Robledo Mayra V, Edwards Michael B, Bocarro Jason N, Behnke Andrew O, Casper Jonathan M
Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States.
School of Family & Consumer Sciences, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, United States.
Front Sports Act Living. 2022 Jun 29;4:869589. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2022.869589. eCollection 2022.
Youth Development Programs (YDPs) can serve as effective mechanisms to alleviate social and psychological adversities while enhancing and developing resilience among youth. Recently, more YDPs have incorporated sport within Sport for Development (SFD) models to achieve these goals. Due to the growing Latino population in the US and the wide achievement gap between Latinos and other demographic populations, there is a need to explore programs that may support individual development as well as long-term change with regard to social inequality. There is also a need to better understand the ecological contexts within SFD programs and how these contexts may support underserved youth. Specifically, using an ecological systems perspective, this study seeks to explore the implementation of a sport program by a YDP in order to examine the ecological processes that may support or inhibit the efficacy of sport programs working with underserved youth. Juntos is a YDP that primarily serves Latinx youth and families by assisting youth with graduating high school and pursuing higher education opportunities. Juntos incorporates two annual soccer tournaments (i.e., Kicking it with Juntos and Copa Unidos). A qualitative case study approach was implemented in two counties in North Carolina. Interviews were conducted with tournament participants, county coordinators and planning committee members. Findings found three key themes related to three ecological levels 1. At the Microsystem level, sport was implemented to engage youth and connect to non-sport program outcomes, but divergent perceptions of goals among stakeholders potentially inhibited intentional implementation. At the Mesosystem level, sport provided a mechanism to engage in collaborative relationships and encouraged parental participation. At the Macrosystem level, sport celebrated Latino culture and attempted to address social barriers facing Latinx youth, but some aspects of culture may have created barriers to access for girls. Findings suggested that while the programs emphasized mesosystem engagement, more integration across exosystem and macrosystem levels may be needed for sustainable outcomes.
青少年发展项目（YDPs）可以作为有效的机制，缓解社会和心理逆境，同时增强和培养青少年的适应力。最近，越来越多的青少年发展项目将体育纳入发展体育模式（SFD）以实现这些目标。由于美国拉丁裔人口不断增加，且拉丁裔与其他人口群体之间存在巨大的成就差距，因此有必要探索能够支持个人发展以及在社会不平等方面实现长期变革的项目。还需要更好地了解发展体育项目中的生态环境，以及这些环境如何支持服务不足的青少年。具体而言，本研究从生态系统的角度出发，旨在探讨一个青少年发展项目实施的体育项目，以检验可能支持或抑制服务不足青少年体育项目效果的生态过程。Juntos是一个青少年发展项目，主要通过帮助青少年高中毕业并追求高等教育机会来服务拉丁裔青少年及其家庭。Juntos每年举办两次足球锦标赛（即“与Juntos一起踢球”和“联合杯”）。在北卡罗来纳州的两个县采用了定性案例研究方法。对锦标赛参与者、县协调员和规划委员会成员进行了访谈。研究结果发现了与三个生态层面相关的三个关键主题：1. 在微观系统层面，实施体育活动是为了吸引青少年并与非体育项目成果相联系，但利益相关者对目标的不同看法可能会阻碍有目的的实施。在中观系统层面，体育提供了一种建立合作关系的机制，并鼓励家长参与。在宏观系统层面，体育弘扬了拉丁裔文化，并试图解决拉丁裔青少年面临的社会障碍，但文化的某些方面可能对女孩参与造成了障碍。研究结果表明，虽然这些项目强调中观系统的参与，但为了实现可持续的成果，可能需要在外部系统和宏观系统层面进行更多整合。
