NCJ Number
222439
Journal
Journal of Adolescent Research Volume: 23 Issue: 3 Dated: May 2008 Pages: 233-244
Date Published
May 2008
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article introduces and presents and overview of this special journal issue on the efforts of the Miami Youth Developement Project (YDP), which is a community-supported youth development program based in outreach research that draws on the principles of developmental intervention science (a fusion of the developmental and intervention science literatures).
Abstract
The YDP was started nearly two decades ago as a grassroots response to the need of trouble (multiproblem) youth in Miami, a city that is undergoing an extended period of multicultural growth. In this context, the history of YDP illustrates the value of conducting research based on university-community collaboration and research-related principles consistent with the outreach approach, i.e., research designed to meet community needs by generating innovative knowledge pertinent to effective change-producing strategies. In the YDP, outreach research is coupled with development intervention science (DIS), which applies the scientific method to the development of empirical knowledge about how human development across the life span can be influenced by scientifically based, multidisciplinary intervention strategies. YPD is thus an experiment in meeting community needs in the context of knowledge development about what works at the community level in enhancing the positive development of youth in a multicultural setting. The articles in this journal series explore the potential of DIS outreach research to generate knowledge that contributes to advancing the field of human development. This is done while illustrating the potential of DIS outreach research to generate knowledge about effective intervention strategies for youth development that are feasible, affordable, and sustainable in a specific community setting. 31 references