New research initiative to promote positive youth development

Anthony Burrow and Jane Mendle

The BCTR is pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative called the Program for Research on Youth Development and Evaluation (PRYDE). Continuing the legacy of Urie Bronfenbrenner, the program will link science and service in innovative ways by involving 4-H communities in basic and applied research designed to understand and improve youth experiences.

PRYDE is led by BCTR faculty affiliates Anthony Burrow and Jane Mendle, both faculty members in the Department of Human Development. The program is supported by a BCTR-funded post-doctoral fellow, Jennifer Agans, as well as an advisory committee of 4-H and BCTR faculty and staff including Andy Turner, Karl Pillemer, Elaine Wethington, and Marie Cope. PRYDE’s initial projects include the development of an interactive mapping tool for Cornell faculty and staff to identify 4-H Youth Development programs with populations that meet their research needs, as well as and a new study to examine the role of purpose in youth engagement in 4-H programs.

These activities will lay the groundwork for PRYDE’s primary goal of creating a nationally prominent program for translational research on youth development to benefit the thousands of urban and rural 4-H participants in New York State and beyond. Stay tuned for resources and opportunities to get involved!

Affiliate Anthony Burrow talks about purpose on “Through the Wormhole”

Anthony Burrow, assistant professor of human development and BCTR faculty affiliate, studies the role of purpose in the lives of young people and how and to what extent a sense of purpose can promote positive adjustment outcomes. He is a 2012 BCTR pilot grant recipient for his study Intervening on Purpose and Meaning in Adolescence and has delivered a BCTR Talk at Twelve and a presentation at our annual Youth Development Research Update on the subject.

A recent episode of Through the Wormhole, a program on the Science Channel hosted by Morgan Freeman, features Burrow discussing the motivations for his work and why this area of research holds great promise for promoting healthy lives. The full episode wonders Are We Here for a Reason? Burrow's segment begins at 38:57. The full episode can be viewed for a fee on YouTube.

Through the Wormhole: Are We Here for a Reason? - YouTube

Talks at Twelve: Anthony Burrow & Janis Whitlock

Intervening on Purpose and Meaning in Adolescence
May 14, 2013

Anthony Burrow
Human Development, Cornell University

Janis Whitlock
Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, Cornell University

2012 Youth Development Research Update – clips

Purpose for Youth Coping with Challenges
June 6, 2012

Anthony Burrow
Human Development, Cornell University

2012 Youth Development Research Update – clips

Multiple Paths to Purpose
June 6, 2012

Anthony Burrow
Human Development, Cornell University

2012 Youth Development Research Update – clips

How Can a Sense of Purpose be Fostered?
June 6, 2012

Anthony Burrow
Human Development, Cornell University

2012 Youth Development Research Update – clips

What is Purpose?
June 6, 2012

Anthony Burrow
Human Development, Cornell University

Talks at Twelve: Anthony Burrow & Janis Whitlock, Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Intervening on Purpose and Meaning in Adolescence
Anthony Burrow, Human Devleopment, Cornell University; Janis Whitlock, BCTR, Cornell University

Tuesday, May 14, 2013
12:00-1:00PM
Beebe Hall, 2nd floor conference room

This talk is open to all. Lunch will be served. Metered parking is available in the Plantations lot across the road from Beebe Hall.

This is a BCTR Innovative Pilot Study Grant recipient talk.

Two constructs that are often conceptually tethered to one another are purpose and meaning, and studies suggest that cultivating a sense of either contributes to well-being. However, whether there are significant and unique benefits derived from actively engaging with purpose or meaning during adolescence has not been fully explored. In this talk, we will present an overview of and initial findings from a field-experiment investigating the prospective effects of prompting high-school and college students to briefly write about their sense of purpose, meaning, or a control topic on their daily, short-term, and longer-term adjustment. The discussion will focus both on lessons learned while implementing this intervention in various school contexts as well as elucidating the nuanced ways in which considering purpose and meaning in one’s life may shape adolescents’ adjustment.

