ABSTRACT
In Australia, a significant proportion of young people aged between 11 and 18 years take part in youth-development programs that are provided by organisations such as the Australian Defence Force, Scouts Australia, Duke of Edinburgh Award, Emergency Services Cadets, YMCA and Young Endeavour. Youth-development research and thinking has tended to be associated with a transition' approach to young people. It focuses on development' has tended to have a linear quality that is often aligned with psychological theories of maturation and development. The literature review was prepared by Anne Hugo to inform the Generic Youth Development Framework. The overwhelming majority of the available literature is focused on identifying and measuring specific, discrete skills that programs promote. The literature tends to be framed within the related fields of youth transitions and youth development, which position youth-development programs as a form of intervention in young people's progression from youth to adulthood or as a preventive approach that is, preventing crime and anti-social behaviour.
