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How to build assets in our young people
Asset of the Week: Youth as ResourcesThe Definition of Youth as Resources is: Young people are given useful roles in the community. Did you know that 28% of Waterbury young people report being given useful roles in the community? Just 10 More!! To help Waterbury youth develop just 10 more assets, invite young people to serve on leadership positions in community organizations. Or ask a person to teach you how to do something like how to program your cell phone or use a computer program. The 40 Developmental AssetsThe 40 Developmental Assets were developed by the Search Institute, a non-profit organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Search Institute works to promote the well-being of children and adolescents throughout the nation. Since 1989, the Search Institute has been studying the role of Developmental Assets and their effect on the healthy growth and development of young people in communities around the country. The list of the 40 Developmental Assets grew out of much reading, thinking, and discussion about what young people need to succeed. Once the list was made, researchers compiled a list of studies that support the choices of these assets. In addition, researchers constructed a survey that measures the number of assets in young people's lives, and found that the more assets young people have, the better off they seemed to be. Essentially, these 40 Developmental Assets are building blocks that young people need to grow up healthy, caring and productive citizens. Click for list of the 40 Developmental Assets. (English or Spanish) The 40 Developmental Assets are divided into two categories by their function- external and internal assets. In each asset category the assets are organized by asset type. External assets are positive factors in the environment that provide structure and support for youth. They are relationships and opportunities that young people experience in their families, schools and communities. The external assets are:
Internal assets are commitments, values, competencies, and self-perceptions that provide a positive inner guide for young people. They are competencies and values that youth develop internally to guide behaviors and choices. The internal assets are:
The ResearchResearch consistently finds that young people possess, on average, less than half the assets. This is why it's important to build Developmental Assets for and with young people. On average, the common student has 19.3 assets. Ideally all young people would have between 31 to 40 assets, but only 9% of students surveyed nationally have more than 30 of the 40 assets. Nearly one out of every 7 students surveyed nationally has 10 or fewer assets. Girls report an average of 20.7 assets, while boys report an average of 17.8 assets. Students in rural locations report an average of 19.2 assets, compared to 19.4 assets for urban youth. Despite small differences between groups, what's really striking is the remarkable consistency across groups. The Search Institute has surveyed more than 200,000 students in grades 6 through 12 to determine the relationships between assets and types of behaviors- both risky and thriving behaviors. The study found that the more assets students report having, the less they report that they're involved with risk taking behaviors such as drug and alcohol use, violence, delinquency, sexual activity, depression and suicide. Basically, the more developmental assets a young person reports having the less likely he or she is to get into trouble. Also, the more assets young people report having, the more likely they are to report that they succeed in school and maintain good health. The relationship between high levels of assets and few risky behaviors and more thriving behaviors has held true for ALL young people that the Search Institute has surveyed, no matter their ethnicity, economic situation or geographic location. The Developmental Assets are clearly cumulative in their effect- the more assets that young people have, the more likely they are to report that they engage in safe and healthy behaviors and the less likely they are to report that they engage in high-risk behaviors. All research and analysis conducted by the Search Institute. In WaterburyIn April 2007, the Waterbury Prevention Policy Board surveyed 750 Waterbury 6th and 9th grade public and non-public students. We found that:
By grade level, we found that on average, our 6th graders had 20 assets, while our 9th graders average 17.7 assets. Click here for a more detailed description of the Waterbury Youth Survey results. The youth survey provides the community with base-line data regarding the number of assets Waterbury youth report having. The youth themselves, the end-users of all programs, will be the indicators of the community's successfully promoting positive youth development. In the next few years, students in Waterbury will be surveyed again to asses the gains in developmental assets. The Developmental Assets approach provides this community with results based accountability. The Waterbury Prevention Policy Board also created a survey designed specifically for youth serving agencies and organization. The survey elicited responses about the types of program and the activities that participating organizations were providing. The goal of the survey was to determine what assets agencies and organization were building in Waterbury youth. By measuring assets intentionally delivered in the community, and comparing that to the number of assets Waterbury youth have, the Waterbury PPB will be able to identify gaps and weaknesses and be able to prioritize to fill those gaps. Too many of our young people have too few developmental assets. But the good news is, if we take a little time and look for places to intentionally make a difference by building developmental assets, we can do many things. The things we can do range from the very simple, such as learning young people's names and calling them by their names- to the fairly complex, such as creating an environment in which every young person feels welcome, respected, cared for, and useful. Asset Building IdeasFor more information on how you can build assets in young people:
The 40 Developmental Assets:
Asset Building Ideas and lists of the 40 Developmental Assets created and provided by the Search Institute. Waterbury Champions for Youth NetworkThe Waterbury Champions for Youth Network is a network of individuals trained in the 40 Developmental Assets. The Champions for Youth Network honors and celebrates the work that individuals are doing in regards to building assets within young people. It trains individuals in the 40 Developmental Assets, and encourages them to make a commitment to being more intentional about building Developmental Assets. At the 40 Developmental Assets Training, you will learn about:
Just 10 More!
The Waterbury Prevention Policy Board has challenged the community to build "Just 10 More" Developmental Assets within our youth! To see the challenge and the benefits of increasing the number of Developmental Assets young people have, please click here: Just 10 More! |
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