Sociology Commons^™

Exploring 21st-Century Skills In A Summer Camp: A Qualitative Methodological Triangulation Approach, Alexander Bowman, Jing Song

Journal of Youth Development

Despite the recognized importance of 21st-century skills and the substantial body of research on these skills, little is known about how to identify growth in these skills. The lack of reliable methods to measure 21st-century skill growth presents a challenge for the design of relevant learning environments and for evaluating if such learning environments are effective. Using a qualitative methodological triangulation approach, this study explored camp counselors’ learning processes. Using a systematic data integration method, field observations were synthesized with participant reflections about how their skills develop. Data were collected from 13 high-school-aged junior camp counselors at a summer camp …

Becoming Who I Am: How Youth Leadership Experiences Shape Lifelong Leadership Journeys, Dustin Evatt, Deborah Acker, Parker R. Watson, Jennifer T. Peters

Journal of Youth Development

Youth leadership experiences have the power to shape individuals’ values, identities, and leadership behaviors well into adulthood, yet limited empirical research has examined how these formative experiences contribute to leadership development over time. This study examines the long-term impact of youth leadership experiences using the six-stage Leadership Identity Development (LID) model as a guiding and interpretive framework by exploring the journeys of alumni from the Shelton Challenge, a six-day immersive high school leadership program at NC State University rooted in values-based and positive youth development (PYD) principles. Using narrative inquiry, we conducted interviews and focus groups with 30 alumni ages …

4-H Program Staff Perceptions Of Including Youth With Disabilities, Brittney Muschetto, Amy Leman

Journal of Youth Development

This study’s focus is to examine 4-H youth development county program staff’s perceptions of the inclusion of youth with disabilities in the Illinois 4-H program. The majority of program staff identified positive perceptions about including youth with disabilities in 4-H. However, they also noted that there was a need for more staff training to adequately include youth with disabilities in 4-H programming. As more youth are being diagnosed with disabilities, 4-H must continue to improve its knowledge and skills to make 4-H inclusive to all youth.

A Hip-Hop-Based Workshop Cultivates Urban Underserved Youths’ Critical Consciousness Around Food Systems, Jacob Rowell, Hannah Scherer, Kim Niewolny, Anthony Kwame Harrison, Kendrick Spencer

Journal of Youth Development

Hip hop is social commentary and critique that highlights the complexity of issues within society, including systemic inequity in the food system, which disproportionately affects urban and African American populations. After-school and non-formal programs are innovative educational opportunities to engage youth in learning about and addressing local problems through culturally-relevant program design and enactment of critical pedagogy. To meaningfully connect middle-school-aged urban youth, their lived experiences, and inequities in the food system, we designed a hip-hop-based workshop and delivered it in an established afterschool program. In this qualitative case study, we explored participants’ critical consciousness related to the food system …

A Billion People In The Shadows: Understanding Disability, Kelly Dziak

Journal of Youth Development

The disability community is the largest minority group and encompasses people of all ages and backgrounds. Despite its size, members of this community frequently encounter social, educational, and economic barriers that limit opportunities for full participation. Youth development programs have the potential to support skill-building and foster a sense of belonging. However, professionals often face challenges to effectively support individuals with disabilities including limited training and accessibility barriers. A Billion People in the Shadows: The Ultimate 1-Hour Guide to Understanding Disability by Doug McCullough provides practical guidance for improving understanding and support for this population. Drawing on personal experiences with …

Building Wellbeing Through Nature And Adventure For Justice-Involved Youth, Lewis Kogan, Meagan Ricks, Janna Coulter, Miranda Margetts, Lori Butterfield, Ben Ukoh-Eke

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Justice-involved youth often experience elevated levels of stress, mental health challenges, and reduced access to positive developmental opportunities. A nature- and adventure-based youth development program designed to strengthen resilience, self-efficacy, nature-connectedness, and well-being among justice-involved youth was piloted in 2025 to address these challenges. Pilot findings indicated improvements in resilience, self-efficacy, hopefulness, and connectedness to nature.

