About Youth Compass

We have developed an approach that addresses the urgent need for rule-breaking - such as crime - prevention and increased prosocial behaviours for young people.

Youth Compass is the first ever evidence-based programme designed to help young people positively develop morality in line with rule compliance, building on emotional aptitudes.

It is also among the first interventions to explicitly focus on increasing law-relevant morality as a way of encouraging pro-social thinking and behaviour.

We carried out a unique review to explore the optimal conditions under which interventions like this are more likely to be effective, producing the desired outcomes for young people (Trivedi-Bateman and Crook, 2022).

We believe it's essential that interventions are theory-led and evidence-based to avoid simply "hoping for the best" while ensuring the principles and techniques used have been successfully tested.

About the programme

The programme is suitable for young people, aged 11-17 years. Its design is flexible and can be adapted to suit the needs and availability of practitioners and participants - and is suitable for use by school staff, youth workers, youth offending teams and in any other youth organisation. 

Combining facilitator-led discussions with practical interactive exercises – including creative tasks such as drawing, reflecting on music and videos, real and imagined scenario discussions, moral dilemmas and debates, and mindfulness – it guides participants through a range of topics, including: 

  • Empathy
    Understanding and responding to others’ emotional states
  • Moral rules
    Exploring why behaviour is viewed as right or wrong, and the role of rules, laws and regulations
  • Moral emotions
    Exploring the shame and guilt that can impact decision-making for anti-social behaviour and crime
  • Emotion management and regulation
    Developing constructive responses to difficult situations, including mindfulness
  • Peer resistance
    Developing strategies to build resilience to resist negative peer pressure and avoid rule-breaking