Variables that Negatively Influence and Affect Youth Development - Research Paper Example

 Topic: Variables that negatively influence and affect youth development Introduction The main aim of this research paper is to identify and assess the variables that have a negative influence on the development of the youth in the society. Different researchers classify the variables that may have an influence on the development of the youth in various ways. In regard to this research the variables will be divided into three wide classifications: individual, community and social. Every one of these categories has a number of sub-categories and since an exhaustive review of all the variables that may affect the development of young people is beyond the scope of this research, this article simply summarizes the main variables that affect the development of the youth. Issue Research that has been conducted in the past few years in regard to the prevention of juveniles from committing crimes, drug and alcohol abuse as well as the most effective methods of intervention that may foresee and enhance the life choices of most of the young vulnerable members of society, has shown that prevention of problems associated with behavior may be attained as long as the variables that are related to crime in later life are acknowledged with accurately. The mere fact that crimes are on the decline at a time when people are facing disadvantage may be a contradiction to research evidence. It is thus safer to develop the theory that both social and economic dynamics affect the propensity for crime over a prolonged term while additional factors that include fluctuations in the percentage of male members of the population may conceal the effect in the short-term. With an escalation in the number of youths exposed to extreme disadvantage in the years to come, it is understandable that the efforts that focus on dealing with social and economic problems are prioritized. Nonetheless, since amending young offender legislation does not have an ability to deal with the factors that greatly link to youth crimes, it becomes impractical to expect that these changes may have any considerable effect on the development of the youth. Guiding questions and hypothesis The development of the youth is directly influenced by a number of variable that include protective and risk factors (Sackett & Mavor, 2003). When these variables are identified in the proper manner, they may be used as indicators for policy interventions so that the likelihood for a positive transition to adulthood may be escalated. From research, it can be concluded that several of these factors have more significant effect in regard to the reduction of risky behavior and the promotion of the development of youth as compared to others. Before a program design that enhances the development of youths while reducing the rate of delinquency in youths may be created, it is important to appreciate the many dynamics that affect the development of youths, whereby the most important are the risks and protective factors. This research will be guided by a number of questions in its effort to identify the variables that negatively influence and affect the development of youths in the society. This study has developed the hypothesis that the development of youths is influenced by the emotional, physical and social stimulation, parenting, pressure from the society, religion, social expectations and culture among others. Some of these questions will include: What are the risk factors that are experienced by youth in their day to day lives? What are some of the protective factors that that are experienced by youths in their daily lives? How do the identified risk facto as well as protective factors influence the development of the youth in question? Methods and procedures The main aim of research is the collection of data that allows a practical conclusion to be arrived at regarding whether or not a particular phenomenon is true. This should be done using a representative sample under a controlled environment in order to arrive at a conclusion that may be reasonably generalized in relation to a larger population. Nonetheless, threats to the validity of data are common and the samples that are used may be too small or may include participants who cannot represent the rest of the population in an accurate manner. The assigning of participants to experimental groups may be done in such a way that considerable overall dissimilarities that exist between the groups may affect the results. Natural growth associated with the people taking part in the research may result in conclusions that are not correct while inconsistencies in treatment and assessment can develop variations that may not have been accounted for in the results. Having considered all this, the research employed a qualitative research approach in order to collect the data for the study. The sample population included fifteen randomly selected individuals between the ages of eighteen and fifty. The sampling approach that was employed in this research was random sampling and the population that was chosen for the research was required to answer interview questions regarding the variables that affect development of youth members of the society. More data was also collected from literature reviews of previous studies that are associated with the development of youths as well as videos that touch on this topic. Data gathering and reporting The interviews were conducted after the respondents signed a written consent to take part in the research. The interviews were conducted in a public setting where the respondents considered comfortable so they could give the best possible responses to the answers the researcher asked. Personal interviews were preferred as the means of data collection for this research since in this kind of approach; the interviewees have a higher likelihood to identify with the questions (Leicht, 2005). Interviews also create the ability to find a target population that will answer the questions in a more comprehensive manner than the use of interviews over the phone or questionnaires (Green & Browne, 2005). The interviews for this research were conducted in English and the responses that were given by the respondents were written down by hand while at the same time recorded through the use of a tape recorder. The literature review part of the research involved reading through material that touched on this topic and identifying the common trends. This part of the study was done in the library and involved going through books and journals to come up with the data that supported the hypothesis that had been developed. Videos were also watched to identify the variables that affect the development of youth in the society. Data analysis This research employed the deductive approach of data analysis as the research already had an idea of the responses that would be given by the respondents. Since the researcher already knew that there are variables that affect the development of youth, the main aim of the study was to find out what these variables were. According to the research, it was determined that the youth have likelihood of developing conduct that is unhealthy in the event that they get exposure to risk factors like an accessibility to drugs or links with peers who exhibit problem behavior. In addition, the youth who get exposure to more than one risk factor have a higher likelihood of developing unhealthy behavior. Action planning implications and significance From the research it has been identified that the development of youth involves growth and development if skills and attitudes that are required by young people to be part of the society in the present times as well as in future (Rhodes, Spencer, Keller, Liang & Noam, 2006). The development of youths concerns young people gaining a sense of contribution in regard to valuable elements of the society, creation of a feeling of correctness as well as a belief in choices they make that will affect their future. The research also found that youth development entails building of strong associations and the active engagement in all the facets of life that include the family, schools and training institutions as well as the community and peer groups. Reporting results From the research, it was found that the immediate macro-environment that a person lives in plays a crucial part in their lives while remaining among the areas that can be least controlled. Dynamics such as the economy, level of education as well as institutions and cultural practices fall into this classification. When young people are part of a poor setting, the sources of the identified risks are increased. Young people constitute the bigger percentage of new entrants to the labor market but in poor economies, the demand for labor is slow resulting in high rates of unemployment. Most of the youth that enter the labor market prefer to be employed in the formal sector even though the opportunities continue to be limited. Lack of job positions in this sectors as well as inadequate capital in the informal sector leads some the youth into criminal activities that increase the level of insecurity in the society. The youth who are poor have a disadvantage when compared to their peers as the poor youth have a lower likelihood to receive education past the basis level due to increased costs of education at the post-basic level (Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997). These people also have a propensity to work for pay at a tender age so that they may be able to supplement the family income (YouTube, 2014). Girls that are associated with poor homes have an increased likelihood to become teenager mothers as the state of poverty greatly affects the mental and emotional states of the youth increasing their level of depression. The gender of the young people may act as either a risk factor or a protective factor in regard to their development. When the young women are considered, it is considered as a source of risk with the exclusion of cases of violent behaviors, depression as well as substance abuse along with early initiation into sex. The young female members of society have a higher propensity of being victims of violence and sexual exploitation, discrimination in terms of gender as well as expectations in school and other destructive activities. In some of the communities, the youth are regarded as being troublesome and lacking in maturity and this greatly contributes to the exclusion of youths from various social activities (Decker & Weerman, 2005). The interview demonstrated that the youth may develop a feeling that the society does not respect them and they also do not have a forum where they may be able to speak out their concerns to the society (Rivers, 2014). As a result of these, they feel that the rest of the society is not concerned about their wellbeing as they are not consulted when decisions that affect the whole society are being made. In the process, the youths develop various forms of behavior some of which might be deviant in an attempt to fit in to the society that does not pay attention into them. This and many other variables are critical in the development of the youth and in most of the cases, they are affected in a negative manner. Conclusion The risk and protective factors that this research has identified blend to create a range of different outcomes for the young people (Chang, Scott & Decker, 2013). In some cases, a single factor may be the source various positive or negative outcomes for the young people in regard to their development. For instance, a feeling of connection to parents gives the youth a sense of protection from the use and abuse of drugs, violence as well as risky sexual behaviors. On the other hand, sexual abuse leads to depression, the abuse of harmful substances as well as low self-esteem. Thus, it is important to focus on ether decreasing a single risk factor or increasing the magnitude of a protective factor as a means of dealing with a number of risky conducts as well as their outcomes at the same time. Then again, the interrelation between the various risk and protective factors demonstrate that a more general approach to the development of youth is more practical. References Brooks-Gunn, J., & Duncan, G. (1997). The Effects of Poverty on Children. The Future Of Children, 7(2), 55. doi:10.2307/1602387 Chang, V., Scott, S., & Decker, C. (2013). Developing helping skills. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning. Decker, S., & Weerman, F. (2005). European Street Gangs and Troublesome Youth Groups. Lanham: AltaMira Press. Green, J., & Browne, J. (2005). Principles of social research. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Leicht, K. (2005). Research in Social Stratification and Mobility. Burlington: Elsevier. Rivers, John. Interview by author. Personal interview. New York City, November 4, 2014. Rhodes, J., Spencer, R., Keller, T., Liang, B., & Noam, G. (2006). A model for the influence of mentoring relationships on youth development. Journal Of Community Psychology, 34(6), 691-707. doi:10.1002/jcop.20124 Sackett, P., & Mavor, A. (2003). Attitudes, aptitudes, and aspirations of American youth. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. YouTube,. (2014). "Unemployment a silent driver of youth chronic poverty in Uganda". Retrieved 4 November 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7c5XMQ1RxY Read More