted}

youth aged 14 years or older;77,86,88,99_{three targeted those aged both above and below 14 years}87,89,112_and

three did not report the age range targeted.84,85,94_{Four interventions targeted individuals on the basis of}

individual disadvantage; two targeted individuals on the basis of area or school disadvantage; one targeted individuals on both individual and area disadvantage; and three did not involve targeting on either basis.

Three interventions were delivered to participants for≥ 1 year; three were delivered for < 1 year and

six studies did not report their duration. We aimed to describe the interventions using the taxonomy developed from our synthesis of theoretical studies and refined using our synthesis of process evaluations. However, studies did not report sufficient information for this to provide a useful categorisation

(see Appendix 15).

Armstrong and Armstrong84_{reported on an intervention delivered in a city in the south-west of the USA}

involving supervised after-school provision to at-risk youth delivered by staff from the Parks, Recreation, and Libraries Department in after-school sites. The intervention, the duration of which is not reported, aimed to provide life skills, educational support, healthy living skills, social and peer interaction, physical activity, cultural awareness and fine arts and locally relevant programme activities, and was evaluated using in-depth interviews and non-participant observation.

Baker et al.85_{reported on an intervention delivered in Baltimore, MD, USA, involving prevention activities}

targeting youth at risk of delinquency, violence and substance abuse delivered by South Baltimore Youth Centre. The intervention, of unreported duration, involved provision of a safe space for youth to engage in positive social activities and job training and included case management, mentoring, tutoring and community involvement. The intervention also involved outreach and collaboration with other agencies. It was evaluated using unstructured interviews and focus groups.

Berg et al.86_{reported on an intervention delivered in Hartford, CT, USA, targeting youth aged 14–16 years.}

The Youth Action Research for Prevention (YARP) intervention, delivered by research educators within a community-based after-school and summer programme, involved participatory action research, that is, formative community ethnography whereby participants were trained to identify adolescent risk behaviours, develop a collective action plan and carry out activities as a group, including using research to understand their community better. The intervention, which lasted for approximately 8 months, was evaluated in a mixed-methods study examining outcomes and processes, with the latter being assessed using interviews with staff, ethnographic observation, youth focus groups and youth self-reflection.

Bloomberg et al.87_{reported on an intervention delivered in Minnesota, USA, targeting Mexican American}

youth aged 12–17 years. The intervention, of unstated duration, was delivered by a community-based

provider and involved support for youth participation in planning and implementing a community service project. Participants engaged in leadership opportunities through conference presentations and specific youth service projects. Evaluation was undertaken through focus groups and youth reports.

Bulanda and McCrea88_{reported on the Chicago Stand Up Help Out, a leadership development ASP of}

unstated duration targeting African American youth residing in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods and delivered by school social workers and/or social work graduate students in schools and community settings. Participants were offered training and money to participate in an apprenticeship in social work. Activities also included college tours, support for completing curricula vitae, learning about non-violent conflict resolution, mentoring elementary-school children and planning community health and safety fairs. Counselling was also available to young people. Evaluation was undertaken by means of youth reports, round-table discussions, interviews and participant observations.

Cross et al.89_{reported on the All Stars prevention curriculum, an enhanced ASP targeting pupils from}

under-performing middle schools aged 11–14 years in a city on the east coast of the USA. The

intervention, delivered by a county-level government agency specialising in providing recreation and leisure activities for youths, was provided for 3 days per week for 3 hours after school for an unstated period of time. It involved fitness activities, board games, arts and crafts, field trips, computer projects or computer free time, service learning, workforce skills and holiday or other special event celebrations. The evaluation drew on routine documents and data, observations and a survey of participants.

Lee et al.94_{reported on a community-driven youth initiative delivered in an Australian rural community to}

all young people in the community by a combination of indigenous and other staff. Activities included technical studies, film-making, a driving licence programme, marine debris clean-up, youth leadership opportunities, recruitment, support and training for new employees in the local youth recreational sector, youth and community festivals, a mural painting programme, sporting carnivals, a cultural knowledge programme, discos, mental health promotion posters and health promotion. The intervention, the duration of which is not reported, was evaluated by drawing on interviews, document analysis and staff diaries.

Maxfield et al.99_{reported on the QOP delivered across the USA to educationally disadvantaged youth by}

schools and community-based organisations. This ASP involved intensive case management, mentoring and educational, developmental, cultural and recreational and community-based activities delivered for up to 5 years. Evaluation was via observational site visits.

Schwartz et al.77_{reported on the NGYCP Youth-Initiated Mentoring programme, which was delivered}

across the USA to youth aged 16–18 years who had dropped out or been expelled from school. Delivered

in a military-style boot camp, the intervention involved an initial 2-week orientation and assessment followed by a 20-week residential phase involving classes on academic learning, life skills, health and job skills, as well as other activities such as physical training, sports, leadership and citizenship activities and community service. A post-residential phase involved participants setting and fulfilling their own development plan which involved education, vocational training or employment. The intervention lasted for over 1 year and was evaluated using a mixed process and outcome design, the former involving semistructured interviews.

Wiggins et al.112_{reported on the Young People’s Development Programme (YPDP), an intervention}

delivered in disadvantaged areas of England and targeting young people aged 13–15 years at risk of

teenage pregnancy, substance use or school drop-out. Delivered in youth centres after school for 1 year,

the intervention included activities focusing on young people’s health and education as well as on their

broader social development with specific programme content determined by the individual projects delivering services, including education, training/employment opportunities, life skills, mentoring,

volunteering, health education, arts and sports, and advice on accessing services. The evaluation assessed outcomes and processes, the latter via routine monitoring data, questionnaires and interviews with young people, staff questionnaires and focus groups, and observations.