Exploring Local Parks as a Context For Positive Youth Development

Abstract

Positive youth development (PYD) is a developmental framework that seeks to promote adolescents’ strengths within supportive contexts (Lerner et al., 2021). A model of PYD called the five Cs of PYD evaluates youth development based on five characteristics youth will ideally develop: competence, confidence, connection, character, and caring (Geldhof et al., 2014). When adolescents develop these five Cs, they are hypothesized to be more likely to contribute to their society (Lerner et al., 2005; Lerner, Lerner, Lewin-Bizan, et al., 2011). PYD research has explored contexts that help to promote these developmental outcomes. Much of this research has focused on the effectiveness of programming in organized out-of-school time (OST) settings (Chowa et al., 2023; Lerner et al., 2016; Smith et al., 2016). Such programming has shown to be effective (Sandoval & Bowers, 2025), however, enrollment in after school programming is beginning to decline as parents face barriers of availability, financial constraints, and safe transportation (After School Alliance, 2020).

Local parks are settings that are affordable to use and largely accessible within the United State (National Recreation and Park Association, 2023). Use of local parks has also been associated with increasing individuals’ sense of community (Gómez et al., 2015a), facilitating adolescents’ connection with friends (Seeland et al., 2009), and promoting connection to nature and place (Campbell et al., 2016; Raymond et al., 2010). Local parks are also spaces where adolescents feel a sense of autonomy and freedom from the structure of the world (Fleckney, 2023; K. Lloyd et al., 2008). Despite the positive outcomes associated with park use there has been little empirical research exploring local parks as a context for PYD (Bowers et al., 2021; Garst et al., 2025). Therefore, this dissertation sought to explore local parks as a context for PYD and identify possible facilitators of this relationship.

This dissertation explored the relationship between local park use and PYD through three studies. Study one used structural equation modeling (SEM) to compare sense of community and PYD among adolescents who use local parks and/or attend OST programs. Two groups were examined, adolescents who used local parks and attended OST programs, and adolescents who either only used local parks, or attended OST programming. It was hypothesized that both local park use, and OST program attendance would be positively associated with sense of community and PYD. Furthermore, sense of community was hypothesized to be positively associated with PYD. Findings showed frequency of local park use was positively associated with a greater sense of community and PYD. Interestingly, among adolescents who used both local parks and attended OST programs, frequency of OST program attendance was not significantly associated with PYD. Sense of community was also found to be positively associated with PYD. These findings demonstrate the potential for local parks to be contexts that promote PYD and a sense of community for adolescents.

Study two also used SEM to determine the relationship between local park use and adolescents’ connection to nature and sense of social connection.