Eduardo De la Vega

All Publications

• "Through the Excuse of Football, We Strengthen Medical Services": How Football-Oriented Sport for Development Organizations Prevent Youth Violence by Promoting Healthy Development in Colombia. Qualitative health research De la Vega-Taboada, E., Stephens, D. P., Marín, K. 2025: 10497323251316756

  Abstract

  In the context of persistent violence affecting Colombian youth, this paper investigates the role of football-oriented Sport for Development (SfD) organizations in mitigating adolescent violence. Through in-depth interviews, 10 non-governmental organizations' (NGOs) leaders that are part of the Gol y Paz network presented their perspectives on factors exposing plural adolescents to violence, the strategies they implement to prevent violence, and the challenges they face running their organizations across these contexts. Results showed that adolescent vulnerability to violence in Colombia is influenced by various factors, including entrenched gender norms and inadequate institutional and familial support systems and the prevalence of drug trafficking in their communities. Football-oriented SfD NGOs operate as protective buffers for youth, fostering socio-emotional resilience through the creation of safe spaces and connecting young people to institutional services. The paper reinforces football's potential to serve as a peacebuilding tool by allowing NGOs to implement programs even in regions where violence is prevalent. Collaboration among NGOs, while faced with challenges, is presented as a pivotal component of a comprehensive violence prevention strategy. In conclusion, this paper identifies SfD NGOs as essential contributors to preventing youth violence in Colombia. They play a pivotal role not only by establishing free of violence spaces but also by fostering integral healthy development in youth. Additionally, these NGOs enhance collaboration to drive sustainable change.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/10497323251316756

  View details for PubMedID 40105471

• Community Fútbol Coaches Working Together to Prevent Violence and Promote Positive Youth Development in Colombia JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY De la Vega-Taboada, E., Guerra, A., Rieder, E., Frazier, S. L., Cruz, J., Jalali, M. S., Stephens, D. P. 2024; 34 (6)

  View details for DOI 10.1002/casp.2895

  View details for Web of Science ID 001368170600001

• Fostering collective action for adolescent well-being: citizen science in a Colombian semi-rural area. Health promotion international Guerra, A. M., De La Vega-Taboada, E., Sarmiento, O. L., Banchoff, A., King, A. C., Stephens, D., Revollo, L. D., Revollo, A. P., Montes, F. 2024; 39 (5)

  Abstract

  We present findings from the Our Voice in Barú project, examining adolescent engagement in citizen science to address environmental and social factors affecting well-being in a semi-rural Afro-descendant community in Latin America. The project aimed to identify barriers and enablers of well-being, informing adolescent-led actions for sustainable environmental changes relevant to adolescent health. Utilizing the Our Voice citizen science method, which involved technology-enabled walks, participatory cartography workshops and community meetings, we engaged adolescents and other community members. Complex systems framework was employed to analyze results and assess the promotion of collective action and local change. Local enablers of well-being included availability of quality sports and recreational venues as safe spaces, educational settings and cultural aspects, fostering safety, community pride, and personal growth. Conversely, barriers included environmental contamination, deteriorated sports venues and drug addiction, indicating the community's limited access to services and exposure to harmful substances. Adolescent citizen scientists, in partnership with the research team and relevant community decision-makers, successfully achieved changes aimed at identified barriers, including infrastructural enhancements like the repair of pumps to remove stagnant water, improvements in the quality and safety of recreational venues, and the implementation of community-led initiatives to address substance abuse and promote healthier behaviors. The Our Voice in Barú project empowered adolescents to advocate for change and promoted collective action to tackle barriers identified as significant to their well-being.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/heapro/daae144

  View details for PubMedID 39471398

• Adolescent Social Networks and Physical Intimate Partner Violence Among Colombian Rural Adolescents. Journal of aggression, maltreatment & trauma Rodríguez de la Rosa, A. L., Stephens, D., Montes, F., Sarmiento, O. L., De la Vega-Taboada, E. L., Eaton, A., Compo, N. S., Madhivanan, P. 2024; 33 (3): 311-333

