Page 61 - Ana Kozina and Nora Wiium, eds. ▪︎ Positive Youth Development in Contexts. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2021. Digital Library, Dissertationes (Scientific Monographs), 42.
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developmental assets and healthy lifestyles among spanish youth
(i.e., positive values and social competence) and two external assets (i.e.,
support and boundaries and expectations) predicted a risk behaviour (e.g.
drunkenness, violence and delinquency) in young people.
In Spain, National Health Survey data (INE, 2017) indicated that peo-
ple aged 15–24 spent 66.28% of their time sitting down, while just 7.23%
spent time walking and 1.58% performing activities requiring aerobic ef-
fort. Only 46.30% reported moderate to vigorous physical activity in lei-
sure time. Concerning eating habits, 50.76% of young people aged 15–24
indicated daily consumption of fruit and 32.53% daily consumption of veg-
etables. With regard to substances, 47.86% had drunk alcohol in the last 2
weeks while 20.66% had smoked tobacco. The EDADES (2019) survey on
alcohol and drugs in Spain revealed that 20.4% of the population aged 15–
24 had consumed cannabis in the previous 12 months. Further, INJUVE
(2019) showed that 18.3% of the sample aged 18–24 reporting problematic
gambling.
The developmental assets’ approach is based on the internal and ex-
ternal nutriments that constitute the basis for healthy development (Oliva,
2015). The provision of these assets in the transition to adulthood will en-
courage young people to follow a healthy lifestyle, which in turn will help
them thrive. To our knowledge, no study to date using a sample of Spanish
youth has examined how developmental assets may be the nutriments for a
healthy lifestyle. Moreover, greater research is needed to determine wheth-
er a universal pattern of relationship exists between developmental assets
and healthy behaviour, an issue not clearly addressed by recent literature.
The aim of this research was to examine the association between develop-
mental assets and different behaviours in youth lifestyles, such as the lev-
el of practice of physical activity, the consumption of fruit and vegetables,
the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, the use of illegal drugs (i.e., mar-
ijuana, substance inhalation or others) and gambling. Building on previ-
ous research into thriving and developmental assets, we hypothesised that
a healthy lifestyle (composed of the presence of particular protective behav-
iours and the lack of certain risky behaviours) was associated with higher
scores for developmental assets, while unhealthy lifestyles were related to
lower scores for such assets. Internal assets may provide a platform for fa-
cilitating the choice of protective behaviours, instead of risky ones, which
may foster healthier personal development. External assets may also facil-
itate the availability and reinforcement of protective behaviours of health
and well-being in adolescents and youth. Thus, developmental assets may
61
(i.e., positive values and social competence) and two external assets (i.e.,
support and boundaries and expectations) predicted a risk behaviour (e.g.
drunkenness, violence and delinquency) in young people.
In Spain, National Health Survey data (INE, 2017) indicated that peo-
ple aged 15–24 spent 66.28% of their time sitting down, while just 7.23%
spent time walking and 1.58% performing activities requiring aerobic ef-
fort. Only 46.30% reported moderate to vigorous physical activity in lei-
sure time. Concerning eating habits, 50.76% of young people aged 15–24
indicated daily consumption of fruit and 32.53% daily consumption of veg-
etables. With regard to substances, 47.86% had drunk alcohol in the last 2
weeks while 20.66% had smoked tobacco. The EDADES (2019) survey on
alcohol and drugs in Spain revealed that 20.4% of the population aged 15–
24 had consumed cannabis in the previous 12 months. Further, INJUVE
(2019) showed that 18.3% of the sample aged 18–24 reporting problematic
gambling.
The developmental assets’ approach is based on the internal and ex-
ternal nutriments that constitute the basis for healthy development (Oliva,
2015). The provision of these assets in the transition to adulthood will en-
courage young people to follow a healthy lifestyle, which in turn will help
them thrive. To our knowledge, no study to date using a sample of Spanish
youth has examined how developmental assets may be the nutriments for a
healthy lifestyle. Moreover, greater research is needed to determine wheth-
er a universal pattern of relationship exists between developmental assets
and healthy behaviour, an issue not clearly addressed by recent literature.
The aim of this research was to examine the association between develop-
mental assets and different behaviours in youth lifestyles, such as the lev-
el of practice of physical activity, the consumption of fruit and vegetables,
the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, the use of illegal drugs (i.e., mar-
ijuana, substance inhalation or others) and gambling. Building on previ-
ous research into thriving and developmental assets, we hypothesised that
a healthy lifestyle (composed of the presence of particular protective behav-
iours and the lack of certain risky behaviours) was associated with higher
scores for developmental assets, while unhealthy lifestyles were related to
lower scores for such assets. Internal assets may provide a platform for fa-
cilitating the choice of protective behaviours, instead of risky ones, which
may foster healthier personal development. External assets may also facil-
itate the availability and reinforcement of protective behaviours of health
and well-being in adolescents and youth. Thus, developmental assets may
61
