With high rates of poverty and a remarkably young population, Nicaragua is a nation in which the challenges of the future lie in the empowerment of its youth. The role of empowering settings in the development of individual empowerment is well-documented, yet most of this research has been conducted in Western, developed nations. A total of 29 Nicaraguan youth were interviewed to gather information about their aspirations and the settings in which they interact. Participants identified three key community settings and several resource assets and deficits which contribute to the empowerment capacity of these settings. These themes are compared to existing models of empowering settings and adolescent empowerment programs revealing some applicability of these theories.

Paper presented to the 6th Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex, Wichita State University, April 23, 2010.Research completed at the Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences