Centering Positive Youth Development to Enhance Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education Programming

Adolescence is an ideal time to help youth develop healthy relationship skills that support their lifelong health and well-being. Healthy relationship skills, such as the ability to communicate and collaborate with others and manage conflict, have shown to promote social and emotional health, including perceptions of self-worth, goal achievement, and success in the workplace. This Child Trends brief describes the potential benefits of integrating Positive Youth Development, a developmental framework that focuses on youth’s assets and strengths, into healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) programming to inform the work of HMRE program directors and administrators, as well as the efforts of educators, employers, and a range of youth-serving staff.