Abstract
How personal well-being of adolescents changes over the high school period is not entirely clear in the scientific literature. Using 15 positive youth development (PYD) attributes as indicators of well-being, the current study investigated the related developmental trajectories among a large sample of Hong Kong adolescents from Grade 7 to Grade 12. Individual growth curve modeling revealed that while variation existed across different PYD attributes, nine out of 15 positive youth development attributes declined in the early adolescence but showed a rebound or a slower rate of decline in the late adolescence. The current study serves as a pioneering attempt to chart the normative profiles of Chinese adolescents’ personal well-being over time. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Highlights
Adolescence was traditionally portrayed as a period of “storm and stress” (Hall 1904)
The overarching goal of the current study was to examine the developmental trajectories of positive youth development attributes over high school years to see whether there was any support for the PYD approach
A U-shape curve was observed in the composite PYD attributes (i.e., PYD total score, CBC, PA, PIT, and GPYDQ) with a drop in the early adolescence followed by a rebound or a slower drop in the late adolescence
Summary
Adolescence was traditionally portrayed as a period of “storm and stress” (Hall 1904). The general hypothesis derived from this view is that personal well-being of adolescents would deteriorate during adolescent years. In contrast to the “storm and stress” notion, there are views suggesting that adolescents are able to develop their strengths, maintain their personal well-being, and navigate through the adolescent period successfully (Lerner et al 2013). The proposal that youths thrive in adolescent years can be seen in the positive youth development approach (PYD approach), an alternative approach that regards adolescents as “resource to be developed” and believes in their relative plasticity (Lerner 2004; Roth and Brooks-Gunn 2003)
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