A study from Scot Evans, Youth Sense of Community Voice and Power in Community Contexts, concludes that young people benefit from voice and power in community contexts. They develop a sense of membership and empowerment.

Janis Whitlock found the same thing in her study, The Role of Adults, Public Space and Power in Adolescent Community Connectedness .  A key aspect of quality is to create program structures where youth can choose how they wish to participate, gain skills, and most importantly, have meaningful opportunities to use them.