Strength-building programs
Positive youth development programs are all those programs in schools and community organizations, based on universal strength-building as a way to prepare youth for the challenges of adulthood in a rapidly changing world. They may be sports, religious or social programs; they may be school-based or community-based efforts. They may involve training teachers, training students, or supporting and training parents.

Preventing risky behavior won’t guarantee success
Avoiding school failure and staying off drugs and out of fights does not, and never will, equal personal and professional success.

Problem-free does not mean fully prepared. What is needed is a massive conceptual shift — from thinking that youth problems are merely the principal barrier to youth development, to thinking that youth development serves as the most effective strategy for the prevention of youth problems (Pittman, 1991).

Exciting but volatile world is context
Today’s youth will enter adulthood in a world that is dramatically different from anything their parents or teachers have previously experienced. For the first time in the history of the world, large numbers of people will live in a social and political context that is both free and diverse. Making this exciting, but potentially volatile, combination work for them will require a more sophisticated set of personal and social skills than ever has been required before.

Evidence of effectiveness

Positive outcomes
Some, but not all, positive youth development programs have been shown to be effective. That is, the evidence shows a link to positive outcomes, including better school attendance, higher academic performance, healthier peer and adult interactions, improved decision-making abilities, and less substance use and risky sexual behavior (Catalano 2002).

Value of consistency and adaptation
Research has shown that having a method to maintain implementation consistency from group to group, or site to site, is important to program success (Catalano). However, research has also shown that the ability to adapt a program to site-specific opportunities and constraints is necessary for long terms sustainability (Backer, Brounstein, 2002). The capacity to offer both fidelity and adaptation may account for the unprecedented success of Ripple Effects computer-based programs for promotion, prevention and intervention (Ray 2000, Stern and Repa, 2002, Roona, 2004, De Long, 2006).

How much time is needed?
Experts agree that programs require sufficient time for evidence of behavior change to occur, and to be measured. In general, long term programs are more effective than one shot programs for universal promotion (Greenberg, 2002). However, a single dose of intervention has been shown to be very effective when individualized to a particular student, facing a particular challenge. What the minimum effective dosage is has not been empirically proven. Several major universal promotion programs are designed for continuous delivery over a full school year. However, few school districts have the time to devote a whole year to such a program, so flexibility in program design is important.

Ripple Effects as stand alone or supplement
Ripple Effects training software for teens and middle elementary students has been shown to be an effective supplement for a range of research-based programs. It has also successfully been used as a stand-alone, long-term continuous program for positive youth development.