Abstract
Positive youth development emerged as a proactive approach to help youth develop into healthy adults through the acquisition of psychosocial skills (Damon, 2004; Holt & Jones, 2008). Female youth from families living on low incomes are at highest risk for poor developmental outcomes and have the lowest levels of physical activity (PHAC, 2006; Wilson et al., 2005). One program currently being implemented in Ottawa designed to help youth develop life skills in order to succeed and develop into healthy adults is the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (GJWHF) program. The purpose of this research was to examine whether the program is perceived as helping female youth develop life skills and whether these life skills are being transferred into other life domains (e.g., school, family). This research used a mixed methods approach and represents an important step in responding to calls for increased evaluation of community-based programs (Salmon et al., 2007) and enhanced understanding of how life skills can be developed and transferred to other life domains (Samuels, 2006; Theokas et al., 2008). Results indicated that the program was successful in facilitating the development of life skills (teamwork, leadership, confidence, communication, respect) and aiding youth transfer such skills to other environments; however it was observed that more deliberate structure is needed within the program to further facilitate the transference of these skills.
