Page 63 - Ana Kozina and Nora Wiium, eds. ▪︎ Positive Youth Development in Contexts. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2021. Digital Library, Dissertationes (Scientific Monographs), 42.
P. 63
developmental assets and healthy lifestyles among spanish youth
A four-point Likert scale ranging from not at all or rarely (1) to extremely
or almost always (4) was offered to assess the items. Mean scores were cal-
culated for each subscale, as well as the overall score for internal and exter-
nal assets by adding the means in the respective dimensions (ranging from
4 to 16). Concerning the subscales of external assets, acceptable scores of
reliability were detected for support (α = .79) and boundaries and expec-
tations (α = .72), whereas low ones were observed for empowerment (α =
.69) and especially for constructive use of time (α = .34). In the internal as-
sets’ dimensions, commitment to learning (α = .77), a positive identity (α =
.76) and positive values (α = .72) presented acceptable internal consisten-
cy, while social competence showed a low value (α = .68). Previous research
by Scales (2011) established good cross-cultural validity in adolescents and
youth, and good factorial and convergent validity.
Lifestyles. To measure the different types of behaviours that may char-
acterise the lifestyle of young people, we used some indicators from the
Positive Youth Development cross-national project (Wiium & Dimitrova,
2019). These items assessed the level of physical activity (“I engage in phys-
ical activity, for at least 30 minutes, two or more times per week”), the con-
sumption of fruit (“I eat at least one serving of fruit every day”) and vegeta-
bles (“I eat at least one serving of vegetables every day”), alcohol use (“Have
you consumed alcohol once or more in the last 30 days?”), drunkenness
(“Have you been drunk once or more in the last 30 days?”), smoking (“Have
you smoked a cigarette once or more in the last 30 days?”), substance inha-
lation (“Have you sniffed or inhaled substances to get high once or more in
the last 12 months?”, cannabis use (“Have you used marijuana once or more
in the last 12 months?”), use of other illicit drugs (“Have you used other il-
licit drugs (e.g. cocaine, LSD, heroin, amphetamines etc.) once or more in
the last 12 months?”) and gambling (“Have you gambled with money once
or more in the last 12 months?”). Dichotomic Yes/No response options were
presented for each of these statements.
Data collection procedure
The present research uses Spanish data from the Positive Youth Development
Cross-National project (Wiium & Dimitrova, 2019). This international
project is based on a sample of over 10,000 youth (aged 16–29) in Europe
(Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Norway, Portugal,
Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey), Africa (Ghana, Kenya, South Africa), Asia
(China), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico) and New Zealand. In Spain, the
63
A four-point Likert scale ranging from not at all or rarely (1) to extremely
or almost always (4) was offered to assess the items. Mean scores were cal-
culated for each subscale, as well as the overall score for internal and exter-
nal assets by adding the means in the respective dimensions (ranging from
4 to 16). Concerning the subscales of external assets, acceptable scores of
reliability were detected for support (α = .79) and boundaries and expec-
tations (α = .72), whereas low ones were observed for empowerment (α =
.69) and especially for constructive use of time (α = .34). In the internal as-
sets’ dimensions, commitment to learning (α = .77), a positive identity (α =
.76) and positive values (α = .72) presented acceptable internal consisten-
cy, while social competence showed a low value (α = .68). Previous research
by Scales (2011) established good cross-cultural validity in adolescents and
youth, and good factorial and convergent validity.
Lifestyles. To measure the different types of behaviours that may char-
acterise the lifestyle of young people, we used some indicators from the
Positive Youth Development cross-national project (Wiium & Dimitrova,
2019). These items assessed the level of physical activity (“I engage in phys-
ical activity, for at least 30 minutes, two or more times per week”), the con-
sumption of fruit (“I eat at least one serving of fruit every day”) and vegeta-
bles (“I eat at least one serving of vegetables every day”), alcohol use (“Have
you consumed alcohol once or more in the last 30 days?”), drunkenness
(“Have you been drunk once or more in the last 30 days?”), smoking (“Have
you smoked a cigarette once or more in the last 30 days?”), substance inha-
lation (“Have you sniffed or inhaled substances to get high once or more in
the last 12 months?”, cannabis use (“Have you used marijuana once or more
in the last 12 months?”), use of other illicit drugs (“Have you used other il-
licit drugs (e.g. cocaine, LSD, heroin, amphetamines etc.) once or more in
the last 12 months?”) and gambling (“Have you gambled with money once
or more in the last 12 months?”). Dichotomic Yes/No response options were
presented for each of these statements.
Data collection procedure
The present research uses Spanish data from the Positive Youth Development
Cross-National project (Wiium & Dimitrova, 2019). This international
project is based on a sample of over 10,000 youth (aged 16–29) in Europe
(Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Norway, Portugal,
Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey), Africa (Ghana, Kenya, South Africa), Asia
(China), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico) and New Zealand. In Spain, the
63
