Page 50 - Ana Kozina and Nora Wiium, eds. ▪︎ Positive Youth Development in Contexts. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2021. Digital Library, Dissertationes (Scientific Monographs), 42.
P. 50
positive youth development in contexts
well-being on the other one. However, we also expected that not all of the
5 Cs will be significant predictors. The results confirmed our expectations,
showing that competence, confidence and connection are related to both
life satisfaction and well-being, but this is not true for character and car-
ing. The findings are also in the same line with previous studies, which
have shown that 5Cs differently predict the outcomes depending on the
context they are measured (Årdal et al., 2017; Kozina et al., 2018). A de-
tailed examination of the results provides evidence for an important de-
bate about which factor remains the strongest and persistent contributor
to positive youth development. Yet, the findings are diverse. For example,
character was associated with higher levels of life satisfaction and contri-
bution in other research (e.g. Pilkauskaite-Valickiene, 2015), but this was
not true for the current study. Regarding the effects of caring, our findings
confirm the “controversial” of such concept, since in other studies it was
shown that high levels of caring among youth are associated with high lev-
els of anxiety (Kozina et al., 2020). Totally different picture is provided for
the developmental assets. Our study is just another contribution, which re-
confirms that they are both (internal and external assets) significant pre-
dictors of life satisfaction and well-being, although with small effect sizes
(see Soares et al., 2019; Zullig et al., 2011). All that being said, this is new ev-
idence for a low- to middle-income country such as Kosovo, which is over-
coming huge social transitions and in which youth values have changed
over these 20 post-conflict years. Although speculative, both character and
caring and the way how they were perceived among youth in Kosovo may
have been prone to change. Thus, youth in Kosovo tend to rely more on oth-
er values/assets.
Although we extended research on the effects of PYD on well-be-
ing and satisfaction with life in an understudied population, the findings
should be interpreted in light of some limitations.
The first limitation is the cross-sectional nature of the study design,
which limits the clear conclusion of the direction of associations and does
not allow to identify the leading factor. Thus, future longitudinal studies
can help drawing the appropriate conclusions about the bidirectional rela-
tions over time. Also, adding qualitative measures (e.g., in depth question-
naires and interviews) would help informing better policies and interven-
tions. Also, our findings are limited to high school populations. As such the
findings are not generalizable to other age groups. Future studies with uni-
versity students or even with older populations can provide evidence for
50
well-being on the other one. However, we also expected that not all of the
5 Cs will be significant predictors. The results confirmed our expectations,
showing that competence, confidence and connection are related to both
life satisfaction and well-being, but this is not true for character and car-
ing. The findings are also in the same line with previous studies, which
have shown that 5Cs differently predict the outcomes depending on the
context they are measured (Årdal et al., 2017; Kozina et al., 2018). A de-
tailed examination of the results provides evidence for an important de-
bate about which factor remains the strongest and persistent contributor
to positive youth development. Yet, the findings are diverse. For example,
character was associated with higher levels of life satisfaction and contri-
bution in other research (e.g. Pilkauskaite-Valickiene, 2015), but this was
not true for the current study. Regarding the effects of caring, our findings
confirm the “controversial” of such concept, since in other studies it was
shown that high levels of caring among youth are associated with high lev-
els of anxiety (Kozina et al., 2020). Totally different picture is provided for
the developmental assets. Our study is just another contribution, which re-
confirms that they are both (internal and external assets) significant pre-
dictors of life satisfaction and well-being, although with small effect sizes
(see Soares et al., 2019; Zullig et al., 2011). All that being said, this is new ev-
idence for a low- to middle-income country such as Kosovo, which is over-
coming huge social transitions and in which youth values have changed
over these 20 post-conflict years. Although speculative, both character and
caring and the way how they were perceived among youth in Kosovo may
have been prone to change. Thus, youth in Kosovo tend to rely more on oth-
er values/assets.
Although we extended research on the effects of PYD on well-be-
ing and satisfaction with life in an understudied population, the findings
should be interpreted in light of some limitations.
The first limitation is the cross-sectional nature of the study design,
which limits the clear conclusion of the direction of associations and does
not allow to identify the leading factor. Thus, future longitudinal studies
can help drawing the appropriate conclusions about the bidirectional rela-
tions over time. Also, adding qualitative measures (e.g., in depth question-
naires and interviews) would help informing better policies and interven-
tions. Also, our findings are limited to high school populations. As such the
findings are not generalizable to other age groups. Future studies with uni-
versity students or even with older populations can provide evidence for
50
