Promoting Identity Development in Marginalized Youth

Abstract

This studytested a school-based intervention developed for use with urban minority youth vulnerable to multiple negative developmental outcomes. A quasi-experimental design (pre-and post-follow-up with matched comparison condition) was used to evaluate the impact of the intervention on promoting positive change in four developmental domains (skills/knowledge, attitudes, orientations, exploration/commitment) related to identitydevelopment. The final set of participants comprised a matched sample of 92 youngsters, 46 in the intervention and 46 in the comparison condition. Quantitative results indicated that the intervention condition showed positive and significant gains from pre-to posttest on multiple indices, with a tendencytoward the “leveling off” of intervention gains at follow-up. A qualitative assessment of the impact of the intervention illustrated positive effects of the intervention as well as the possible obstacles to intervention efficacy.