Developmental Assets Profile Research Articles

The Relationship Between Developmental Assets and Food Security in Adolescents From a Low-Income Community

PurposeTo explore the association between developmental assets (characteristics, experiences, and relationships that shape healthy development) and food insecurity among adolescents from a low-income urban community. MethodsThis mixed-methods study occurred in two phases. In phase 1, using a census approach, 2,350 6th to 12th graders from the public school district completed an anonymous survey that included the developmental assets profile (DAP), the youth self-report form of the Core Food Security Module, and demographic questions. Logistic and multinomial regression analyses determined independent associations between developmental assets and food security adjusting for demographics. In phase 2, 20 adult key informant interviews and four semistructured student focus groups were performed to explain findings from phase 1. ResultsOn average, DAP scores were consistent with national norms. Food insecurity was prevalent; 14.9% reported low food security and 8.6% very low food security (VLFS). Logistic regression revealed that higher DAP was associated with lower odds of food insecurity (odds ratio [OR], .96; 95% confidence interval [CI], .95–.97); family assets drove this association (OR, .93; 95% CI, .91–.95). In multinomial regression modeling, these associations persisted, and paradoxically, higher community assets were also associated with VLFS (ORVLFS, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.04–1.13). Qualitative analyses suggested that greater need among VLFS youth led to increased connections to community resources despite barriers to access such as stigma, home instability, and cultural differences. ConclusionFood insecurity is a pervasive problem among adolescents from low-income communities and is associated with lower developmental assets, particularly family assets. The fact that community assets were higher among VLFS youth underscores the importance of community-level resources in struggling areas.

A Longitudinal Study of Family Socioeconomic Status (SES) Variables as Predictors of Socio-Emotional Resilience Among Mentored Youth

In this study, we explored socioeconomic status (SES) and family structure as predictors of resiliencies among at-risk youth before and after participating in schools-based mentoring programs. Twenty-four youths (13 girls) aged 13–18 (M = 16.21, SD = 1.76) participated. Youths completed pre- and post-test Developmental Assets Profile questionnaires, which assessed internal (e.g. social competence) and external (e.g. support) assets. Partial correlations (age, number of siblings controlled) indicated gains in internal and external assets were associated with lower family SES. These associations were predominantly due to links between maternal occupational status and child outcomes. Maternal education was not a unique predictor of risk among youth, suggesting that more proximal factors may impact the efficacy of youth mentoring.

YOUTH SOCCER ATHLETES’ INVOLVEMENT IN DIFFERENT SPORT PRACTICE CONTEXTS

The sport can serve as an informal educational context, helping the youth development positive values and healthy habits. The ecological theories give importance to the contexts where the individual are...

Exploring the Impact of a Wilderness-Based Positive Youth Development Program for Urban Youth

Young people today face a multitude of challenges, especially when growing up in an urban environment. Risk factors such as poverty, exposure to gangs, drugs, and community and family violence threaten healthy development. The positive youth development (PYD) approach attempts to combat these personal and environmental challenges by providing youth with positive, asset-building experiences and meaningful, supportive relationships. There is a need for creative youth development programming that brings these two elements together in a structured and voluntary context, such as a wilderness-based program. This study explored the impact of a PYD program that utilizes mentor-supported wilderness expeditions to build developmental assets among a diverse sample of 159 urban youth in the United States. The Developmental Assets Profile was administered pre- and post-program, as well as 90 days post-program. Quantitative findings show that this type of programming can be an asset-building experience for youth facing multiple risk factors.

Building Developmental Assets to Empower Adolescent Girls in Rural Bangladesh: Evaluation of Project Kishoree Kontha

Kishoree Kontha (“Adolescent Girls' Voices”) was implemented in Bangladeshi villages to build the developmental assets (e.g., support from others, social competencies) of rural girls through peer education in social skills, literacy, and school learning. The Developmental Assets Profile (DAP) measured the project's impact on ecological and individual assets. Analysis of two cohorts involving more than 600 intervention and 400 control adolescents (Mage = 13.5) showed a significant increase in project girls' developmental assets, with an average effect size, net of contamination and control group scores, of .80. The results suggest the Project's effectiveness in improving human and social capital for vulnerable adolescent girls living in rural Bangladesh villages, and the utility of the DAP as a cross‐culturally relevant measurement tool.

Beyond a bed: Support for positive development for youth residing in emergency shelters

Abstract This study examines environmental and personal characteristics that support positive development among youth residing in emergency shelters. The Developmental Assets Profile (DAP; Search Institute 2005 ) was used to measure external and internal developmental assets and adapted to additionally measure agency assets, i.e., external assets specific to the shelter setting. Eighty-two youth completed the DAP and additional measures of psychosocial functioning (distress, life satisfaction, health behavior, program satisfaction, caregiver relationships, and academic functioning) during shelter stay. At admission, youth asset scores were positively correlated with measures of healthy functioning. Youth ratings for agency assets were significantly higher than external asset ratings. Youth completing multiple surveys reported decreases in distress and increases in life satisfaction, health behavior, positive caregiver relationship, and internal assets during shelter stay. Results extend research on developmental assets and underscore the value of opportunities for positive development among homeless youth and the agencies that serve them.

