Why Trust Matters: How Confidence in Leaders Transforms What Adolescents Gain From Youth Programs

Youth's trust in program leaders is considered a key to the positive impact of youth programs. We sought to understand how trust influences youth's program experiences from their perspective. We interviewed 108 ethnically diverse youth (ages 12–19) participating in 13 arts, leadership, and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of research on adolescence Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 790 - 804
Main Authors Griffith, Aisha N., Larson, Reed W.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.2016
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects
Adolescent
Adolescents
Ethnic groups
Experts
Humanities
Humans
Leadership
Mental Processes
Mentoring
Motivation
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Social cohesion
Technology
Trust
Youth
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Summary:Youth's trust in program leaders is considered a key to the positive impact of youth programs. We sought to understand how trust influences youth's program experiences from their perspective. We interviewed 108 ethnically diverse youth (ages 12–19) participating in 13 arts, leadership, and technology programs. Analysis of these accounts suggested five ways in which youth's trust in leaders amplified program benefits. Trust increased youth's (1) confidence in leaders' guidance in program activities, (2) motivation in the program, (3) use of leaders for mentoring, (4) use of leaders as a model of a well‐functioning relationship, and (5) experience of program cohesiveness. Across benefits, trust allowed youth to draw on leaders' expertise, opened them to new experiences, and helped increase youth's agency.
Bibliography:ark:/67375/WNG-W9ZGX29P-M
William T. Grant Foundation
ArticleID:JORA12230
istex:D9A4951232E7A37C159B526466886BB89B7B8DBB
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:1050-8392
1532-7795
DOI:10.1111/jora.12230