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ABSTRACT
Young people's decisions to engage or disengage in community activities can be attributed to their perceptions of community resources and opportunities. This study examined South African rural young adults' perceptions of their future communities and influences on engaging in health promoting activities and community leadership. Survey data were collected from 58 youth and 52 young adults affiliated with key community organizations. Correlational analysis examined perceptions of community resources and participation in community leadership. Perceptions about the future of their communities differed by age, educational attainment, employment status, and number of years spent in the community and were strongly correlated with how youth and young adults perceive they are valued. Local organizations such as schools and churches can motivate at-risk youth and young adults to participate in community life. This research extends our knowledge of factors important for engaging this population in resource-limited rural settings.
KEYWORDS
Community attachment, community leadership, community perceptions, health promoting, young adult disengagement
INTRODUCTION
This article is informed by youth-focused literature but is a study of both youth and young adults. Literature focused on understanding the complex relationships among rural youth community perceptions, aspirations, attachment, and intention to stay or migrate has been growing (Demi, McLaughlin, and Snyder 2009; McLaughlin, Shoff, and Demi 2014; Petrin, Schafft, and Meece 2014; Theodori and Theodori 2014). Studies and reports on community youth engagement have also increased due to the relevance of youth participation in community activities (Arnold, Dolenc, and Wells 2008; Booyens and Crause 2014; Caprara et al. 2013; Francis et al. 2011; Graham et al. 2013; Wijeyesekera 2011). Continued interest in youth engagement stems from the realization of the need to provide young people with skills to become contributing community members, and the difficulties associated with keeping youth engaged, particularly in resource-limited settings.
Today, the world is home to 1.8 billion young people, most of whom live in low-and middle-income countries. Already in 2013, South Africa alone had a youth population of 19.5 million individuals, with black Africans (83 percent) being the dominant population group across all provinces except in Western Cape where Coloreds were the majority at 52 percent (Lehohla 2013). Colored South Africans consist of people of multiethnic descents including black, white, Chinese, and Malay. In subSaharan Africa 43 percent...