Gender and Positive Youth Development

Abstract. The positive youth development (PYD) perspective suggests that thriving leads to participation and contribution. All nations working to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Ghana, face challenges in their efforts to ensure that all youth have equal opportunities to thrive. The study design was cross-sectional and participants were 858 Ghanaian adolescents attending senior high school (44% girls). We explored thriving indicators as reflected by the 5Cs of PYD (i.e., confidence, competence, connection, character, and caring) in light of the adolescents’ gender and socio-economic background. Results indicated that boys scored higher on competence relative to girls and that girls scored higher on caring relative to boys. No significant differences were found for socio-economic background. Cultural norms and socialization processes that perpetuate gender inequality may be important to understanding the observed gender differences. Implications of these results are considered in light of efforts to achieve SDGs in Ghana.