Positive Youth Development Approaches

Youth Engagement

• Youth engagement models and youth resiliency models operate under a youth-adult partnership structure while working toward an agreed upon outcome in which youth are seen as partners rather than clients. It is this type of youth participation that leads to the development of the protective factors required for a long-term strategy of establishing a healthy lifestyle.
• Youth engagement is based on the understanding that, in order to make a successful and healthy transition from adolescence to adulthood, youth must possess certain skills and competencies. Youth engagement can be defined as “meaningful participation and sustained involvement of a young person in an activity with a focus outside of him or herself”.