EXPLORING DEVELOPMENTAL ASSETS IN UGANDAN YOUTH

Ugandan youth face a number of threats to their healthy development including poverty, high rates of disease, civil conflict, and environmental degradation. Cultivating developmental competencies is critical, not only for youth, but also for the future of Ugandan communities and civil society. In this article, we highlight contextual challenges facing Ugandan youth, report exploratory results on “standard” measures of developmental assets, and discuss the utility of a positive youth development (PYD) framework in Uganda. Despite difficult circumstances, our results indicated high levels of internal and external assets as assessed with the Developmental Assets Profile (DAP). The DAP demonstrated acceptable internal consistencies and was correlated with two other measures of youth assets, self-efficacy, and civic action. Although researchers should proceed with caution when using psychometric measures in new cultural contexts, our results provide preliminary support for the use of the DAP and a PYD framework for advancing adolescent research and programming in Uganda.

Tradução do Sources of enjoyment in youth sport questionnaire do development assents profile para jovens atletas portugueses

The enjoyment is a predictor of sport adhesion and maintenance, which has showed positive effects on youth development. During the development process the youth athlete is influenced by his intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics. This study aims for obtain two instruments in Portuguese version, contributing to the youth context analysis and interventions. A translation of Sources of Enjoyment and Youth Sport Questionnaire and of Developmental Assets Profile (DAP) was made, and the final scale submitted to 272 youth athletes, with ages between 12 and 18 years. The exploratory factor analysis identified five factors for the SEYSQ and five factor for DAP. The confirmatory factor analysis as showed the adjustment to the five factors model for SEYSQ and the model with 2 high order factor and 5 sub factors for DAP. The Portuguese version of the instruments appears to be able for using in future research.

Youth Developmental Assets in Global Perspective: Results from International Adaptations of the Developmental Assets Profile

The Developmental Assets Profile (DAP) measures young people’s reported experience of eight categories of developmental assets known to be linked to numerous indicators of well-being, including Support, Empowerment, Boundaries and Expectations, Constructive Use of Time, Commitment to Learning, Positive Values, Social Competencies, and Positive Identity. The DAP scales were found to have acceptable to good alpha reliabilities, stability reliabilities, and validity in U.S. sample field testing. DAP data have been or are currently being collected in more than a dozen countries. This paper reports on DAP data from five countries whose DAP samples were sufficiently large—Albania, Bangladesh, Japan, Lebanon, and the Philippines—to warrant an initial summary of how well the DAP appears to work in a range of diverse cultural settings, and how the youth asset profiles observed in those studies compare to U.S. levels found in the development of the DAP. Most of the DAP subscales had acceptable internal consistency reliabilities, and some had acceptable stability reliabilities, in these international samples. Where validity was examined, findings were similar to results found for U.S. samples. These results suggest that the DAP can be effectively adapted and used to study positive youth development in other cultural settings, including, with some qualifications, use in youth program monitoring, evaluation, and improvement. Across all countries, including the U.S., the least well-experienced asset scale was Constructive Use of Time, and the least asset-rich context was Community. These results help illuminate those aspects of youths’ developmental experience that appear to be important and similarly-experienced parts of adolescent development regardless of the adolescent's cultural context. The study thus has potentially important contributions to make in the realms of cross-cultural psychology, developmental psychology, community psychology, and applied developmental science.

Developmental Assets: Profile of Youth in a Juvenile Justice Facility

Possessing high numbers of developmental assets greatly reduces the likelihood of a young person engaging in health-risk behaviors. Since youth in the juvenile justice system seem to exhibit many high-risk behaviors, the purpose of this study was to assess the presence of external, internal, and social context areas of developmental assets in at-risk youth attending a northeast Missouri juvenile justice center. Male and female middle and high school students moved to a residential juvenile justice center voluntarily completed the Developmental Assets Profile (DAP) instrument during a regularly scheduled "intake" session. Most respondents reported lacking risk-protective factors in the internal and social context areas. Respondents noted their lack of community involvement in the social context area and their overinvolvement with negative influences in the internal context area. Specifically in the internal and external context areas, most respondents reported having trouble with substance abuse and not having positive peer or parental support. In the social context area, many noted that they wanted to do well in activities and were encouraged to do well; however, they scored service to others and involvement in religious groups or activities as low. Students who lack protective qualities, especially those who do not feel committed to their community, are more likely to be involved in substance abuse and risky behaviors. School-community partnerships may provide the targeted health protective factors that encourage more community involvement and more positive health behaviors in these youth.

An Evaluation of Personal and Contextual Factors in Competitive Youth Sport

Because millions of youth are involved in sport, the sport context is important to consider in advancing the growth experiences of young people (Côté et al., 2007; Fraser-Thomas et al., 2005). Furthermore, research in developmental psychology has highlighted the value of structured programs, including sport, in helping to promote positive youth development (Fredricks & Eccles, 2006). Youth sport involvement has been linked to high levels of enjoyment (Scanlan et al., 1989), however, negative outcomes, such as burnout, have also been reported (Gould et al., 1996). In the present study, the Developmental Assets Profile (Search Institute, 2004) was used to explore personal (internal assets) and contextual (external assets) outcomes associated with youth sport. Results suggest that three particular assets (positive identity, empowerment, and support) are important to focus on in youth sport programs to decrease burnout symptoms and enhance enjoyment. Path analyses were also conducted to test a proposed model and exploratory results confirmed links of particular assets to sport outcomes. The results are discussed in terms of integration with Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory (1999) and recommendations are suggested for sport programmers to consider to develop these assets within youth sport.