The National Youth Sports Strategy aims to unite U.S. youth sports culture around a shared vision: that one day, all youth will have the opportunity, motivation, and access to play sports—regardless of their race, ethnicity, sex, ability, or ZIP code. Why youth sports? Research shows that participating in youth sports...
A healthy nation starts with healthy citizens, and participation in sports is one of the most powerful ways to promote healthy habits for a lifetime—not only for physical fitness but also for emotional wellbeing and social cohesion. The natural enthusiasm that children and adolescents (collectively referred to as “youth”) have...
The inclusion of sport participation during childhood reaches beyond the boundaries of childhood backyards and open streets. For many, youth sports have been considered a right of passage to adolescence with organized youth sports programs being encased in communities for a handful of decades. Within that time, a plethora of...
The bi-directional relationships within the personal and contextual environments of adolescents are critical to the development of adolescents and their transition into adulthood. Opportunities for youth to participate in and provide leadership in meaningful programs, gain life skills, and interact with adults in sustained relationships are key features leading to...
In the past, a major emphasis of child development
research and theory building has been the study of
acquisition of sex role learning. Today, an additional
dimension is seen in the study of the effect of sex role
stereotypy on self-concept. As a result of the research in
this area,...
Introduction: Youth in foster care face greater rates of trauma and subsequent mental health challenges (Bruce et al., 2009; O’Neill et al., 2012; Seltzer et al., 2012; etc.) that place increased burden on their caregivers (Daniel, 2011; McKeough et al., 2017), suggesting that these specific groups of youth in foster...
This report describes the observations and opinions of Douglas County homeless youth and of the social service providers and advocates focused on assisting them. Initiated by the county’s Commission on Children and Families, and conducted by Oregon State University researchers, this study provides data and analysis which may assist service...