Page 85 - 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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measuring positive youth development in slovenia
and competence. Students from lower secondary school will report high-
er scores for caring, character and connection than upper secondary stu-
dents. Moreover, the data were collected during the COVID-19 pandem-
ic and thus this situation will also be partly considered in the discussion.
Method
Participants
The sample included 1,979 participants from Slovenia (57.4% female, 42.5%
male, 0.1% non-binary), aged from 13 to 19 (M = 15.34; SD = 1.19). The ma-
jority of participants were attending 20 different upper secondary schools
(1,404 students; 70.8%); most being female (57.8%). The age of these students
varied from 14 to 19 (M = 15.91; SD = 0.91). The other third of the partici-
pants were attending 21 different lower secondary schools (577 students;
29.7%) and were aged between 13 and 16 years (M = 13.96; SD = 0.38). Most
of them were female (56.3%).
Measures
Developmental assets. The Developmental Assets Profile (Benson, 2003)
was used to measure DA. It comprises 62 items evaluating young people’s
experience of DA. They are divided into internal and external asset cate-
gories. External assets refer to the family, peers, school and society. They
include Support (e.g. “I have a family that gives me love and support”),
Empowerment (e.g. “I feel valued and appreciated by others”), Boundaries
and expectations (e.g. “I have friends who set good examples for me”), and
Constructive Use of Time (e.g. “I am involved in creative things such as
music, theatre or other arts”). Internal assets concern the individual and
consist of Commitment to Learning (e.g. “I enjoy learning”), Positive val-
ues (e.g. “I tell other people what I believe in”), Social Competencies (e.g. “I
accept people who are different from me”) and a Positive Identity (e.g. “I am
sensitive to the needs and feelings of others”). The participants expressed
to what extent as certain item referred to themselves or their relation-
ships with family, friends and other people in their contexts on a 4-point
scale (1 = Not at all or rarely, 4 = Extremely or almost always). The origi-
nal reliabilities for each construct were as follows: .80 for Support, .74 for
Empowerment, .84 for Boundaries and expectations, .56 for Constructive
use of time, .83 for Commitment to learning, .85 for Positive values, .79 for
85
and competence. Students from lower secondary school will report high-
er scores for caring, character and connection than upper secondary stu-
dents. Moreover, the data were collected during the COVID-19 pandem-
ic and thus this situation will also be partly considered in the discussion.
Method
Participants
The sample included 1,979 participants from Slovenia (57.4% female, 42.5%
male, 0.1% non-binary), aged from 13 to 19 (M = 15.34; SD = 1.19). The ma-
jority of participants were attending 20 different upper secondary schools
(1,404 students; 70.8%); most being female (57.8%). The age of these students
varied from 14 to 19 (M = 15.91; SD = 0.91). The other third of the partici-
pants were attending 21 different lower secondary schools (577 students;
29.7%) and were aged between 13 and 16 years (M = 13.96; SD = 0.38). Most
of them were female (56.3%).
Measures
Developmental assets. The Developmental Assets Profile (Benson, 2003)
was used to measure DA. It comprises 62 items evaluating young people’s
experience of DA. They are divided into internal and external asset cate-
gories. External assets refer to the family, peers, school and society. They
include Support (e.g. “I have a family that gives me love and support”),
Empowerment (e.g. “I feel valued and appreciated by others”), Boundaries
and expectations (e.g. “I have friends who set good examples for me”), and
Constructive Use of Time (e.g. “I am involved in creative things such as
music, theatre or other arts”). Internal assets concern the individual and
consist of Commitment to Learning (e.g. “I enjoy learning”), Positive val-
ues (e.g. “I tell other people what I believe in”), Social Competencies (e.g. “I
accept people who are different from me”) and a Positive Identity (e.g. “I am
sensitive to the needs and feelings of others”). The participants expressed
to what extent as certain item referred to themselves or their relation-
ships with family, friends and other people in their contexts on a 4-point
scale (1 = Not at all or rarely, 4 = Extremely or almost always). The origi-
nal reliabilities for each construct were as follows: .80 for Support, .74 for
Empowerment, .84 for Boundaries and expectations, .56 for Constructive
use of time, .83 for Commitment to learning, .85 for Positive values, .79 for
85
