Do Youth Development Programs Lead to Future Success?

The Research:
“My goal is to discover how effective positive youth development (PYD) programs are in facilitating positive outcomes for participants. Specifically, within the context of Girls on the Run—a PYD program—I wanted to discover specific benefits of the program and how it can lead young girls to a healthy and happy future.”

The Impact:
“As a Girls on the Run coach for the past year, I have seen first-hand the observable benefits of the program. It has been extremely meaningful for me to see girls become more confident in themselves and their abilities as the season progresses. This research gave me the opportunity not only to reinforce through empirical literature the positive benefits that I have seen myself, but also to discover the wider world of positive youth development programs and the meaningful changes they are making in the lives of youth every day. My biggest takeaway from this research is that these programs do make a difference, and that difference stems from the work of many key players who can make positive youth development a reality.”