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Beyond the deficit: Building a model of positive youth development

Abstract:

The negative social representation of adolescence that has existed in Western countries throughout the last decades has fuelled a deficit and risk model of adolescents' health and development. Recently, this model has been questioned by new approaches that emphasise competence and positive youth development. In this study, two consensus techniques -such as the delphi method and nominal group-were used to build a model of positive and healthy youth development from the ideas of a panel of experts. The competences included in the model were grouped into five areas: emotional, social, cognitive, moral, and personal development. The proposed model represents a starting point that suggests new lines of research and intervention in order to promote health and positive adolescent development. © 2010 Fundación Infancia y Aprendizaje.