These supports and opportunities are:

Perhaps the most consistent research finding on human development is that experiencing support from the people in one’s environment, from infancy on, has impact on how youth turn out as adults. Relationships with both adults and peers are sources of the emotional support, guidance and instrumental help that are critical to young people’s capacity to feel connected to others, navigate day-to-day life and engage in productive activities. Supportive relationships are those where adults make a commitment of time and interest; communicate a positive affect to youth; support youth’s personal responsibility; set clear and consistent expectations; and deliver consequences that promote competence rather than emphasize failure. Such supportive relationships can contribute to better decision-making, lower levels of stress, higher academic achievement, healthier relationships and lower levels of drug and alcohol use -- developmental outcomes that are key to success in adulthood.

Guidance		How many adult staff pay attention to what’s going on in your life?
Emotional support Color		How many adult staff say something nice to you when you do something good?
Practical support		How many adult staff could you go to for help in a crisis?
Knowledge of youth		The staff here know what is important to me.

A sense of safety is basic and critical to youth. Its absence can have profound effects on their choices and decisions; they can doubt the prospect of a future at all and develop the "learned helplessness" often associated with victimization. When young people do feel safe, they are less likely to participate in too many high-risk behaviors that can derail or delay healthy development.

Physical safety		I feel safe when I am an {name of organization}.
Emotional safety		I feel respected by the staff here.

As young people move into adolescence, they need ample opportunities to try on the adult roles they are preparing for. They need to make age-appropriate decisions for themselves and others: decide what activities to participate in; choose responsible alternatives; take part in setting classroom, team and organization policies. They also need opportunities to take on leadership roles -- through formal and informal roles including peer leader, team captain, council member or organizational representative. These opportunities help foster a greater sense of shared responsibility, respect, self-efficacy, better decision-making, fewer risk behaviors and a greater sense of belonging and membership. A sense of belonging and membership is key to forming a feeling of attachment and responsibility to something outside oneself. Young people develop these connections through active participation in groups, such as clubs, teams, churches and organizations, and benefit from them. Such participation fosters a greater ability to take the perspective of others and a greater sense of responsibility, both critical to decision-making, a sense of competence, better performance in school and a decreased likelihood of gang involvement and delinquency.

Input & decision-making		I get to decide which activities I’m going to do here.
Leadership		How often in the past six months at {name of organization} have you been in charge of things like {example}.
Belonging		I feel like I belong here.

Youth, especially adolescents, need to experience a sense of progress in developing skills and abilities. Whether in school, sports, arts or a job, young people are engaged by – and benefit from – activities in which they experience an increasing sense of competence and productivity. Conversely, they are bored by activities that do not challenge them in some way. In adolescence, "boredom" can lead to participation in high-risk activities (like drug-use, vandalism, etc.). They are more likely to avoid these dangers if they have healthier options in their lives that contain the appropriate blend of challenge and accomplishment.

Growth and progress		I have a chance to learn how to do new things here, like {examples}.
Challenging activities		At {name of organization}, I get to learn how to do things I did not think I could do.
Interesting activities		I get to do a lot of new things here.

Youth need to experience themselves as individuals who belong and have something of value to contribute to their different communities. These opportunities are linked to a greater sense of competence and self-respect, attachment to community, greater tolerance of others and fewer risk behaviors. When healthy opportunities to belong and contribute are not found in their environments, young people will create less healthy versions, such as cliques and gangs.

A sense of belonging to, and impacting their community		In {name of organization}, I’ve had a chance to do things to help people in my community.
An understanding of the community		I’ve learned a lot more about things for young people to do in this community, like {examples}.

The YDSI Youth Survey was designed to measure the extent to which youth are getting these experiences across different settings.

These supports and opportunities have a direct influence on young peoples’ later developmental outcomes. Click here see how these influence later outcomes.