Youth-Guided Youth Engagement: Participatory Action Research (PAR) With High-Risk,Marginalized Youth

Engaging youth who live with high-risk, marginalized conditions presents a significant challenge in our society, considering the prevalence of disconnect and distrust they often experience within their social environments/systems. Yet, meaningful youth engagement is a key concept not only for youth development, but also for a systems change to more effectively support high-risk youth and families. This article presents a framework of youth engagement developed over 9 months, using participatory action research (PAR) with 16 youth leaders in a community-based research team. Although this framework has incorporated the youth leaders’ lived experiences, talents, and voices, positive youth development (PYD) and social justice youth development (SJYD) have theoretically contextualized our research. Youth leaders guided the framework's development, including the identification of key themes/dimensions, definitions, and practical examples. The framework's three components—“Basis” (philosophy and principles), “What” (goals/outcomes), and “How” (actions/processes/pathways to change)—are supported by nine themes described in this article.     

Predictors of Homelessness Among Street Living Youth

While few studies have identified predictors of exiting homelessness among adults, even fewer studies have attempted to identify these predictors among homeless youth. The current study explored predictors of change in homelessness among 180 homeless youth between the ages of 14 and 22, recruited through an urban drop-in center. All youth were assessed at baseline, 3 and 6 months. The sample included 118 males and the reported ethnicity included Latino (n = 54), Anglo (n = 73), Native American (n = 24), African American (n = 6) and mixed ethnicity or “other” (n = 23). Four distinct patterns of change in homelessness were identified among youth which included those who (1) had fairly low rates of homelessness at each follow-up point, (2) started in the mid-range of homelessness, increased at 3 months and sharply declined at 6-months (MHL), (3) reported high rates of homelessness at baseline and low rates at each follow-up point (HLL), and finally, (4) remained consistently homeless across time (HMH). These patterns of change were most strongly predicted by social connections and engagement in HIV risk behaviors. The findings from this study suggest that developing trust and linkages between homeless youth and service providers may be a more powerful immediate target of intervention than targeting child abuse issues, substance use and mental health problems.