Is Positive Youth Development a Pathway for Sustaining Peace in Tanzania? Predicting Peace Attitudes Among Adolescents

This study examines attitudes about peace, social justice, and community participation among Tanzanian adolescents and explores how positive youth development (PYD) contributes to these attitudes. Despite an absence of major wars and civil conflicts, Tanzania is not insulated from threats to its stability including unemployment, resource inequities, environmental degradation, ethnoreligious tensions, and increased government restrictions on the media and society. The large population of adolescents in Tanzania places additional strain on society. Promoting PYD among adolescents has been identified as a key strategy for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and promoting a peaceful society. In this study, we explore how PYD factors, such as purpose in life, ethnic identity, efficacy, and sense of community are related to attitudes about peace and social justice among Tanzanian adolescents (aged 14–17; N = 1,195). Participants from diverse regions and contexts completed Swahili versions of standardized PYD measures. Results indicated positive attitudes about peace, which were predicted by a combination of sociodemographics, internal assets, and external assets. Results confirm that youth need positive conditions, supports, and actions across multiple contexts to cultivate resilience and peace. PYD programs may apply lessons from this study by focusing on peace education, broader social identities, and positive engaging roles in the community.