Dr. Anthony Burrow is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development at Cornell University. His research examines broadly the significance of developing positive identities and a meaningful sense of direction during adolescence and young adulthood. Dr. Burrow’s primary line of work examines how racial identity, in particular, influences the psychological adjustment to negative experiences reported by minorities. A second line of inquiry concerns the role of identifying and committing to a sense of purpose in life. Both of these research interests emphasize the importance of understanding how cultivating a sense of identity and purpose promote optimal psychosocial adjustment in the everyday lives of young people. Dr. Burrow received his B.A. in Psychology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Florida International University

Dr. Janis Whitlock is a Research Scientist in the Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research and the Director of the Cornell Research Program on Self-Injurious Behavior in Adolescence and Young Adults. She is the author of publications on non-suicidal self-injury in adolescence and young adulthood as well as in youth connectedness to schools and communities. She earned a doctorate in Developmental Psychology from Cornell University (2003) and a Masters of Public Health from UNC Chapel Hill (1994). In addition to research, she has worked in adolescent and women’s health in a variety of clinical, administrative, and education-related capacities for over a decade. Her current research focus includes development of early detection and intervention in mental health and wellbeing for youth in college and community settings, recovery from self-injurious behaviors, parental influence in and experience of young people's self-injury and suicidality, the relationship between connectedness and self-injury and suicide behaviors, and development and evaluation of interventions for youth and parents of self-injurious youth.

BCTR produces series of videos on aspects of youth development

Each year the Youth Development Research Update brings practitioners and researchers together to explore how practitioners can use research findings to benefit young people and to identify questions emerging from the field that researchers have not yet explored.

Following the 2012 Youth Development Research Update, the BCTR produced a series of short video interviews with two of the event speakers. This may an ongoing series, produced after each year's Youth Development Research Update.

Anthony Burrow, Assistant Professor of Human Development, presented research on the significance of developing positive identities and a meaningful sense of direction during adolescence and young adulthood. The short video topics are:

What is Purpose?
How Can a Sense of Purpose be Fostered?
Purpose for Youth Coping with Challenges
Multiple Paths to Purpose

Travis Park, Associate Professor and Director of the Cornell Teacher Education Program, presented research related to disciplinary literacy in formal education, specifically agriculture and career and technical education. The short video topics are:

What is Literacy?
The Focus in Formal Education
Strategies for Literacy Education
Improving Literacy in Informal Youth Settings

Talks at Twelve: Anthony Burrow, Thursday, April 12, 2012

Purpose in Life as an Asset for Positive Adjustment
Anthony Burrow, Assistant Professor, Human Development

Thursday, April 12, 2012
12:00 – 1:00 PM
Beebe Hall, 2nd floor conference room

It has become nearly axiomatic that a purpose in life is a good thing to have. Numerous studies with adults affirm that possessing a meaningful direction and purpose for one’s life corresponds with a host of positive outcomes including greater life satisfaction and fulfillment, positive emotionality, psychological well-being, and resilience to stress. Rarely, however, have researchers asked the extent to which purpose is relevant to adjustment during adolescence, or even if youth are capable of developing such a profound sense of direction for one’s life. In this talk, I will share findings from several studies my colleagues and I have conducted suggesting that not only do many youth consider their purpose in broad and differentiated ways, but that those who are most engaged with this sense may be uniquely equipped to optimally negotiate challenges traditionally thought to thwart adaptive youth development.

Dr. Anthony Burrow is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University. His research examines broadly the significance of developing positive identities and a meaningful sense of direction during adolescence and young adulthood. Dr. Burrow’s primary line of work examines how racial identity, in particular, influences the psychological adjustment to negative experiences reported by minorities. A second line of inquiry concerns the role of identifying and committing to a sense of purpose in life. Both of these research interests emphasis the importance of understanding how cultivating a sense of identity and purpose promote optimal psychosocial adjustment in the everyday lives of young people. Dr. Burrow received his B.A. in Psychology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Florida International University.

Lunch will be served. This talk is open to all.  Metered parking is available across Plantations Rd. in The Plantations lot.