Table Of Contents, Journal Of Youth Development

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

4-H Builds Work Readiness Skills In Youth, Mike Knutz

Journal of Youth Development

4-H Programs provide work readiness skills like teamwork, respect, leadership, critical thinking, work ethics, and communication. Supported studies are highlighted as well as results from an evaluation of youth participants from a Know Your Government statewide program. Data was collected from middle and high school age youth to measure their self-reported increase in work readiness skills as well as knowledge of government. Results are discussed in terms of their relevance to life skill theory and measurement. The study supports the value of 4-H Youth Development Programs as a means for youth to acquire work readiness skills.

Teaching Personal And Social Responsibility Through A Mountain Biking After-School Program, Kayla Marsh, Kelly L. Simonton, Victoria Shiver, Tristan Wallhead

Journal of Youth Development

The Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) model has been identified as an evidence-based structure that can support social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies in after-school settings. However, much of the research includes general physical fitness and skill activity-based programs, and not activities students identify with as meaningful in their lives. The current study targeted a mountain biking afterschool-program which has the potential to promote meaningful transfer of knowledge and skills. The purpose of this study was two-fold: (a) to explore adolescents’ beliefs and understandings of SEL skills in a mountain biking TPSR program and (b) to explore the perceptions of potential …

Full Issue, Volume 21, Issue 3, Journal Of Youth Development

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Joining Forces:A Research-Practice Partnership For Out-Of-School Time, Julián C. Alonso Restrepo, Trevor Bopp, Diedre F. Houchen, Chanae Jackson, Sunshine Moss, Rose M. Pringle, Christine Wegner

Journal of Youth Development

This article describes the development and early implementation of the Youth Development Research-Practice Partnership (YDRPP), a collaboration between university researchers and the Better Out-of-School Time (BOOST) Alliance in Alachua County, Florida. Established to address persistent racial and socioeconomic disparities affecting youth, the partnership used a collaborative qualitative assessment to identify local youth needs, program strengths, and organizational challenges. Findings revealed that practitioners viewed academic support, mental health, social-emotional development, positive adult relationships, physical activity, life skills, and workforce preparation as the most pressing needs of youth. Programs responded through holistic offerings that included tutoring, mentoring, trauma-informed practices, recreation, career readiness, …

Why Sports Participation Matters For Girls In Urban Core Public Schools, David Mcleod, Angela B. Pharris, David Crynes, Emmy Hufnagel, Eddie Wright, Sabrina Hynd, Tim Mclaughlin

Journal of Youth Development

Sports participation plays a critical role in supporting academic success, school engagement, and social-emotional well-being, particularly for girls in urban core public school settings. This study examines the relationship between athletic participation and academic outcomes, attendance, and social-emotional functioning in a large urban public school district during the post-COVID period. Findings indicate that student-athletes outperform non-athlete peers across multiple indicators, including grade point average, enrollment in advanced coursework, and school attendance. Female athletes, in particular, demonstrate stronger academic performance and more favorable social-emotional outcomes compared to female non-athletes. Despite these advantages, a pronounced decline in girls’ sports participation occurs between …

When Protection Becomes Predation: Militarized Masculinity And Sexual Violence In Northeastern Nigeria, Tosin Osasona

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The study investigates the structural and situational drivers of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) perpetrated by state security actors in the context of Nigeria’s counterinsurgency campaigns in Borno State. Drawing on militarized masculinity and strain and deprivation theories, and using a qualitative, interpretive research design, the study argues that CRSV is not an isolated or episodic form of deviance by individual soldiers and security personnel but is embedded in routine military–civilian interactions. Advancing an interactionist explanation of CRSV in Nigeria’s Islamist counterinsurgency operations, the study demonstrates that the likelihood of sexual violence increases through the interaction of gendered institutional norms, operational …

Motivation, Empowerment, And Entrepreneurial Intentions: A Pls-Sem Analysis Of Female Students In Algeria, Lotfi Mekhzoumi, Salima Ben Omar, Abderrazak Laouid, Sabrina Chikh-Amnache

