Community Programs to Promote Youth Development (2002) / Chapter Skim
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3 Personal and Social Assets that Promote Well-Being
3 Personal and Social Assets that Promote Well-Being
Pages 66-85
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From page 66... ...
We have chosen to use all of them interchangeably to describe the condition of positive development. We are using these terms to convey the idea of appropriately positive development that reflects the individual's capabilities, limitations, and cultural milieu.
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From page 67... ...
It involves value judgments regarding what is good as well as comprehensive longitudinal research on the links between youth characteristics and adult outcomes. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the many positive assets suggested by both scientists and practitioners and then summarize the empirical foundation supporting these suggestions.
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From page 68... ...
evidence that particular characteristics predict positive indicators of adult well-being and of a "successful"3 transition to normative adult statuses; and (3) evidence that the experimental manipulation or training of particular characteristics produces changes on other indicators of either 3Again we use the term "successful" cautiously, since what is a successful transition to adulthood is likely to be culturally specific and hotly contested across groups.
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From page 69... ...
Consequently, they have turned to longitudinal studies as one way to study these associations over time in the complexity of the real world. However, although longitudinal studies provide information about hypothesized causal relations, obtained relations may reflect the impact of variables not measured in the study (for example, see Damon and Lerner, 1998; Robins and Robertson, 1998; Rutter, 2000, for discussions of this issue)
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From page 70... ...
, a desire to master the learning tasks one is confronted with in life (mastery motivation) , a strong desire to be socially connected, the ability to control and regulate one's emotions (good emotional coping skills)
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From page 71... ...
; positive personal identity; commitment to positive use of time; and a sense of autonomy and "mattering." Others have added good physical health, cultural knowledge and skills, the ability to navigate across multiple cultural contexts and groups, creativity, the skills needed to get and keep a job, and strong institutional attachments. Finally, in one of the most parsimonious lists, Connell, Gambone, and Smith (2000)
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From page 72... ...
concluded that the following characteristics are key for resilience: good cognitive skills; good social skills and an engaging personality; self-confidence, self-esteem, and a sense of personal efficacy; good self-regulation skills; good coping and adaptation skills; good health; strong social connections to family; strong social connections to prosocial organizations and networks, such as schools, faith-based institutions, community organizations, and service-related clubs and organizations; and spirituality or a sense of meaningfulness. Clausen (1993)
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From page 73... ...
There is, however, a growing body of research suggesting that some behaviors have direct health benefits for adolescents in addition to reducing risks of illness and death in the adult years. Two behaviorsphysical activity and healthy eating have strong support for their beneficial health effects for young people.
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From page 74... ...
In addition, there is some evidence that regular physical activity bolsters self-esteem and self-confidence, important determinants of psychological and social functioning (Taffee and Manzer,1992; Brown and Harrison, 1 986~. In the United States, overnourishment, not undernourishment, is a major health issue, and much of the research on diet has focused on obesity.
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From page 75... ...
Most interventions to promote healthy diets and physical activity for youth have been conducted in schools (Resnicow et al., 1996~. There is less empirical work that assesses the effectiveness of community programs to improve their diet and physical activity (Pate et al., 2000~.
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From page 76... ...
Academic success is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful predictors of both present and future well-being, including mental health, school completion and ultimate educational attainment, ultimate occupational attainment, prosocial values and behaviors, good relations with parents and prosocial friends, high levels of volunteerism, and low levels of involvement in such problematic behaviors as risky sexual behavior, drug and alcohol abuse, and involvement in criminal activities (e.g., Alexander et al., 1993,1994; Clausen, 1993; Elder, 1998; Elder and Conger, 2000; Entwisle and Alexander, 1993; Entwisle et al., 1987; lessor et al., 1991; Scales and Leffert, 1999; Schweinhart et al., 1993; Werner and Smith, 1982, 1992~. Interestingly, the link of academic success in school to mental health and self-esteem is much weaker for blacks and for females (Eccles et al., 19991.
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From page 77... ...
It seems likely that any personal or cultural characteristic that lowers the value attached to academic achievement will serve to both reduce the connection between academic success and subsequent mental health and lessen adolescents' commitment to working hard to do well in school. Furthermore, it is likely that cultural norms and values that stress adult outcomes not linked to education and competitive occupational pursuits will also reduce the value attached to school-based academic achievement during the adolescent years.
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From page 78... ...
They define habits of mind in terms of approaching challenging intellectual tasks and new learning opportunities with active reasoning and "deep" and recurring inquiry and questioning, experimentation, continual monitoring of one's learning, continual attempts to apply new learning to novel situations, and being intellectually curious about one's world. Both correlational studies and experimental interventions have demonstrated that these cognitive approaches facilitate new learning, persistence in the face of failure, and generalization of what one has learned to new situations (National Research Council, 1999; DeLoache et al., 1998; Jackson and Davis, 2000; Pintrich and Schunk, 1996 for reviews)
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From page 79... ...
However, little research has been conducted on American Indian youth, recent immigrant populations, or Hispanics. Finally, intervention efforts to change some of these assets have shown positive consequences for other indicators of positive development, such as school success, positive transitions into the labor market, and both avoidance of and reduction in problem behaviors.
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From page 80... ...
Similarly, good support is emerging for the potential importance of positive and coherent social identities (identities related to one's membership in a social group, such as male or female, black, Hispanic, Jewish, Catholic, Irish, etch. A few recent studies have found that having a strong positive ethnic identity is associated with having high self-esteem, a strong commitment to doing well in school, a strong sense of purpose in life, great confidence in one's own personal efficacy, and high academic achievement (e.g., Beauvais, 2000; Boykin, 1986; Cross, 1991, 1995; Ford and Harris, 1996; Phelan and Davidson, 1993; Phinney, 1990, 1990; Fisher et al., 1998; Spencer, 1995; Tatum, 1997~.
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From page 81... ...
Social Development There is very strong concurrent and longitudinal correlational evidence of the predictive importance of connectedness, being valued by the larger society, and institutional attachments for positive youth development. These social assets predict school success, mastery of all types of "taught" skills, long-term educational and occupational attainment, good mental health, positive personal and social identities, confidence in one's efficacy, optimism, and good self-regulation skills of all kinds.
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From page 82... ...
Conclusions We have reviewed what is known about the relation of a set of personal and social assets widely acknowledged as important for development to both adolescent well-being and functioning and the successful transition into adulthood. We used three types of empirical studies in this review: studies linking the personal and social assets listed in Box 31 to indicators of positive current development, studies linking these characteristics to indicators of future positive adult development, and experimental studies designed to change the asset under study.
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From page 83... ...
We found strong correlational support for the relation of most of the assets listed in Box 3-1 with indicators of both positive development during adolescents and the successful transition into adulthood. Because of the recency of interest in the role of cultural understanding and tolerance and social identities, few studies document the association of these assets to well-being.
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From page 84... ...
This information, in conjunction with the material discussed in the next chapter, can help program developers design programs, funders decide what kinds of programs to fund, and evaluators to design or select appropriate implementation and outcome measures. Based on the material summarized in this chapter, the committee identified a set of personal and social assets that both represent healthy development and well-being during adolescence and facilitate a successful transition from childhood, through adolescence, and into adulthood.
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From page 85... ...
On the other hand, excessive and prolonged exposure to negative life events, dangerous settings, and inadequate schooling are likely to undermine young people's life chances despite their assets. Young people need continued exposure to positive experiences, settings, and people as well as abundant opportunities to gain and refine their life skills in order to support the acquisition and growth of these assets.
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