Exploring the role of relationships as a protective barrier to urban stress & trauma for youth participants of a university-based sports program
Posted by Netter Center for Community Partnerships on May 6, 2025
Gretchen Suess and Paige Lombard of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania presented at the AERA Conference on April 25. The title of their presentation/paper was “Exploring the role of relationships as a protective barrier to urban stress & trauma for youth participants of a university-based sports program.”
Abstract
Successful partnerships require strong relationships for the growth, learning, and development of young people. Relationships serve as a protective barrier against stress and trauma experienced by urban youth. By providing a safe environment that cultivates social skills, university-based youth sports programs can ignite and deepen intrinsic motivation and the social-emotional development of youth, well beyond physical health and athletic competence. This article shares evaluation and research findings from focus groups with 150 participants in the Young Quakers Community Athletics program (YQCA) at the University of Pennsylvania’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships, between 2017 and 2019. Results focus on the importance of coach and mentor training and impacts on youth development and leadership, socialization, and the establishment of strong relationship networks.
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