Figure.
Conceptual model of youth connection and disconnection. Disconnected youth are teenagers and young adults aged 16-24 who are neither in school nor employed.2 The model is built around developmental stages (continuum: connection to underattachment to disconnection) of young people aged 16-24. Protective factors for connection and risk factors for disconnection may affect development at multiple ecological levels: individual, family, school/friends, community, and society/policy. Promotion of connection, prevention of disconnection, and reengagement of disconnected youth with school, employment, or key social supports can be used to target young people universally (all young people), selectively (young people with risk factors), or as indicated (young people showing early signs of disconnection).12,13