Positive youth development (PYD) is an approach to working with youth that emphasizes building on youths’ strengths and providing supports and opportunities that will help them achieve goals and transition to adulthood in a productive, healthy manner. PYD is not a specific curriculum but a model that can be used to enhance any youth-serving program. At its core, PYD focuses on cultivating qualities that help adolescents thrive through relationships and environments that provide supportive connections and help to develop needed skills. Research shows that programs that incorporate a positive youth development approach can contribute to a range of positive outcomes among all adolescents, prevent a variety of risk behaviors, result in robust and sustained impacts, and have the potential to reduce health disparities.

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The Office of Population Affairs (OPA), in the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, promotes health across the reproductive lifespan through innovative, evidence-based adolescent health and family planning programs, services, strategic partnerships, evaluation, and research. To learn more about OPA, visit the OPA website. https://opa.hhs.gov/

Music in this video:
“Oceans,” by W A T E R F V L L S (Artlist)