Turn Problems into Opportunities: Positive Youth Development As a Predictor to Better Health and Lower Behavioral Problems Among Youth Live in Rural and Urban Areas

Background: A set of ideas that view youth as resources to be developed, rather than problems to be managed emerged in recent decades. Positive youth development (PYD) perspective (Damon, 2004; Lerner, 2005) conceptualizes this set of ideas and turns the deficit view of rapid biological and psychological changes during adolescence as risks into plasticity. Existing research further explored the growth of PYD can diminish the engagement of problem behaviors (Jelici, Bobek, Phelps, et al., 2014). Little is known whether PYD can reduce internalized behaviors under diverse social contexts and whether PYD benefits individual health. This study applied five main components in PYD (Competence, Confidence, Connection, Character, and Caring, known as 5Cs) to examine the growth-diminished relationship between positive youth development, problem behaviors and youth depressive symptoms in Taiwan.

Methods: Using wave 1 (W1) and wave 3 (W3) data from the Taiwan Youth Project, a longitudinal survey in Taiwan, our analytical sample consisted of 2,088 youth live in rural or urban areas. The dependent variables were youth depressive symptoms, risk behaviors and self-rated health measured at W1. Depressive symptoms were measured by the second edition of Beck Youth Inventories of Emotional and Social Impairment (BYI-II). Other two dependent variables were measured by researcher-constructed items following previous studies and that had good reliability in the study sample. The independent variables, 5Cs, were measured at W3 according to the literature and tailored to the social context in Taiwan. Multivariate linear regression with social-demographic characteristics as covariates was conducted.     

Results: Confidence at W1 was associated with lower depressive symptoms (β =-.20, p<.001), lower risk behaviors (β = -.09, p<.001) and better self-rated health at W3 (β =.09, p<.001). Family connection was also associated with lower depressive symptoms (β = -.15, p<.001), lower risk behaviors (β = -.06, p<.01) and better self-rated health (β =.07, p<.01). Character was associated with lower risk behaviors (β = -.10, p<.001) and better self-rated health (β =.06, p<.01). In addition, academic competence and caring were associated with lower risk behaviors (β = -.16, p<.001; β = -.046, p<.05, respectively). Living in non-urban areas was associated with more risk behaviors than living in urban areas. A few results were unexpected: academic competence was associated with higher symptoms of depression (β = -.059, p<.01) and lower self-rated health (β = -.08, p<.001). Social competence was associated with more risk behaviors (β = -.13, p<.001).

Conclusion/implication: Overall, positive youth development was associated with lower depressive symptoms, lower risk behaviors and better health. A few unexpected findings suggest the modifications of PYD perspective under diverse social contexts. The findings revealed the obscure pressure of academic competence in Taiwan where being academic competent may result in more demands and stress. In addition, multifaceted assessments of social competence are necessary for researchers and practitioners working with youth to distinguish the advantages and disadvantages following the competence.