kstateCHI.org > Projects > Positive Youth Development
Positive Youth Development
(a long-term intended
outcome, work group, and program)
The Community Health Institute seeks to understand
and promote improved social development by focusing on family
functioning and the role of out-of-school development settings
(e.g., daycare, preschool, 4-H clubs, after school programs).
Researchers are studying how families can promote
social, emotional, and physical competence. The ultimate goal
is to prepare children to become adults capable of forming
successful and healthy families. This group is also examining
how a variety of other settings can promote healthy and pro-social
behavior, with the intent of preventing emotional and behavioral
problems.
Kansas has programs for youth development and
many government agencies and private organizations express
concern about youth well-being. But, data is not as uniformly
collected and analyzed for children and youth as it is for
adults.
For instance, although 50 states and the District
of Columbia participate in the CDC’s Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), only 38 states participate
in the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS).
Only 22 states provide weighted survey results.
Participation at this level allows people to compare the data
from state-to-state and from year-to-year. Without weighted
survey results, the data cannot be used to analyze trends.
Kansas has collected and reported some limited
sample data, but it is not one of the 22 states providing weighted
survey data. Until states make it a priority to collect and
analyze data about youth health and development, it will remain
difficult to identify critical factors for youth development.
In turn, it will also be difficult to report progress toward
Healthy People 2010 objectives for youth.
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