by Michell Alberti Gambone, Hanh Cao Yu, Heather Lewis-Charp, Cynthia L. Sipe, and Johanna Lacoe

October 2004

“Many youth-serving organizations are engaging young people in youth organizing and/or in interventions to support specific identity development in response to a need for meaningful opportunities for older and diverse youth to be civically involved in their communities. In this paper, we explore differences in developmental outcomes and supports and opportunities among youth organizing, identity-support, and traditional youth development organizations. Survey and qualitative findings suggest significant differences, particularly in developmental outcomes such as civic activism and identity development. In addition, the youth organizing agencies are characterized by youth’s experience of higher levels of youth leadership, decision making, and community involvement in comparison with other agencies in the study. This research suggests that deliberate approaches to staffing and decision-making structures can influence youth
outcomes.”

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