Abstract
This article describes the background, development, and validation of the strengths-based, youth-driven Youth Thrive Survey which measures the 5 protective and promotive factors delineated in the Youth Thrive Framework; specifically: youth resilience, social connections, knowledge of adolescent development, concrete support in times of need, and cognitive and social-emotional competence. Draft instruments were created that included new items and adapted items from existing validated instruments. Revisions were based on feedback from young people who participated in focus groups, cognitive interviews, and field-testing. Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to measure internal consistency and reliability of the full instrument and the 5 protective and promotive factor subscales. Principal component analyses revealed items that did not fit well within the instrument structure and subsequently were eliminated. Analyses of the final version of the instrument showed that the Youth Thrive Survey has high levels of internal consistency and reliability. All alphas for the subscales were greater than 0.80 and the alpha for the full instrument was 0.963. This web-based, self-report survey is appropriate for use by organizations serving young people ages 12 to 26, both those who are involved with child welfare and juvenile justice systems and those who have no history of such involvement. It can be used for assessment and case planning with youth, program evaluation, and continuous quality improvement. The Youth Thrive Survey, available in English and Spanish, shows great promise and utility for organizations that employ positive youth development approaches.
Highlights
The Youth Thrive Protective and Promotive Factors FrameworkIntroduced in 2011, the Youth Thrive (YT) Framework is an approach for supporting healthy development for all youth and young adults, including those involved in intervening public systems and those who have experienced trauma and other significant challenges
The results of the initial validation study provide evidence that the Youth Thrive Survey shows potential to be a valid and reliable web-based, self-report instrument designed to measure the presence of the five protective and promotive factors delineated in the Youth Thrive Framework, a framework that reflects the core principles of the positive youth development (PYD) approach
At the foundation of the YT Framework are five interrelated variables that are simultaneously protective factors—which reduce the impact of negative life experiences, and promotive factors—which advance healthy development and well-being
Summary
Introduced in 2011, the Youth Thrive (YT) Framework is an approach for supporting healthy development for all youth and young adults (ages 9 to 26), including those involved in intervening public systems (e.g., child welfare, juvenile justice, behavioral health) and those who have experienced trauma and other significant challenges. The YT protective and promotive factors are youth resilience, social connections, knowledge of adolescent development, concrete support in times of need, and cognitive and social–emotional competence. Taken together, these factors are individual and relational processes, characteristics, and abilities, as well as community and social conditions, which help to accomplish the following:. Researchers (see, e.g., American Psychological Association, 2019; Easterbrooks et al, 2013; National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2015) report that resilience, social connections, knowledge development, concrete support, and cognitive and social–emotional competence are facilitated by environments and experiences that meet the following goals: 1. The psychometric properties of the instrument that were derived from a multistage validation process are provided
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