Journal of Global Business Insights

This paper investigates the multidimensional nature of women’s empowerment and its impact on entrepreneurial intentions among female students at the University of El Oued, Algeria. It aims to clarify how motivational factors and perceived barriers interact with psychological, social, political, and economic empowerment to shape entrepreneurial aspirations in a developing economy context. A stratified sample of 353 female university students was used for quantitative research. A validated online questionnaire assessed entrepreneurial intention, motivation, empowerment, and barriers. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test direct, indirect, and mediating effects between constructs, along with rigorous reliability and validity …

Authoritarianism, Hostility And Threat: An Analysis Of American Political Podcasts Surrounding The 2024 Presidential Election, Noah D. Cohen

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Political rhetoric surrounding key events has seen sharp increases in emotionally affective speech, intergroup sentiment, and rhetoric unbecoming of democratic societies in recent years. Similarly, semi-democratic and ideologically driven speech has become increasingly normalized within an era of political polarization and hardline beliefs in modern media. Within this economy of outrage, sensational and largely unmoderated media formats, particularly podcasts, have become a mainstay of political information and discourse. This raises an important question: how does rhetoric surrounding political events construct intergroup sentiment and authoritarian rhetoric within political media, particularly American political podcasts? Further, given political podcasts’ growing social influence in …

The Role Of Temperament In Criminal Trajectories: Development, Stability, And Predictive Power Across The Life Course, Joshua A. Lang

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Temperament, an individual's largely innate tendency to experience and regulate responses to their environment, has long been studied but was only recently introduced as a primary predictor of criminal behavior (DeLisi & Vaughn, 2014). While prior criminological theories have incorporated temperament-related constructs, such as negative affect (Agnew, 1992; Moffitt, 1993) and self-control (Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990), no other theory has explicitly positioned temperament as the central factor in offending. DeLisi and Vaughn’s temperament-based theory of antisocial behavior posits that individuals with low effortful control and high negative emotionality—features of a difficult temperament—are more likely to engage in criminal behavior. Despite …

Relational-Developmental Autoethnography: A Method Of Qualitative Inquiry That Fosters Personal Growth, Chris Wells

The Qualitative Report

This paper introduces relational–developmental autoethnography (RDA), a qualitative method for exploring psychological growth through personal writing and reflection. Developed through lived experience, RDA traces psychological development through sustained, recursive engagement with personal writing. Drawing on an archive of my journals, letters, clinical records, and correspondence spanning more than 30 years, I show how writing and reflection were first tools for my survival, and later became catalysts for insight, healing, and transformation. RDA is grounded in two developmental frameworks: Dąbrowski’s theory of positive disintegration, which views emotional intensity and inner conflict as signs of developmental potential, and relational-cultural theory, which …

Cultural Responsiveness: Examining Assessments Of Therapists For Ethical And Clinical Outcomes (Create Clout), Tsotso T. Ablorh

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

The Multicultural Counseling Competencies (MCC) and Multicultural and Social Justice Counseling Competencies (MSJCC) are well-researched and supported counseling practices for decreasing microaggressions in therapy and consequent attrition, lack of satisfaction, and maltreatment (Ratts et al., 2016; Sue et al., 1982). However, scholars critique existing methods for measuring therapists’ cultural responsiveness for being disconnected from therapeutic process and outcomes (Hays, 2020; Wilcox et al., 2020). This study examined which MSJCC measures associated with variables clinically and ethically relevant to better treatment outcomes and lower microaggressive, neglectful, and stereotypical treatment for hypothetical Black, female clients by White therapists. 62 White psychologists in …

Home, Neighborhood, And Community Environments And Social Isolation In Later Life: Joint Associations And Their Moderation By Life-Course Socioeconomic Mobility, Jeein Law

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Social isolation is a major public health concern among older adults, yet less is known about how multilevel residential environments shape isolation among those aging in place. Guided by the Socio-Ecological Model, Person–Environment Fit, and a life-course perspective, this dissertation examined whether micro-level home hazards, meso-level neighborhood social cohesion and physical disorder, and macro-level census-tract structural conditions were associated with social isolation. It also examined whether life-course socioeconomic mobility moderated the associations between home and neighborhood environments and social isolation.

