Adolescents face a number of obstacles on the way to adulthood, from time-crunched parents, dangerous substances and behaviors, overburdened schools and a more demanding job market. Consequently, many believe that adolescents should no longer fend for themselves during the non-school hours. Growing public support for more structured activities during the non-school hours stems in part from the idea that these activities and programs do more than fill idle time and keep youth off the streets. They can also provide youth with enriching experiences that broaden their perspectives, improve their socialization, and enhance their skills.

Recently, the term youth development has become a buzzword and has been attached to a range of programs. Because a specific definition of what exactly constitutes a youth development program does not yet exist, researchers cannot answer questions about the utility of this approach or guide program developers and staff toward the best practices for youth.

This article first defines positive youth development and describes the characteristics of positive youth development programs. The reality of youth development programs is then explored through a survey of well-regarded youth programs, as well as examination of a database of effective youth program evaluations. It ends with a synthesis of these findings to discover how youth development programs achieve success in positively affecting the outcomes of youth.