  Abstract

  The current study analyzes individual and social network correlates of adolescent engagement in physical intimate partner violence (IPV) utilizing socio-centric data from a high-school population of 242 adolescents from rural Colombia. We studied self-reported victimization and perpetration for boys and girls. First, we used logistic regression to explore the relationship between adolescents' IPV engagement and school peers' IPV engagement, school violence victimization, and social network position, controlling for gender and age (N=111). Second, we used social network statistical methods to investigate if there were more friendships of similar IPV status to the adolescent than expected by chance in their social networks. Our results show that the proportion of friends perpetrating physical IPV increased the probability of adolescents' IPV perpetration. Contrarywise, the proportion of friends experiencing IPV victimization decreased with the adolescent's own victimization. Being a victim (a status significantly more common among boys) was also associated with reporting perpetration for both genders. Furthermore, our results contradicted the social network literature, as we found no preferential ties among perpetrators/victims (e.g., adolescents do not seem to befriend each other by IPV engagement). Our study is unique to the global adolescent IPV literature given the scarcity of research examining physical IPV among adolescents in the context of both girls and boys in the context of their school networks. We also add to the understanding of IPV in the case of the global majority of adolescents with the highest rates of IPV victimization (living in Low and Middle-Income Countries).

  View details for DOI 10.1080/10926771.2023.2238631

  View details for PubMedID 38715977

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11073795

• Fútbol Con Corazón: The Cultural Roots and Health Promoting Value of Soccer for Latino Families in the United States. Journal of Sport for Development De la Vega-Taboada, E., Perez-Del Oro, J., Stephens, D. P., et al 2024; 12 (1): 15
• Colombian Adolescents' Perceptions of Violence and Opportunities for Safe Spaces Across Community Settings JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT RESEARCH de la Vega-Taboada, E., Rodriguez, A., Barton, A., Stephens, D. P., Cano, M., Eaton, A., Frazier, S., Rodriguez, A., Cortecero, A. 2025; 40 (1): 161-191

  View details for DOI 10.1177/07435584231164643

  View details for Web of Science ID 000965523300001

• Our Voice in a rural community: empowering Colombian adolescents to advocate for school community well-being through citizen science. BMC public health Montes, F., Guerra, A. M., Higuera-Mendieta, D., De La Vega-Taboada, E., King, A. C., Banchoff, A., Maturana, A. C., Sarmiento, O. L. 2022; 22 (1): 2411

  Abstract

  BACKGROUND: Santa Ana is home to an Afro-descendant rural population of the island of Baru in Cartagena, Colombia. While a popular area for tourism, Santa Ana's population is affected by multidimensional poverty, precarious work conditions, homelessness, broken streets and sewer systems, limited quality education, and a lack of recreation and sport spaces. While Santa Ana's Community Action Board aims to unify efforts and resources to solve these problems, the state's capacity to meet the requirements of the Board is limited.METHODS: We evaluated the relationship between healthy lifestyles and characteristics of Santa Ana's school using the Our Voice Citizen Science Research Method. This systemic approach combines information and communication technologies with group facilitation to empower adolescents to: 1) collect and discuss data about factors in their local environments that facilitate or hinder well-being within their school community; 2) identify relevant local stakeholders who could help to address the issues identified; and 3) advocate collectively for local improvements to support increased well-being at a community level.RESULTS: Eleven citizen scientists ages 13 to 17years from the science club of Institucion Educativa Santa Ana were recruited and together conducted 11 walks within the school to collect data about the facilitators and barriers to student well-being. They identified barriers to well-being related to school infrastructure, furniture, bathrooms, and sense of belonging. They then advocated with school stakeholders and reached agreements on concrete actions to address identified barriers, including fostering a culture among students of caring for school property and presenting their findings to the community action board. This methodology allowed the community to realize how students can become agents of change and take collective action when motivated by solution-oriented methodologies such as Our Voice. Project ripple effects, including greater empowerment and participation in collective actions by students, also were observed.CONCLUSIONS: This study underscores the importance of the school's built environment in the well-being of students in rural areas. The Our Voice method provided the opportunity to inform school-based interventions, and promoted ripple effects that expanded productive dialogue to the community level and generated systemic actions involving actors outside of the school community.

  View details for DOI 10.1186/s12889-022-14559-x

  View details for PubMedID 36550541