This dissertation used two nationally representative longitudinal studies of U.S. older adults. Aims 1 and 2 used the National Health …

Nihilistic Violence Aesthetics In Public Online Communication, Heath Nicholas Landress

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Public online communication has increasingly included violence-related content that is meme-based, ironic, visually stylized, multimodal, and only partially ideological. This comprehensive literature review synthesized research on online extremism, extremist memes, toxic multimodal content, dehumanizing digital communication, nihilistic violent extremism, warning behaviors, platform affordances, and youth-facing online environments. The purpose was to clarify what the literature had established; identify where the scholarship remained fragmented; and map research domains relevant to social, behavioral, public safety, and human services scholarship. The review used a structured, comprehensive literature review strategy supported by integrative synthesis procedures. The final corpus contained 34 scholarly sources, including 32 …

“When I’M Not Heard, I Feel Like I Don’T Matter”: Advancing Equity In Disability Policy Through Critical Participatory Action Research With People With Intellectual Disability, Cris Marchionne

Student Theses

People with intellectual disability deserve a system that offers flexible, timely, and person-centered support — one that is innovative, sustainable, and holistic in enabling them to live fulfilling lives. This qualitative study, grounded in Critical Participatory Action Research (CPAR), examines how people with intellectual disability experience participation in decision-making within New York State's disability service system. By centering lived experience, the study identifies factors that facilitate or hinder participation in decision-making and examines structural, social, and policy-related barriers that limit agency. Through six focus groups and a Photovoice project with self-advocates receiving OPWDD services, participants described systemic barriers that limited …

Artificial Intelligence And Social Equities: Navigating The Intersectionalities In A Digital Age (Editorial), Daisuke Akiba, Julie Albright

Publications and Research

This editorial article introduces and synthesizes the Special Issue, “Artificial intelligence and social equities: navigating the intersectionalities in a digital age,” which examines how AI systems intersect with race, ethnicity, and interconnected identity dimensions across global contexts. The eight contributions span healthcare, digital media, higher education, organizational communication, and speculative futures, addressing anti-racist psychiatric algorithms, AI-generated visual disinformation, epistemic injustice between the Global North and South, algorithmically mediated rural–urban divides, culturally untranslated technology transfer, accessibility auditing across the AI lifecycle, and the tension between mechanical objectivity and empathic understanding. Read together, they show that AI is neither inherently …

Adolescent Depressive Symptoms And Adult Functioning Within Major U.S. Racial Groups, Summer N. A. Millwood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Depression is the leading cause of disability among adults in the U.S and is associated with negative short- and long-term social, emotional, economic, and physical health outcomes. Notably, rates of depression among children and adolescents are rapidly increasing across the globe. Depression in youth disrupts crucial developmental processes that can adversely affect concurrent and longitudinal socioeconomic and health outcomes. Although extant research delineates the consequences of adolescent depression for adult functioning (e.g., lower educational attainment, fewer economic resources, worse physical health), studies that examine these associations within racially minoritized populations are scarce. This gap in the literature is especially striking …

Asian American Men's Experiences Of Gendered Racism In Online Competitive Gaming, Calvin Weiting Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the U.S., Asian Americans men make up a large portion of active players in online competitive video games. In these settings, harassment, racism, and hate speech are prevalent and often normalized. The purpose of this study was to explore Asian American men’s experiences of gendered racism in online competitive gaming spaces. Using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach (Smith, Flowers, & Larkin, 2022) and applying the Intersectionality Framework (Crenshaw, 1989; Collins, 2000), six Asian American men were interviewed about their experiences of gendered racism while playing online competitive games. Two Group Experiential Themes emerged from their accounts: 1) Gendered racism …

