Page 19 - Ana Kozina and Nora Wiium, eds. ▪︎ Positive Youth Development in Contexts. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2021. Digital Library, Dissertationes (Scientific Monographs), 42.
P. 19
positive youth development and thriving in norwegian youth
students in Ghana, Wiium (2017) considered the experience of developmen-
tal assets among students together with how the assets influenced thriving.
While more than half the students had experienced all four internal assets,
a similar share had not experienced several of the assets in support and
constructive use of time (external assets). At least 56% reported possessing
five indicators of thriving, with only 1.4% reporting they had all seven of
Benson’s (2007) thriving indicators that were being assessed. Regarding the
associations between developmental assets and thriving among the univer-
sity students in Ghana, correlation analysis revealed several positive associ-
ations between the two sets of variables, while only three of the internal as-
set categories (commitment to learning, positive values and positive identity)
maintained their significance (although it was marginal for the first two as-
set categories) in multivariate analysis. The internal assets explained 21% of
the variance in a composite variable reflecting the number of thriving indi-
cators reported, while the external developmental assets did not have much
effect and only explained 1%.
Similar findings emerged in a US study (Scales et al., 2000) where it
was observed that the more developmental assets a young person had ac-
cess to, the higher the probability that they would also report indicators of
thriving. This was particularly evident for the thriving indicators of school
success, overcoming adversity, physical health, and delayed gratification.
Developmental assets contributed 10% to 43% of the variance in the thriv-
ing indicators. Other studies confirming the cumulative effect of the de-
velopmental assets on thriving or positive development include a study by
Adams et al. (2018) in which developmental assets, internal assets in par-
ticular, assessed as one composite factor, were found to facilitate academic
performance in youth living in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Moreover,
a recent study of Portuguese students found several developmental assets,
including self-esteem, family support, planning and decision-making,
sense of purpose, positive family communication, positive values of caring,
youth valued as resources, school engagement, and relationship with other
adults as important predictors of life satisfaction (Soares et al., 2019). These
earlier studies indicate the significant role of developmental assets on pos-
itive youth development, a role the current study seeks to explore among
Norwegian youth.
19
students in Ghana, Wiium (2017) considered the experience of developmen-
tal assets among students together with how the assets influenced thriving.
While more than half the students had experienced all four internal assets,
a similar share had not experienced several of the assets in support and
constructive use of time (external assets). At least 56% reported possessing
five indicators of thriving, with only 1.4% reporting they had all seven of
Benson’s (2007) thriving indicators that were being assessed. Regarding the
associations between developmental assets and thriving among the univer-
sity students in Ghana, correlation analysis revealed several positive associ-
ations between the two sets of variables, while only three of the internal as-
set categories (commitment to learning, positive values and positive identity)
maintained their significance (although it was marginal for the first two as-
set categories) in multivariate analysis. The internal assets explained 21% of
the variance in a composite variable reflecting the number of thriving indi-
cators reported, while the external developmental assets did not have much
effect and only explained 1%.
Similar findings emerged in a US study (Scales et al., 2000) where it
was observed that the more developmental assets a young person had ac-
cess to, the higher the probability that they would also report indicators of
thriving. This was particularly evident for the thriving indicators of school
success, overcoming adversity, physical health, and delayed gratification.
Developmental assets contributed 10% to 43% of the variance in the thriv-
ing indicators. Other studies confirming the cumulative effect of the de-
velopmental assets on thriving or positive development include a study by
Adams et al. (2018) in which developmental assets, internal assets in par-
ticular, assessed as one composite factor, were found to facilitate academic
performance in youth living in Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Moreover,
a recent study of Portuguese students found several developmental assets,
including self-esteem, family support, planning and decision-making,
sense of purpose, positive family communication, positive values of caring,
youth valued as resources, school engagement, and relationship with other
adults as important predictors of life satisfaction (Soares et al., 2019). These
earlier studies indicate the significant role of developmental assets on pos-
itive youth development, a role the current study seeks to explore among
Norwegian youth.
19
