Позитивные изменения. Том 4, №1 (2024). Positive changes. Volume 4, Issue 1 (2024)

22. Taylor, R. D., Oberle, E., Durlak, J. A. & Weissberg, R. P. (2017). Promoting Positive Youth Development Through School-Based Social and Emotional Learning Interventions: A Meta-Analysis of Follow-Up Effects. Child Development, 88(4), 1156–1171. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12864

23. Waid, J. & Uhrich, M. (2020). Scoping Review of the Theory and Practice of Positive Youth Development. The British Journal of Social Work, 50(1), 5-24. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcy130

24. Youngblade, L., Theokas, C. & Schulenberg, J. (2007). Risk and Promotive Factors in Families, Schools, and Communities: A Contextual Model of Positive Youth Development in Adolescence. Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-2089H

Develop Positively. Introducing a New Concept for the Prevention of Childhood and Adolescent Adversity

Anna Khegay

DOI 10.55140/2782-5817-2024-4-1-74-85

Focusing on the strengths, potential, and capabilities of adolescents and youth, rather than on mitigating the consequences of challenging behavior, encapsulates the principal notion of positive youth development. The concept began to gain momentum in the world in the 1990s.

In Russia as well, there are examples of non-governmental organizations that embrace and implement the principles of this approach in practice. The specifics of this concept, and how its application aids in the prevention of child and adolescent adversity, are explained by the expert from the Victoria Charitable Children’s Fund.[87]

Anna Khegay

Employee, Department of Psychology, instructor, postgraduate student, National Research University — Higher School of Economics, chief psychologist, and methodologist, Victoria Charitable Children’s Fund

RELEVANCE

Since the 2010s, more attention has been given in the Russian Federation to the importance of nurturing the potential of adolescents and young adults. The Youth Development Strategy until 2030 encompasses all Russian citizens aged 14 to 35 inclusive. One aim of the strategy is to assist young individuals in their quest for self-improvement, the betterment of the country, and the shaping of the future.

Around the globe, policy designers face the objective of actively engaging youth in civic existence, professional growth, and self-evolution. For instance, the European Youth Policy until 2027 includes ambitions such as equality for all young persons, inclusivity, constructive discourse, mental well-being, expansion of prospects for youth in rural zones and smaller cities, high-grade employment and learning opportunities for all youths, youth involvement in civil and political spheres, and the advancement of voluntary and youth groups. In this context, a particular challenge is engaging young people in active life, who are growing up in difficult life situations.

It is well-acknowledged that young adults enduring tough life conditions often navigate their adolescence and early adulthood as periods fraught with various challenges (Arnett, 2015), including entering a labor market that can be hostile towards youth (Edin & Kefalas, 2005; Furstenberg, 2010). A suite of qualitative inquiries (Hendry & Kloep, 2010; Silva, 2016; Arnett, 2015) indicates that adolescents with strenuous childhoods frequently perceive themselves as more mature earlier than their counterparts, due to the necessity of assuming substantial responsibilities prematurely.

As per Rosstat’s 2023 data, in the Russian Federation, approximately 25 % of all children and adolescents subsist below the poverty threshold, around 2 % have orphanhood experience, and nearly 7.5 % of children have restricted health abilities. Around 3.5 % of all children and adolescents have been directly impacted by military actions since 2022.[88] Consequently, a considerable portion of the Russian youth are presented with comparatively diminished initial opportunities to fulfill their potential.