Page 31 - Ana Kozina and Nora Wiium, eds. ▪︎ Positive Youth Development in Contexts. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2021. Digital Library, Dissertationes (Scientific Monographs), 42.
P. 31
positive youth development and thriving in norwegian youth
actual assets and thriving indictors of youth, including those unique to the
Norwegian context.
Finally, our sample was from one of Norway’s largest cities, and might
not fully represent the Norwegian youth population. A more representative
and inclusive sample that involves youth from different geographical loca-
tions, diverse ethnicities and other backgrounds could be utilised in future
research to tackle the limitations posed by the unrepresentativeness of our
sample.
Implications and Conclusion
Despite the limitations of the study, the findings hold some implications for
further research, policy, and practice. For research, the fact that PYD is a
relatively new research topic in Norway means future research could build
on the present study by exploring the resources/opportunities of diverse
youth in Norway and assessing how these contribute to thriving and posi-
tive development over time. The research might also focus on demographic
factors, such as gender, age, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, as
well as other indicators of well-being, like mental health, which may prove
essential for thriving. It might also be interesting to extend the research to
other Scandinavian countries and examine how the youth in those coun-
tries are experiencing developmental assets. Given that Scandinavian
countries are very politically and culturally similar, research on how the
different countries’ political priorities and initiatives are nurturing devel-
opmental assets may help to inform programmes and policies across the
region.
Concerning implications for policy, the current study and earlier ones
show that resources and opportunities positively influence thriving, aca-
demic performance, life satisfaction and mental well-being. Therefore, pol-
icy measures that ensure that all young people have access to developmental
assets in their context must be given priority. A UNICEF report (Adamson,
2013) shows that Norway has taken many important steps to ensure thriv-
ing among its youth, although there is still much in Norway’s youth con-
texts that could be improved.
As for practical implications, Benson and colleagues (2011) argued that
resource-building programmes have a positive effect on the experience of
developmental assets in youth. In one study, they observed that youth in
Bangladesh had a 30% increase in assets after a 6–9-month resource-build-
ing programme, while in the Philippines a 12% increase in assets after a
31
actual assets and thriving indictors of youth, including those unique to the
Norwegian context.
Finally, our sample was from one of Norway’s largest cities, and might
not fully represent the Norwegian youth population. A more representative
and inclusive sample that involves youth from different geographical loca-
tions, diverse ethnicities and other backgrounds could be utilised in future
research to tackle the limitations posed by the unrepresentativeness of our
sample.
Implications and Conclusion
Despite the limitations of the study, the findings hold some implications for
further research, policy, and practice. For research, the fact that PYD is a
relatively new research topic in Norway means future research could build
on the present study by exploring the resources/opportunities of diverse
youth in Norway and assessing how these contribute to thriving and posi-
tive development over time. The research might also focus on demographic
factors, such as gender, age, socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, as
well as other indicators of well-being, like mental health, which may prove
essential for thriving. It might also be interesting to extend the research to
other Scandinavian countries and examine how the youth in those coun-
tries are experiencing developmental assets. Given that Scandinavian
countries are very politically and culturally similar, research on how the
different countries’ political priorities and initiatives are nurturing devel-
opmental assets may help to inform programmes and policies across the
region.
Concerning implications for policy, the current study and earlier ones
show that resources and opportunities positively influence thriving, aca-
demic performance, life satisfaction and mental well-being. Therefore, pol-
icy measures that ensure that all young people have access to developmental
assets in their context must be given priority. A UNICEF report (Adamson,
2013) shows that Norway has taken many important steps to ensure thriv-
ing among its youth, although there is still much in Norway’s youth con-
texts that could be improved.
As for practical implications, Benson and colleagues (2011) argued that
resource-building programmes have a positive effect on the experience of
developmental assets in youth. In one study, they observed that youth in
Bangladesh had a 30% increase in assets after a 6–9-month resource-build-
ing programme, while in the Philippines a 12% increase in assets after a
31
