Ethnic minority youth in youth programs: Feelings of safety, relationships with adult staff, and perceptions of learning social skills

Sun A. Lee, Lynne M. Borden, Joyce Serido, Daniel F. Perkins

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

The authors examine perceptions that young people hold regarding their participation in community-based youth programs. Specifically, this study assesses young people's sense of psychological safety, their relationships with adult staff, their learning of social skills, and how different ethnic groups experience these factors. Data for the study come from a national evaluation study of youth programs. Participants in this study include 272 White, 100 Asian or Pacific Islander, 61 African American, and 57 Hispanic youth. The results indicate that African American youth are more likely to feel psychologically safe and to have positive relationships with adult staff compared to the other youth. In addition, with the exception of African American youth, the associations between feeling safe and having positive relationships with adult staff and perception of learning social skills were significantly related. The possible explanations of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)234-255
Number of pages22
JournalYouth and Society
Volume41
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2009

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • General Social Sciences

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