Youth in high poverty areas are often at risk for poor mental health and academic outcomes, and have been identified with deficiencies in perceived self-efficacy, grit, and sense of purpose. Youth leadership has been mentioned in the literature as a strategy for building needed skills and attitudes but has not been the focus of much research in the field of school psychology. The present study examined the extent to which participation in a youth leadership program in a school within a high poverty context promoted student competence in self-efficacy, grit and the development of positive purpose. Moderating variables, such as gender, ethnicity, grade level and school performance, also were examined. Results indicated that there were no significant overall differences between student Ambassadors and non-Ambassadors when comparing baseline and post-intervention scores. However, male Ambassadors showed significant gains in purpose and Ambassadors with higher initial efficacy had higher degrees of engagement. Additionally, clear impacts were demonstrated in final interviews with students. This study demonstrates the potential for the impact of youth leadership programming and points to the need for more research in this area.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
School Psychology
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_9063
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
1 online resource (vii, 56 p. : ill.)
Note (type = degree)
Psy.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Youth
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Leadership
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Nina Franza
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore10001800001
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
Rutgers University. Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.