Beyond between-group differences: Considering race, ethnicity, and culture in research on positive youth development programs

ABSTRACT

In this article, we explore how researchers can more fully consider and conceptualize the role of race and ethnicity in studies of youth development programs, with an emphasis on positive youth development (PYD). Such a focus can be integrated in a more meaningful way through the application of a theoretical model that provides a framework for understanding the role of race and ethnicity at multiple levels, and through recognition of challenges and limitations related to measurement and methodological approaches. Greater attention to race and ethnicity in research on youth programs can provide insight into the relevance of PYD models for specific groups of youth, culturally-specific themes that might enhance the applicability of PYD models and programs for some groups, the role of within-group heterogeneity with respect to PYD outcomes, and the aspects of PYD models and programs that appear to be essential for all youth across sociocultural contexts.

Notes

¹Throughout the article we refer to race and ethnicity separately and together (e.g., “race/ethnicity”) with the acknowledgement that for many individuals, in their daily lived experience of race and/or ethnicity they may or may not distinguish between the two terms.

²We assume the association between the characteristics a youth brings to a YDP setting (i.e., individual characteristics developed in particular microsystem contexts) and the experiences within a YDP (i.e., another microsystem) are reciprocal, as depicted by the arrows in Figure 1. However, the solid-line, left-to-right arrows between youth, programs, and outcomes depict the manner in which YDP research is typically conducted, while the dashed, left-to-right arrows indicate processes that may not be explicitly assessed.