Cultural Humility, A Salve For Romantic Relationship Conflict, Lena Blum

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conflict communication and having a relationship consisting of differing sociocultural backgrounds (DISC Couples) have been viewed as obstacles or at best hindrances of relationship satisfaction in earlier couples’ psychology literature. More recent literature makes an argument that it is not merely conflict communication or the differences of culture within a couple, but rather how couples navigate both conflict and differences that impact relationship satisfaction. The present work aims to investigate the role of cultural humility in the association between cultural conflict communication and relationship satisfaction, as well as its relationship with the frequency of cultural conflict communication among DISC couples. …

Examining Intimate Partner Violence After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, Rebecca R. Suzuki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) is linked with social problems in peer relationships that can last into adulthood. Little is known about how social problems impact the development of intimate relationships as pediatric TBI survivors grow up. This study addressed this gap by examining risk of intimate partner violence (IPV) in a sample of 50 young adult survivors of pediatric TBI prior to age 13 (M age = 22.96, SD = 1.70, 60% women) and tested social information processing (SIP) as a potential process through which TBI influences risk for IPV. Participants were recruited via Prolific and social media …

Disrupted Family Ecosystems: Intergenerational Estrangement, Nonnormative Events, And Perceptions Of Established Adults – A Case Study, Seth Wyncott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The issue of intergenerational family estrangement has gained increased exposure in research and popular literature; however, significant gaps remain in understanding the lived experience of adult-children who maintain separation from their parents. Complicating matters, the family is not a solitary unit but is intertangled within a macrolevel sociocultural ecosystem. This ecosystem includes normative and nonnormative stressors which are subject to diverse interpretations depending on the historic and evolving character of the family and its members. As such, it is important to examine the dynamic character of estrangement in familial and sociocultural context.

Utilizing a case study method with semi-structured phenomenological …

Well-Being Beyond The Binary In Perinatal Healthcare: An Application Of Reproductive Justice, Orphea D. Wright

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gender diverse birthing individuals face several systemic barriers to accessing affirming and empowering perinatal healthcare. The present study utilizes the term gender diverse and the abbreviation TGE to describe those who self-identify as broadly non-cisgender, an umbrella term for people whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth. Gender identities that may be included in this definition include transgender/trans, gender expansive, non-binary, gender fluid, gender nonconforming, gender variant, gender queer/queer, and/or agender. Gender diverse individuals face unique barriers in perinatal healthcare due to the pervasiveness of cisnormativity in perinatal healthcare spaces. Research has documented the harm caused to …

The Resilient Mother: Exploring Factors That Buffer The Influence Of Early Childhood Trauma On Maternal Self-Efficacy, Brigid Magdamo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Childhood maltreatment and toxic stress pose significant risks to both individuals and communities, yielding negative outcomes that can perpetuate across generations— a phenomenon known as intergenerational trauma. Early intervention is imperative to disrupt this cycle of adversity and promote positive outcomes. One promising approach involves leveraging protective and promotive factors that cultivate resilience. Individuals with higher levels of benevolent childhood experiences (BCEs) and greater social support tend to exhibit enhanced self-efficacy, thereby potentially buffering the detrimental effects of childhood trauma. Furthermore, the perinatal period presents a critical juncture where maternal well-being significantly impacts both mother and child. The current study …

Examining The Effects Of Perceived Need, Suicidal Ideation, And Interpersonal Shame On Help-Seeking Attitudes In Asian Pacific Islander Desi Americans, Kristen Jiin Park

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined relationships among suicidal ideation, perceived need for mental health services, interpersonal shame, and help-seeking attitudes in a sample of APIDA adults (N = 175). Guided by Andersen's Socio-behavioral Model of Help- Seeking Behaviors (1968) and the Interpersonal Shame Inventory framework (Wong et al., 2014), the study investigated whether interpersonal shame moderated the relationships between suicidal ideation and help-seeking attitudes, and between perceived need and help-seeking attitudes. Participants completed an online survey assessing demographic and study variables. Results indicated that perceived need and gender were associated with more favorable mental health help-seeking attitudes among APIDA adults. These findings …