Positive Youth Development

Positive Youth Development, or PYD, is an approach that intentionally engages youth within the places they spend the most time (communities, schools, and with friends and families); recognizes that youth play an active role in their own development; builds upon young people’s strengths; and promotes positive outcomes for youth via opportunities to build leadership skills, develop positive relationships, and make meaningful change in their own lives.  

Viewed another way, PYD inverts a common, deficit-focused approach to adolescent behavior: For decades, practitioners and researchers hoped that providing cautionary information, engaging in scare tactics, and/or punishing youth would prevent adolescent risk-taking.  

Although the field of PYD was largely born out of community programs—such as after-school programs, community service programs, scout groups, and religious youth groups—over time, the field has come to see the broad utility of PYD and recognize the need to incorporate more positive and engaging approaches across a range of settings and program types, including those settings that aim to reduce risk behaviors.  

Child Trends has been a leader in translating research on and developing resources for integrating PYD into different youth-serving settings, such as sexual and reproductive health programs, child welfare and juvenile justice systems, and workforce development programs. We’ve also conducted research and evaluation studies, developed outcome measures, and provided technical assistance and guidance for program implementation. Examples include: