Research Projects

4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (4-H Study of PYD)

The 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development: Reconnection and Replication, funded by National 4-H Council, was a two-part study that aimed to extend and replicate the original 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development (Bowers et al., 2014; Lerner et al., 2005, 2015) that took place between 2002-2012.

The original 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development involved over 7,000 youth across Grades 5 to 12 from 42 states. The main findings indicated that when PYD—defined as Competence, Confidence, Connection, Caring, and Character—was promoted by youth development programs, youth would contribute positively to their communities and, by the end of the high-school years, become active and engaged citizens. The study also identified three key facets of youth programs effective in promoting PYD, facets that are hallmarks of the 4-H Theory of Change: 1. Positive and sustained relationships between a young person and an adult; 2. Life-skill building activities; and 3. Opportunities for youth participation in and leadership of valued activities in family, school, or community settings (see also Lerner, 2004; Tirrell et al., 2020).

4-H Study of PYD: Reconnection and Replication 

The Reconnection Study reconnected with participants from the original study, who are now young adults, to explore whether this prediction came true. The Reconnection Study connected with about 500 of the original 4-H and non-4-H participants in order to learn about the contributions to society that they are making as young adults today. Using both quantitative (i.e., survey) and qualitative (i.e., semi-structured interview) methods, we are examining these young adults’ work activities, health and well-being, purpose, and, especially, their family, community, and national contributions and civic engagement. By doing so, we will be able to link the follow-up survey data with the data collected in the original 4-H Study of PYD to explore participants’ developmental trajectories.

In addition to the Reconnection Study, we conducted an accelerated longitudinal Replication Study to examine how the youth-development leadership of 4-H programs is impacting the current generations of American youth. The Replication Study included youth from Grades 6 to 12 from across the United States. In addition to using measures and constructs that were used in the original study, we capitalized on refinements of measurement that have occurred in the last decade in regard to indexing constructs central to the original 4-H Study of PYD (i.e., PYD and, as well, intentional self-regulation, hope for the future, contribution and civic engagement, and leadership). We plan to assess the paths of PYD from Grades 6 to 12 of both youth participating in 4-H currently and youth currently not involved in 4-H.

The Compassion International Study of Positive Youth Development (CI Study of PYD)

The CI Study of PYD was a 10 year, three‐nation, longitudinal study of the use of the Lerner and Lerner model of Positive Youth Development (PYD) for understanding the bases of PYD among some of the world’s poorest youth enrolled in Compassion’s child development centers. Compassion International (CI) is a faith-based child‐sponsorship organization that partners with over 8,000 churches to promote thriving in over 2.1 million children living in poverty in 25 countries located in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia. The project includes both quantitative (in El Salvador, Rwanda, and Uganda) and qualitative (in El Salvador) research studying the development of youth involved in CI’s programs. The study ended in 2025.

In short, the project moved the field of PYD and the study of religious and spiritual development in international settings forward. The results of analyses can be used to enhance the work of CI and improve the child-sponsorship sector through never-before available theory-predicated developmental data.

Connecting Adolescent Beliefs and Behaviors (CABB)

CABB was a mixed-method, multi-reporter study of the positive development of students in 5th through 12th grades, with a specific focus on character development, role models and other important relationships, and civic attitudes and engagement. Data collection took place over the course of four waves between March 2015 and April 2017. CABB includes data from adolescents, their parents/guardians, and adult staff members at their schools (e.g., teachers, coaches, school administrators).

Publications from CABB have provided researchers and practitioners with important information about character role models (Johnson et al., 2016), including famous character role models (Hammond et al., 2022); youth character strengths (Lerner et al., 2020) and their associations with civic actions (Kim et al., 2025); as well as civic assets and engagement among diverse young people (Le et al., 2024; Suzuki et al., 2022).

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