Page 39 - Ana Kozina and Nora Wiium, eds. ▪︎ Positive Youth Development in Contexts. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2021. Digital Library, Dissertationes (Scientific Monographs), 42.
P. 39
the effects of 5cs and developmental assets on well-being among youth in kosovo
the face of adversity are viewed as strong and uniquely capable depending
on their developmental stage, instead of merely being regarded as “inade-
quate” or “undeveloped”.
A well-established evidence showed that the PYD framework is related
to several positive outcomes such as mental and physical health, academ-
ic achievement and satisfaction, employment, life satisfaction, and overall
adolescent well-being (Beck & Wiium, 2019; Catalano et al., 2019; Kozina et
al., 2018; Soares et al., 2019; Shek & Chai, 2020; Zhou et al., 2020). To fur-
ther investigate each of these relationships, models within the PYD frame-
work were proposed. Some of the most widely used and successful PYD
models include Lerner’s 5Cs (Lerner et al., 2009) which consists of five fac-
tors (competence, confidence, connection, character and caring), and the
Developmental Assets model (Benson, 2003) which consist of two high-or-
der factors (internal and external assets).
Lerner’s 5Cs model of PYD
Lerner’s 5Cs model of PYD (Lerner et al., 2009) is built upon five factors: (1)
competence (positive view of one‘s actions in a specific area, e.g. social, aca-
demic, cognitive, vocational skills), (2) confidence (internal sense of positive
self-worth and self-efficacy), (3) connection (positive bonding with peers),
(4) character (respect for societal norms, interpersonal values and skills,
moral commitment), and (5) caring (a sense of empathy and sympathy for
others). As each factor is operationalized differently, authors propose to
treat each of the factors as independent (Lerner et al., 2009). Further, the
literature points to different outcomes and effects regarding each C. For ex-
ample, high levels of confidence and connection are negatively associated
with anxiety and depressive symptoms (Holsen et al., 2016; Kozina et al.,
2020). In contrast, caring is positively related to anxiety and depression,
while competence and character showed a nonsignificant effect (Holsen et
al., 2016; Kozina et al., 2020). Furthermore, it is found that character and
confidence are positively associated with academic achievement (e.g. math
achievement), while connection showed negative relation with the same
outcome (Kozina et al., 2018). These relationships are attributed to the fact
that character and confidence are solely measured by self-perceived com-
petence and subjective values, whereas connection is measured by a com-
bination of home, teacher, peer and neighborhood relationships (Kozina
et al., 2018). In contrast to expectations that each of the five competen-
cies will show a positive outcome, Årdal and colleagues (2017) found that
39
the face of adversity are viewed as strong and uniquely capable depending
on their developmental stage, instead of merely being regarded as “inade-
quate” or “undeveloped”.
A well-established evidence showed that the PYD framework is related
to several positive outcomes such as mental and physical health, academ-
ic achievement and satisfaction, employment, life satisfaction, and overall
adolescent well-being (Beck & Wiium, 2019; Catalano et al., 2019; Kozina et
al., 2018; Soares et al., 2019; Shek & Chai, 2020; Zhou et al., 2020). To fur-
ther investigate each of these relationships, models within the PYD frame-
work were proposed. Some of the most widely used and successful PYD
models include Lerner’s 5Cs (Lerner et al., 2009) which consists of five fac-
tors (competence, confidence, connection, character and caring), and the
Developmental Assets model (Benson, 2003) which consist of two high-or-
der factors (internal and external assets).
Lerner’s 5Cs model of PYD
Lerner’s 5Cs model of PYD (Lerner et al., 2009) is built upon five factors: (1)
competence (positive view of one‘s actions in a specific area, e.g. social, aca-
demic, cognitive, vocational skills), (2) confidence (internal sense of positive
self-worth and self-efficacy), (3) connection (positive bonding with peers),
(4) character (respect for societal norms, interpersonal values and skills,
moral commitment), and (5) caring (a sense of empathy and sympathy for
others). As each factor is operationalized differently, authors propose to
treat each of the factors as independent (Lerner et al., 2009). Further, the
literature points to different outcomes and effects regarding each C. For ex-
ample, high levels of confidence and connection are negatively associated
with anxiety and depressive symptoms (Holsen et al., 2016; Kozina et al.,
2020). In contrast, caring is positively related to anxiety and depression,
while competence and character showed a nonsignificant effect (Holsen et
al., 2016; Kozina et al., 2020). Furthermore, it is found that character and
confidence are positively associated with academic achievement (e.g. math
achievement), while connection showed negative relation with the same
outcome (Kozina et al., 2018). These relationships are attributed to the fact
that character and confidence are solely measured by self-perceived com-
petence and subjective values, whereas connection is measured by a com-
bination of home, teacher, peer and neighborhood relationships (Kozina
et al., 2018). In contrast to expectations that each of the five competen-
cies will show a positive outcome, Årdal and colleagues (2017) found that
39
